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Interview

Creative and Production Hubs, a New Opportunity.

An interview with Wissam Najm, Director & Film Producer, partner in several companies, mainly Road2Films, and a UN consultant for SMEs in the fields of communication. Interview moderated by Victor Ayache.

Could you please share more about your educational background and early career, highlighting significant milestones in your professional and personal journey?

I am a film producer and director, graduated in France, where I worked for a while. In 2010, Road2films had a project consisting of 88 commercials, which was big for me. Upon returning to Beirut, I took charge of leading this project with my team. After successfully completing the project, I was offered a position within Road2films. I've always had an entrepreneurial mindset, and in comparison to Europe, I found Lebanon to have a faster pace of change and opportunity creation. So, it felt like a natural progression for me.

We had a tour previously here, saw all the departments and sub-brands,
but could you briefly describe Road2films?

Road2Films is a Lebanese production house specializing in producing educational, cultural, and social TV programs, as well as documentaries, fiction films, and TV Ads. People come to us for assistance in creative thinking, scriptwriting, pre-production, production, and post-production. We are primarily known for our expertise in documentaries and also produce our own films. Several of our films are currently touring and winning awards.

We had a tour previously here, saw all the departments and sub-brands, but could you briefly describe Road2films?

Road2Films is a Lebanese production house specializing in producing educational, cultural, and social TV programs, as well as documentaries, fiction films, and TV Ads. People come to us for assistance in creative thinking, scriptwriting, pre-production, production, and post-production. We are primarily known for our expertise in documentaries and also produce our own films. Several of our films are currently touring and winning awards.

Can you tell us more about your responsibilities at Road2Films and the different organizations? What's particularly interesting for us is your consultancy experience for small organizations.

I participate in ideation, strategy, and general managerial duties. I'm increasingly involved in business development and client management, which I find personally important and would like to do more of in the future.

I’ve recently also worked as a UN Media consultant for helping SMEs, a project with the United Nations and The World Bank. Under this umbrella, I've worked with 78 SMEs, helping them set up their digital marketing, social media, and e-commerce solutions. We cover markets, channels, content, campaigns, films, and I'd be happy to contribute to COUSINS.NETWORK. I see great collaboration potential with brands like MWPR and Bananamonkey in areas such as PR, graphic design, and digital marketing.

Additionally, the media industry, particularly production, is renowned in Lebanon. Can you share your insights on its significance, your perspectives regarding the future outlook, and how you navigate uncertainties in the environment and the political volatility in the region?

The Lebanese media industry is a major contributor of talent and creative export. Despite the political instability and the resulting setbacks in basic infrastructure like internet, electricity, and transportation, Lebanon has the potential to become a creative kitchen. This would require unprecedented resilience, but we are already adapting to the circumstances, and I believe we can capitalize on it.

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