Much has been said and written about Dubai's hospitality industry. And despite the city playing set to major Hollywood productions including Mission Impossible IV and Syriana, producers, it seems, have not quite found one of the emirate's biggest industries compelling enough to explore.
That is, until now.
Enter Naim Zaboura. Just 21 and fresh off a film school but armed already with a few shorts under his belt, this ambitious youngster has just written, directed and shot a pilot for a television series based on the lives of people working in a hotel.
Called Checking In, the pilot, Zaboura hopes, could turn into something wonderful — like being Dubai's first locally produced television series in English. And he is currently shopping for buyers.
"I want nothing more than for it to get picked up," he says. "We've worked hard for it and I think it really deserves to be seen. Also, it's the kind of story that every one will be able associate with and at the same time be an eye opener about the lives of people who work in the service industry."
Set in a hotel called The Mina Grand, Checking In revolves around the lives of 11 characters all working in the same establishment. Each of them has a dark secret which unravels as the episode progresses.
"When you walk into a hotel you are always greeted by well-dressed people that are always smiling and happy to help you... But what happens when you turn around??" asks a teaser on the pilot's Facebook page.
"It shows how people that work in a hotel are more than just pretty faces. They are all human, each with their own stories, problems," explains Zaboura.
"Salonge, the lead, is Lebanese, the head concierge is from India, the hotel manager is British, the cleaning lady is Colombian and the head of security is Middle Eastern. When you go to any hotel in Dubai, it's truly international, and I wanted to capture that," says the filmmaker.
Easy casting
Zaboura himself is not a stranger to the hospitality industry, with his mother, father and aunt all having worked in different capacities in the industry. A former hotel management student, he dropped out after the first semester to pursue his love for filmmaking.
"I wrote the script for Checking In in 2008 while I was still studying. It was just a few scribbled lines on paper," he recalls. "Then, after graduation, I was working on another film with my friend Victoria [Borasio, a Dubai-based actress] and we got talking about it and got really excited. The next day, we were already casting."
Both Zaboura and Borasio, who plays the hotel manager, Emily, searched through their contacts in the industry and before they knew it, they had a full cast.
"It wasn't really difficult to convince the cast. Because the local industry is so underdeveloped, aspiring actors are always willing and eager to work on an interesting project," says Zaboura. "Once they knew that we were serious and that it can add to their resume, they usually come aboard."
Australian-born model and actress Rebecca Rifai, who plays the lead, Solonge, was perhaps the hardest to convince.
"My first instinct was that the project was not of much merit. So after Naim messaged me, I had my head stuck in another script and let a few days pass before I got in touch with him and asked him to e-mail me the script," recalls Rifai.
"But his response made me a bit suspicious. His character description of Solonge just seemed to be some whack description he had pulled together to make me feel like I had a close bond to the lead. Solonge was Australian-Lebanese, a model, but taking a break from the industry. I honestly thought that he was making a mockery of me. My background includes modelling, I'm Australian and have Lebanese family ties, so I thought he was just trying to get a date with another female in the industry.
"Then my friend Victoria called and told me this was a serious project. I know how tough the film industry is so when the lead role for Checking In came my way, it was a great opportunity to practice my skills and to also help Naim and his crew to gain recognition.
"It's important to support other people in the industry. And despite never having done comedy before, I thought it was a great chance to showcase my skills as an actor."
Shereen Saifudeen, a communications manager at a Dubai-based global PR agency and theatre enthusiast, plays Alisha, the concierge. "She is a ditzy character. All good meaning, but everything seems to go wrong for her and she brings a lot of comic relief.
"On film, a lot of the drama is toned down because you are performing in front of a camera. But my character is so over-the-top, I absolutely enjoyed playing her."
Finishing touches
Thanks to the support of the Marriot Courtyard hotel, who lent the cast and two-man crew its ballroom which was turned into The Mina Grand's reception, filming was wrapped up in seven days in January.
"All we had was a Dh16,000 Canon camera with three lenses, a tripod and a dolly, which we made ourselves," says Zaboura.
Now putting the finishing touches, the next step, says Zaboura, is to find "a good TV channel" willing to buy it and sanction the whole series.
Both Rifai and Saifudeen think the project should be given wings here in the UAE.
"It has so much potential, whether internationally or locally," says Rifai. "As there is little content made in Dubai, it would be great for the region to see a project like this and I'm sure it will soar."
Saifudeen thinks local broadcasters should support the project because of its local relevance. "It shows a slice of life and about people's lives here. The whole concept is interesting and relevant with characters based here. So people should support it."
If there are no buyers, Zaboura says his next option is to turn it into a website or try to sell it in the US, where his family is based.
"But I would like to show it here. I think it will strike a chord with many people," he says.
"I would want nothing else. It will be such a waste to let go of something like this. I really think it can make it."
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