In 1920, two sisters were the most feared people in Egypt, murdering 17 women before being put to death. A hundred years later, their notorious tale will be brought to life in a new series.
The Alexandria Killings, about Raya and Sakina Hammam, will be coming to the small screen from Oscar-winning writer and director Terry George and acclaimed Egyptian writer Mariam Naoum.
Interestingly, this is only the first of more to come—the show is planned as the first part of a true crime MENA anthology series set in various periods and locations within the Arab world.
The show’s official description is as follows:
“Set in 1920 Alexandria when Egypt was under British rule, the series will chronicle the true story of Egyptian sisters Raya and Sakina. The sisters came from a poor Alexandria neighborhood and rose from poverty to run a glamorous brothel operation, drawing on a powerful and influential circle of Egyptian and British officers, informants, and statesmen. At its’ heights, the Hammams’ operation became a hive of secrets, intelligence sharing, and criminal conspiracies among the top echelons of the Alexandria underworld. The rise and fall of their empire found the sisters relying more and more on petty theft, leading to the murder of 17 women in crimes of opportunity. The sisters were eventually put on trial and became the first women to be sentenced to death, causing a massive social outcry. Public perception of the women varied from cold-blooded criminal masterminds to victims.”
The show is from Yalla Yalla, a collaboration between UAE-based Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Rocket Science. The show will be produced by Gianluca Chakra, Thorsten Schumacher, and Terry George.
“At this point of my career, I really believe that merging the experiences of the Middle Eastern and Western filmmakers is crucial for the industry of filmmaking and it will help perfect the adaptation of the story. And I’m sure that I’ll also be learning a lot during this journey,” says co-writer Mariam Naoum.
Also involved are Executive Producer Hisham AlGhanim and Michela Scolari, who is repped by Larry Hummel and Emirati director Nayla Al Khaja, repped by Adel Nur.
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