‘A Real Cultural Reversal’: Ex-Nusra Leader Scripts Syria’s Hollywood Moment
President Ahmad al-Sharaa, once known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, now backs a vast studio complex he once would have outlawed
By Rizik Alabi / The Media Line
[Damascus] The signing of a memorandum of understanding worth more than $1.5 billion to establish Syria’s first integrated media and film-production complex was no ordinary event. Damascus Gate—an agreement between the Syrian Ministry of Information and Qatari firm al-Maha International—marks the culmination of a profound transformation the country is undergoing in its postwar phase.
What drew equal attention was the identity of the figure who oversaw the deal: Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, still widely known by his former nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.
During a formal ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Jolani—dressed in a suit and tie—stood beside ministers and artists to launch one of the largest media initiatives in Syria’s history. Less than a decade ago, he led Jabhat al-Nusra, among the most hard-line factions in the war. Now, he appears determined to wield soft power through culture and entertainment.
According to Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa, the planned media city will cover nearly 2 million square meters, featuring outdoor sets modeled on Arab and Islamic architecture as well as indoor soundstages equipped with cutting-edge technology. Officials expect more than 4,000 direct jobs and 9,000 seasonal positions, with a target of 25 dramatic productions in the first year.
In a brief comment to The Media Line, Mustafa said the city “will represent a qualitative leap for Syrian media after years of destruction and absence,” alluding to the collapse of the sector during the war. But some analysts argue the project aims to do more than revive Syrian media—it also seeks to rehabilitate the regime’s image following Jolani’s rise to power.
From Commander to Head of State
Since he gave a rare televised interview in 2015, Jolani has tried to reshape his public persona. Military fatigues gave way to civilian clothes, and takfiri rhetoric disappeared from his speeches. By 2023, he had assumed control over a sprawling administrative and security apparatus that governed large parts of northwestern Syria.
International negotiations on a “comprehensive settlement” later opened the door for opposition participation in government. Jolani’s unexpected rise to the presidency—backed by Turkey and tacitly accepted by Gulf powers—marked the peak of this pragmatic evolution. The onetime-hunted terrorist now presides over a high-profile cultural initiative, inviting investment in a sector once deemed impermissible under his earlier rule.
Islamist movements researcher Mohammed al-Eisa told The Media Line that the shift has been deliberate since at least 2017. “When he abandoned the name Jabhat al-Nusra and founded Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, it was the first signal that he was thinking politically, not just tactically,” al-Eisa said.
“Becoming a head of state wasn’t far-fetched for those tracking his rise, but the speed with which he embraced modern state tools—media, economy, civil society—surprises most.” He added that the Damascus Gate project reflects Jolani’s determination to build a new political narrative, one that distances him from his jihadi past without surrendering security control.
In a striking reversal, Jolani now champions a media city after previously banning television, music, and female actors in areas under his command. Screenwriter Rana Mar’i told The Media Line, “We’re facing a man who has completely turned his back on his past—at least on the surface. Someone opening a film city is the same person who used to whip people for watching TV. This is a real cultural reversal.”
Still, Mar’i urged caution: “Cinema isn’t produced by cameras and studios alone, but by freedom of expression. Will Jolani tolerate criticism or opposing viewpoints? That’s the real test.”
Gulf Investment and Soft Power
Al-Maha International’s involvement highlights a broader return of Gulf influence to Damascus, this time through culture and economics. Political analyst Nizar al-Shehabi told The Media Line that Qatar’s investment points to a changing calculus in the region. “Perhaps who governs matters less now than having a stable authority to do business with,” he said.
“For Qatar, investing in media is part of its soft power toolkit. It may see in Jolani—despite his past—a man who could evolve into a long-term partner.”
Debate over Damascus Gate centers on whether it will genuinely revive Syrian drama or merely serve as a façade for regime image-building. Media professor Karim al-Mahayni warned that a project limited to public relations would “fail quickly,” but one that welcomes bold storytelling and diverse voices could spark a true renaissance.
Dr. Leila Mansour, professor of visual production and criticism, told The Media Line that the selection of Damascus Gate as the country’s first major post-sanctions initiative was not solely an artistic decision. She said the project serves a dual function: on one hand, revitalizing Syria’s artistic sector, and on the other, reshaping the official national narrative through drama and imagery. “Countries emerging from prolonged conflict often turn to creative industries as a means of reframing collective memory.”
Film producer Samer Badran agreed. “The former Syrian regime understood that drama is more persuasive than official statements,” he said. Today, he views the initiative not as entertainment alone, “but as a platform under direct supervision, designed to export cohesive narratives about the postwar phase.”
Mansour noted that Syria still has a strong talent base, thanks to training institutions like the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts and earlier Soviet-era exchanges. Badran confirmed that Syria has historically produced well-trained actors, but said the real problem lies in the system itself.
“There is no integrated production system, no clear funding market, and political censorship is heavy,” he said. “That’s what pushed many prominent actors to Gulf or Lebanese platforms as the domestic environment suffocated independent projects.”
Others argue that Syria’s failure to produce global cultural icons stems from structural issues, not a lack of talent. Names like Jamal Soliman, Bassam Kousa, Nawar Bulbul, and the late May Skaf were widely respected, but without access to global distribution, co-productions, or industry branding, none reached international stardom. “Iconic status requires an entire industry to support it—promotion, marketing, sponsorship, rebranding—and all of that is absent from the Syrian context,” said one cultural expert. “An icon becomes a narrative and a marketable symbol. Syria never built the infrastructure for that.”
New Narrative or Old Habits?
Some believe that Jolani’s story could itself become cinematic material one day. “A cultured statesman who disappears from the scene and reemerges suddenly—cinematically, that’s excellent raw material,” said Badran. But politically, such stories remain off-limits. “Any attempt to turn the biography of the country’s leadership into a work of art from within the official framework has always undergone complete rewriting—if not outright distortion.”
He added, “Initial signs in terms of scale and technology are promising, but the real challenge is whether there will be space for dissenting views—or for a collective memory still wounded.”
Jolani, once a central figure in Syria’s civil war, now appears intent on reshaping the country’s postwar narrative—not just with concrete, but with cameras. Through Damascus Gate, he aims to project a new image of leadership built on reconstruction and cultural revival.
But the core question remains: can a truly different future be built using the same tools of the past? And can Jolani—no matter how skilled in diplomacy or image-making—convince Syrians and the world that he has genuinely changed?
In a country long defined by contradiction and reinvention, the transformation from jihadist commander to cinema patron may not be the strangest twist in its history. But it is certainly among the most thought-provoking.
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