INNOVATOR
Samer Arzouni checking the director’s monitor with the company’s DOP Walid Baaklini while shooting I Am a Nat Geo Photographer
From filmmaker to entrepreneur: Spotlife Film Productions founder and Managing Director Samer Arzouni b y TA M A R A P U P I C
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amer Arzouni, founder and Managing Director, Spotlife Film Productions, has shaped his entrepreneurial journey around the belief that poignant storytelling has the power to change perceptions. “I chose filmmaking as a career, because I believe in the power of film as a medium to influence and impact social behavior,” he says. “To be able to tell powerful stories is empowering, and with this empowerment comes a responsibility and consciousness to tell balanced stories that are objective, and that have a purpose. Apart from understanding the potential of strong storytelling, I have also learnt how important dynamic characters are for telling a good story. As humans, we connect with other humans, based on emotions and common experiences. Interesting characters who are candid about their stories, allow us the opportunity to create compelling content that can engage audiences, which is the ultimate goal of all filmmakers.” Having worked with different news and general entertainment networks, producing a variety of current affairs pieces and social awareness segments, Arzouni moved
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from his native Lebanon to the UAE in 2008 to take up a post at the National Geographic Channel. The ensuing years have seen him travelling between Seoul,
Washington, Hong Kong, and London, and producing over 25 films, some of which were aired in over 185 countries. Eventually, he climbed up the ladder to the position of
“INTERESTING CHARACTERS WHO ARE CANDID ABOUT THEIR STORIES, ALLOW US THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE COMPELLING CONTENT THAT CAN ENGAGE AUDIENCES, WHICH IS THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF ALL FILMMAKERS.”
IMAGES COURTESY SPOTLIFE FILM PRODUCTIONS
Creative pursuits
Head of Channel and Productions for the Middle East at the company. However, at that time, he was ready to take another plunge. “At an international network, everything revolved around big budgets, grand scales, and so on, and it was very much a network angle into the industry,” he explains. “I was exposed to the crème de la crème of clients and topics. If you have worked in a network for long enough, then the channel’s style is misconstrued as your