DAMASCUS — The Syrian director Bassam AlMulla, who achieved fame for directing 'Bab Al Hara', passed away Saturday's morning according to what was announced in the official account of the Artists Syndicate — Damascus Branch, via Facebook. AlMulla is considered by many to be one of the most important Syrian and Arab directors of all time. He was born on Feb. 13, 1956, to an artistic family. He was the son of actor Adham AlMulla, and brother to directors Moamen and Bashar AlMulla and actor Muayyad AlMulla, who all have starred in his works. AlMulla distinguished himself by directing the Levantine Environment, which he started with Ayam Shamiya, Nights of Salhia and Al Khawali. His most famous work, 'Bab Al Hara' or The Neighborhood's Gate, is a Ramadan soap opera that first aired in 2006, and is considered a classic now. The second installment of the TV series boomed into a social phenomenon that swept the Arab world and achieved the highest viewership rate ever. The show ran for 11 seasons with over 342 episodes. The plot of show centers around the families of the Dhab' neighborhood in the 1930s, and 1940s, when Syria was a French colony. It portrays their everyday life of the Damascene society before post-colonial modernity. AlMulla works have won many awards, such as the gold for series at the Cairo Radio and Television Festival for Ayam Shamiya and Al-Ababid and the Best Directing Award for the first installment of the series 'Bab Al-Hara' at the Arab Television Festival in Tunisia in 2007. The most important documentation of Al Mulla's television career from its beginnings until "Bab Al-Hara", is in the book "Bassam AlMulla, Lover of the Damascene Environment" by Syrian journalist Muhammad Mansour. The book was published by Kanaan House in Damascus in 2008 under the series "Syrian TV Dramas, History and Flags".
