Biography
Gianluca Chakra is the CEO and founder of Front Row Filmed Entertainment, a Dubai-based independent film distribution and production company operating across the MENA region. Since launching the company in 2003, Chakra has built Front Row into one of the region’s leading independent content groups, active across theatrical distribution, digital aggregation, streaming partnerships, production and international co-productions.
Born in Rome into a film distribution family with roots between Rome and Beirut, Chakra grew up surrounded by cinema. His father spent more than four decades in independent distribution, while his uncle began his career at Warner Bros. in Lebanon before becoming one of the studio’s longest-serving regional representatives. From an early age, Chakra was exposed to film markets, festival culture, acquisitions, marketing campaigns and the mechanics of independent distribution.
After early experience in the regional film business, including time at Prime Pictures, where he gained a deeper understanding of home entertainment, audience positioning and the untapped potential of regional consumers, Chakra spent time in Rome working on the MedFilm Festival, further developing his understanding of international cinema, festival positioning and the global independent film landscape. He later moved to Dubai in his early twenties, where he made his first independent acquisition with City of God, a defining title that reflected the instinct-driven, audience-focused approach that would later shape Front Row’s identity.
A lifelong film enthusiast, Chakra built his career by backing films often overlooked by the wider market, helping introduce regional audiences to bold international cinema, festival titles, genre films and culturally significant works. Under his leadership, Front Row has released and represented a wide-ranging slate across the Middle East and North Africa, while developing strategic partnerships with global platforms, studios, exhibitors and regional media groups.
Chakra has been involved in several landmark Arabic-language projects, including Perfect Strangers, Netflix’s first Arabic-language original film, which broke records across MENA and internationally, and The Sand Castle, directed by Matty Brown and starring Nadine Labaki, which became Netflix’s most-viewed Arabic-language film globally in 2025.
His producing work also extends to international English-language productions. He was a producer on Luxor, directed by Zeina Durra and starring Andrea Riseborough, and an executive producer on Haunting of the Queen Mary. He is also credited as a producer on Cliffhanger, the upcoming reboot of the 1993 action thriller directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and starring Pierce Brosnan, Lily James and Nell Tiger Free. The film is scheduled for a wide North American theatrical release in August 2026, marking one of Chakra’s most significant international production credits to date.
Alongside these productions, Chakra has continued to expand Front Row’s slate across both regional and international content, backing Arab-language features such as A Matter of Life and Death, Boomah, My Treat and His Weakest Creatures, while continuing to handle a broad range of commercial, genre and prestige titles from leading global independent partners across MENA.
Through Front Row, he continues to champion regional storytelling, emerging Arab voices, and content designed to travel across both local and international markets. Known for his advocacy of independent cinema and his forward-looking approach to distribution, Chakra has played an active role in shaping conversations around dynamic windowing, digital access, regional production, and the growth of a more connected and sustainable MENA film ecosystem.
Chakra has been included in Variety500 for six consecutive years (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024) recognizing him among the most influential business leaders shaping the global media industry. He was also recognized by Fast Company Middle East for his contribution to the regional creative and entertainment sector.
