Telling the stories of the city

There's a good reason why Syrian soap opera Al Ikhwa is being filmed in Abu Dhabi.

US soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful also filmed in Abu Dhabi. Adam Schreck / AP

Arab soap-operas are not renowned for what might be called gritty realism. Like US soaps, they tend to be big on dramatic locations, situations and characterisations. Yet the Syrian drama Al Ikhwa, The Brothers, revolving around the lives of five competing siblings in Abu Dhabi is believable, at least to the extent that such a plot line could happen in the UAE’s capital.

More than 100 episodes of Al Ikhwa will be filmed entirely in Abu Dhabi. The film industry in this country has been the beneficiary of the horrendous civil war in Syria and its spillover into Lebanon: many productions have shifted to the UAE, seeking a safe and welcoming environment. The same, of course, has occurred for numerous Levantine businesses, which have found a home here in the past few years.

In both cases, Abu Dhabi has become the go-to destination not merely because of its safety and modernity – it shares that with other cities and countries in the region – but because of its active embrace of new ventures, new businesses and new people. A cosmopolitan city, plus favourable incentives for films and people, makes this a good location. The brothers in Al Ikhwa are fictional, but across this city, there are thousands of real-life examples who have made Abu Dhabi their home.