People need truth. Brands need stories that tell it.
A partnership between Commonwild and Witness, documentary truth and cinematic craft, brought to the world's brands from first idea to final frame. Set up in the region to bring cultural relevance and local storytelling to global work.
01 The Partnership
Two studios, one belief in real stories.
Commonwild
Creative Production Practice · Dubai
A strategic, hands-on partner working the full lifecycle of a project, from idea to delivery. Regional access and bespoke teams, shaping ideas and holding craft at every stage, always with a documentary sensibility.
Witness
Production & Post · London
A London production and post house led by directors Simon + Ben, branded documentaries and human storytelling that blend cinematic flair with documentary truth, for brands including National Geographic, Dell, Intel, Xbox and the Premier League.
Together: directorial craft and finishing under one roof, regional reach and global standard, one partner, from first idea to final grade.
02 Shared Belief
Real stories, made by people.
In an age of synthetic, generated content, both studios hold the same line: technology can support the work, but it never replaces human taste, instinct, or truth. Witness was built to challenge the rise of AI with genuine human storytelling; Commonwild exists to tell stories that feel real, grounded in people, shaped by place. Authenticity is not a style here. It is the whole point.
04 What We Offer Brands
One partner, end to end.
- 01Creative & strategic developmentWitness & Commonwild
- 02DirectionWitness & Commonwild Talent Network
- 03ProductionWitness & Commonwild
- 04Post & finishingWitness Post & Commonwild Talent Network
- 05Human storytellingWitness
- 06Culturally Relevant StorytellingCommonwild
05 Partners
The brands we've served, and the partners ahead.
Witness, selected clients
Potential partners across MENA
The same documentary-led approach, built for the region's most ambitious brands and entities, across:
06 The Team
The people behind the work.
Simon + Ben
Directors
Witness
Simon Frost and Ben Hanson, the award-winning directing duo behind Witness. A foundation in psychology and early work with young offenders gives them a rare read on human behaviour, paired with cinematic craft and an obsession with authentic performance. Their films include the Cannes Lions Grand Prix winner, I Will Always Be Me, for Dell and Intel.
Rory Calder
UK Executive Producer
Witness
An executive producer with over a decade at London's leading agencies and production companies, having produced global work for Netflix, Google, The Olympic Channel and Red Bull. At Witness, Rory shapes production and growth, deepening relationships with brands and agencies seeking stories rooted in truth and humanity.
Nayla Chacra
Regional Executive Creative Producer
Commonwild
Belgian-Lebanese, based in Dubai. Two decades across New York, London, Singapore and the Middle East, working at the intersection of documentary and branded content. She contributed to the expansion of Prodigious and Optix, the production and post house of Publicis Groupe in the region, bringing deep agency and brand relationships to the partnership, aligning strategy with emotional resonance and connecting global craft to local context.
Let's find your story