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Promoting world music artists with a singular, non-negotiable criterion – quality – has been the mission of Nayla Nasr Abdul-Khalek, a Lebanese in the diaspora, for several decades now. For her, cultural resistance manifests through the creation of musical and cinematic productions in France and beyond. At the helm of commNprod International, an agency for artists, singers and comedians, she recently produced the sparkling performance “Karakoz” by Franco-Lebanese actress Coco Makmak at the Eiffel Tower Theatre in Paris on June 16 and 17, written and directed by Coco Makmak and Rand Abdul-Khalek.
Nayla Abdul-Khalek, at a tender age, left Lebanon at the onset of the civil war and sought refuge in Paris. Following her academic pursuits, she hosted a music show on Radio Monte Carlo before transitioning into the advertising industry. Subsequently, she founded her own luxury perfume line, Elysios France. She also participated alongside UNESCO in several major initiatives such as emergency education for Displaced and Refugee Children, as well as educational projects in Afghanistan. She also took part in organizing a creativity and innovation contest among 368 universities worldwide. Unsurprisingly, a few years later, she shifted her focus toward the realm of cinema and music.
In partnership with Fréderic Mitterrand, her late husband, Ghassan Abdul-Khalek, a cornerstone of the news service at Radio Monte Carlo, co-founder and president of the Arab Press Club (CPA), and prematurely deceased in 2004, inaugurated in 1983 the first Arab Film Festival in Paris.
Nayla refers to this festival as a pioneering event, for Ghassan had envisioned that Arab cinema must not remain confined within its geographical bounds. He invited those who would later become celebrated filmmakers: Youssef Chahine, Salah Abou Seif, Chadi Abdessalam, Henri Barakat, Michel Khleifi, Merzak Alouache, Bourhane Alawiyé, Omar Amiralay, Jean Chamoun, Mohammed Malas, Oussama Mohammad, Jocelyne Saab, Mohammed Khan and Jilali Farhati, among many others. Additionally, renowned movie stars such as Faten Hamama, Ezzat Alayli, Hind Rostom, Farid Chawki, Assaad Fadda, Leila Eloui, Yousra, Mona Wassef, Nour Charif, Duraid Laham were just a few among the festival’s distinguished guests. Regrettably, this festival was short-lived, lasting only nine years, as the Institute of the Arab World (IMA) decided to take over its organization in 1992 and host it biennially. Unfortunately, the Arab Film Festival came to a halt in 2010 due to financial constraints.
In 2004, Nayla and Ghassan launched the South-South Film Festival in Assilah, Morocco, under the chairmanship and guidance of H.E. Mohammed Benaissa, the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs. The festival was an immediate hit. The objective was to diversify the artistic and cultural tastes of the public and consequently broaden their interests in other cultures.
“The untimely demise of Ghassan Abdul-Khalek, who was the festival’s director, at the end of summer 2004, sent shockwaves throughout the community,” Nayla reminisced. “He had established a dialogue of cultures, advocating openness toward others. Moreover, he was the first and only Arab to be designated President of the Jury at the Venice International Film Festival in the Countercurrent section in 2002. Ghassan had countless invaluable plans for the seventh art, but fate had other plans.”
In May 2008, leveraging her experience and connections, Nayla took up the mantle and established commNprod International, an artist management and production agency, aiming to utilize her extensive network for the benefit of culture. “I started with music,” she said. “It commenced in 2008 with bands entrusting me with their representation, predominantly in the Arab world, a region that holds no secrets for me. By 2010, commNprod represented over 20 diverse groups, encompassing a rich variety of world music. We had artists from Lebanon, Maghreb countries, Iran, Spain, Argentina, India and even Corsica, including the globally recognized group I Muvrini.”
Beyond representing artists, commNprod designs authentic “concept concerts,” notably tribute concerts to renowned late Lebanese artists. While the Lebanese state had not considered such a commemoration, Nayla took it upon herself to ensure the Lebanese artistic heritage is never consigned to oblivion. “One who has no past, has no future,” she asserted. “If I don’t ignite these tributes, nobody else will. I organized a tribute concert in November 2014, a year after the passing of Maestro Wadih al-Safi at La Cigale in Paris. The exquisite singer Melhem Zein headlined the event. To this day, attendees recall the concert vividly, and that’s the aim: to make an indelible impression.”
A year later, on the stage of Le Trianon, Rwaida Attieh’s compelling voice presented a high-quality tribute to our national Sabah to an audience craving quality. “Another unforgettable evening followed a year after Parisian audiences first encountered Mohammed Khairy,” she added. “With his unparalleled vocal technique, he enchanted his audience with the Qoudoud of Aleppo and traditional songs performed by the late Sabah Fakhri. There was another project created by commNprod, which unfortunately failed to persist: the repertoire of Edith Piaf in Arabic, the musical arrangement was assigned to the talented Michel Fadel. The vocals were performed by singer Jahida Wehbé, handpicked by commNprod.”
In December 2022, commNprod paid tribute to Elias Rahbani by coordinating an unforgettable concert with his son Ghassan Rahbani at the Théâtre du 13 ème Art in Paris which was met with resounding success.
CommNprod also aims to support and aid promising young filmmakers through the co-production of short- and medium-length films.
“We co-organized and programmed Arab and international film festivals to promote cinematic talent. In 2015 and 2016, I brought cinema back to the Institute of the Arab World and organized two festivals that were highly acclaimed by critics and specialized media for their rich, diverse, and engaging selection. Internal workings of IMA led to the discontinuation of this collaboration. It is regrettable, as the sole objective was to simply serve as a bridge for culture,” Nayla went on to say.
The recently produced show of Coco Makmak in Paris was a triumphant accomplishment according to Nayla. “The tickets sold out so rapidly that we had to schedule a third evening of Karakoz with Coco, due to popular demand. The event will take place on September 16. The virtual effect transformed into a real connection between Coco’s audience, who have been following her on social media for three years and had come to discover her for the first time, and Coco on stage. The affection shown toward this established actress was impressive, the reaction astounding! The show, from start to finish, was a festive and joyful occasion for an audience not only from Paris, but also from Germany, Belgium, Abidjan, and Nice…”
To date, commNprod boasts 25 artists who can be categorized into four divisions: world music (spanning nations such as Mauritania, India, Spain, Greece…), Eastern and Western jazz (Lisa Simone, Mike del Ferro, Rami Atallah…), French chanson and classical music (Catherine Lara, Lamoureux Orchestra…) and international pop music (Jackson Four, Earth Wind and Fire, Buena Vista Social Club). Exactly one year ago, Nayla found her home under the Nice sun and extended her support to the France and Lebanon Collective (CLIF), which she described as “a wonderful journey about to start.” An array of projects awaits her in Paris, Assilah, the Emirates, Beirut and Canada, among other places…
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