Dubai, 26 November 2008: On the occasion of 37th UAE National Day, du, the UAE’s integrated telecom service provider is presenting a special episode of Freej, the UAE’s first animated TV series. This will be broadcast during the first four days of December on a group of national TV channels.

 

In the short episode, lasting one minute and 36 seconds, main Freej characters Um Saeed, Um Saloom, Um Allawi and Um Khammas and other popular characters such as Abood gather to congratulate the leadership and people in the UAE. The episode narrates the creation of UAE 37 years ago and the symbolic story of planting of 7 trees, next to each other by visionary grandfather to represent the 7 present-day emirates. These have grown into 7 palm trees standing tall, strong and united today, as the UAE. The storyline exemplifies the idioms ‘you reap what you sow’ and ‘unity in diversity’.

 

Congratulating the UAE national leadership and people in the UAE, Hala Badri, EVP Corporate Communications, du, said: “We wanted to use an unconventional medium to greet all UAE citizens and residents and we chose Freej as it is a landmark successful project in the UAE.”

 

Mohammed Saeed Harib, creator of Freej congratulated the UAE’s visionary leadership and people in the UAE and said: “I would like to thank du for this idea. This is the first time that the Freej characters have gathered outside Ramadan to mark National Day. Through this episode we wanted to greet anyone who lives on the UAE soil and present the UAE’s rich heritage to everyone, young and old.”

 

What is Freej? Brainchild of UAE national Mohammed Saeed Harib and supported by du, Freej is the name of the Middle East’s first 3D animated series that debuted on UAE television in 2006. Freej is the tale of four old national women living in a secluded neighbourhood in modern day Dubai. The show’s main characters - Um Saeed, Um Saloom, Um Allawi and Um Khammas - try to live a peaceful life in the midst of the ever-expanding city around them, but the city’s boom creates new social issues every day that they have to tackle in their own simple way. A new character Abood’ was introduced in Freej Season 2 (2007).

 

Freej was voted the number one Arabic TV show in both 2006 and 2007 and is the first UAE TV show to be broadcast on an English TV channel – Dubai One. It is also offered by du as ‘Mobisodes’ on Mobile TV and is the first UAE TV series to be available on flights operated by Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. More than 20,000 DVDs of Freej Season One have been sold in 11 countries and by the end of 2008 ‘Freej’ is expected to have over 200 product lines.