Dubai-based Front Row Productions has acquired all rights to the story of Sally Hafez, the young woman who, in order to pay for her sister’s cancer treatment, walked into a Beirut bank and used a toy gun to take money from her savings account which had been locked due to Lebanon’s financial crisis.
Front Row Productions – which is a joint venture between prominent Mena region distribution companies Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Beirut-based Empire Entertainment – is planning to explore different aspects of the Hafez story “through feature films, TV series, docuseries and a podcast series.” They will look at “the various angles of Sally’s unique but relatable journey from a patriotic activist to a disenfranchised citizen taking it upon herself to be divisive,” the company said in a statement.
Starting in 2019, as the country fell into a deep economic crisis involving the downfall of its currency, Lebanon...
Front Row Productions – which is a joint venture between prominent Mena region distribution companies Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Beirut-based Empire Entertainment – is planning to explore different aspects of the Hafez story “through feature films, TV series, docuseries and a podcast series.” They will look at “the various angles of Sally’s unique but relatable journey from a patriotic activist to a disenfranchised citizen taking it upon herself to be divisive,” the company said in a statement.
Starting in 2019, as the country fell into a deep economic crisis involving the downfall of its currency, Lebanon...
- 4/4/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Dubai-based Front Row Productions is planning a feature film and TV series based around Sally Hafez, a Lebanese woman who received international attention after storming a bank in 2022.
The company has acquired life rights from Hafez, who held staff hostage at the Blom Bank in Beirut on September 14, 2022, and demanded they allow her to withdraw her own savings to pay for her sister’s medical bills. The incident took place during a financial crisis in Lebanon that saw citizens illegally restricted from withdrawing from their accounts due to an unofficial capital control imposed by banks in the country.
In a statement,...
The company has acquired life rights from Hafez, who held staff hostage at the Blom Bank in Beirut on September 14, 2022, and demanded they allow her to withdraw her own savings to pay for her sister’s medical bills. The incident took place during a financial crisis in Lebanon that saw citizens illegally restricted from withdrawing from their accounts due to an unofficial capital control imposed by banks in the country.
In a statement,...
- 4/4/2024
- ScreenDaily
“This really is soup to nuts - everything when it comes to doing a production on the ground,” says Mbc Studios’s Christina Wayne.
Mbc Studios, the production arm of Middle East broadcaster Mbc Group, has started offering production services to films and TV shows looking to shoot in Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh-based Mbc Studios Production is already working with two non-mbc films and a Korean TV series that are considering shooting in Saudi Arabia.
Given Saudi’s nascent industry, one of the key challenges for incoming productions is sourcing local talent and navigating legal, financial and business affairs. Productions looking...
Mbc Studios, the production arm of Middle East broadcaster Mbc Group, has started offering production services to films and TV shows looking to shoot in Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh-based Mbc Studios Production is already working with two non-mbc films and a Korean TV series that are considering shooting in Saudi Arabia.
Given Saudi’s nascent industry, one of the key challenges for incoming productions is sourcing local talent and navigating legal, financial and business affairs. Productions looking...
- 12/6/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Filming is set to begin in spring 2024.
Dubai-based Front Row Productions has boarded Zaid Abu Hamdan’s Boomah, an upcoming Arab crime thriller starring Jordanian actress Rakeen Saad.
Front Row has joined forces with burgeoning Jordanian outfit Bounce Productions to make the feature, which is described as a “raw and unfiltered crime-thriller set in one of Jordan’s roughest cities”. The film is scheduled to start shooting in spring 2024 with a release to follow by early 2025.
Saad, who stars in Netflix hit AlRawabi School For Girls and Mbc Shahid’s The Giza Killer, will play the lead role of Boomah.
Dubai-based Front Row Productions has boarded Zaid Abu Hamdan’s Boomah, an upcoming Arab crime thriller starring Jordanian actress Rakeen Saad.
Front Row has joined forces with burgeoning Jordanian outfit Bounce Productions to make the feature, which is described as a “raw and unfiltered crime-thriller set in one of Jordan’s roughest cities”. The film is scheduled to start shooting in spring 2024 with a release to follow by early 2025.
Saad, who stars in Netflix hit AlRawabi School For Girls and Mbc Shahid’s The Giza Killer, will play the lead role of Boomah.
- 12/5/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Dubai-based Front Row Productions has come on board Jordanian director and producer Zaid Abu Hamdan’s second feature Boomah about a female street thug.
The company, a joint venture between Mena distributors Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Empire Entertainment, is joining forces with Bounce Productions, the film and TV company created by producer Ahmad Abu Koush in 2022.
Boomah will be Abu Hamdan’s second feature after award-winning 2021 drama Daughters of Abdul-Rahman, which world premiered at the Cairo Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award, and then played multiple festivals including the Red Sea Film Festival.
The production has also announced that Jordanian actress Rakeen Saad, who starred in Netflix show AlRawabi School for Girls and Mbc Shahid’s The Giza Killer, will play the lead role of Boomah.
Originally announced under the title The Zarqa Girl at the project stage, the production is a described as crime thriller set...
The company, a joint venture between Mena distributors Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Empire Entertainment, is joining forces with Bounce Productions, the film and TV company created by producer Ahmad Abu Koush in 2022.
Boomah will be Abu Hamdan’s second feature after award-winning 2021 drama Daughters of Abdul-Rahman, which world premiered at the Cairo Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award, and then played multiple festivals including the Red Sea Film Festival.
The production has also announced that Jordanian actress Rakeen Saad, who starred in Netflix show AlRawabi School for Girls and Mbc Shahid’s The Giza Killer, will play the lead role of Boomah.
Originally announced under the title The Zarqa Girl at the project stage, the production is a described as crime thriller set...
- 12/5/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Cairo-based Mad plans to theatrically release five to seven Arab-language films in N America a year.
Cairo-based Arab cinema distribution and marketing company Mad Solutions is extending its footprint into North America after taking an equity stake in New York-based arthouse distributor D Street Releasing.
Under the new partnership, Mad Solutions will theatrically release five to seven Arab-language films in the US and Canada annually.
First titles being lined up for 2022 include Jordanian filmmaker Zaid Abu Hamdan’s family drama Daughters of Abdul-Rahman; Tunisian director Mehdi Hmili’s post-revolution societal drama Streams, about a woman who overcomes the odds to reunite with her son,...
Cairo-based Arab cinema distribution and marketing company Mad Solutions is extending its footprint into North America after taking an equity stake in New York-based arthouse distributor D Street Releasing.
Under the new partnership, Mad Solutions will theatrically release five to seven Arab-language films in the US and Canada annually.
First titles being lined up for 2022 include Jordanian filmmaker Zaid Abu Hamdan’s family drama Daughters of Abdul-Rahman; Tunisian director Mehdi Hmili’s post-revolution societal drama Streams, about a woman who overcomes the odds to reunite with her son,...
- 5/18/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Cairo-based film marketing and distribution outfit Mad Solutions has taken an equity ownership stake in New York’s revived arthouse distributor D Street Releasing.
The partnership will extend the reach of Mad Solutions’ theatrical distribution operations, giving it an inroad into the U.S. arthouse sector where so far Arab cinema has been largely reliant on festival exposure.
Mad Solutions, which is a top distributor of specialty Arab cinema across the West Asia region, now plans to release between five and seven standout titles from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other Arabic-speaking countries to North American audiences.
D Street Releasing, which has been largely dormant in recent years, is a division of D Street Media Group, the New York-based production, distribution and music publishing company with affiliate operations in the U.S., Germany, Ecuador, Argentina and South Africa.
Mad co-founders Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab met D Street’s founding CEO...
The partnership will extend the reach of Mad Solutions’ theatrical distribution operations, giving it an inroad into the U.S. arthouse sector where so far Arab cinema has been largely reliant on festival exposure.
Mad Solutions, which is a top distributor of specialty Arab cinema across the West Asia region, now plans to release between five and seven standout titles from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other Arabic-speaking countries to North American audiences.
D Street Releasing, which has been largely dormant in recent years, is a division of D Street Media Group, the New York-based production, distribution and music publishing company with affiliate operations in the U.S., Germany, Ecuador, Argentina and South Africa.
Mad co-founders Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab met D Street’s founding CEO...
- 5/18/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
One of three Arabic-language films in the Cairo Film Festival international competition, the feminist dramedy “Daughters of Abdul-Rahman” shows how many Jordanian women put the traditional expectations of their patriarchal society ahead of their own desires and the resulting collateral damage. After world premiering in Egypt, the debut feature of director-writer-producer Zaid Abu Hamdan will segue to the Red Sea Festival in Saudi Arabia.
The inspiration for the plot came from the multi-hyphenate’s own mother, as he realized that she had been unable to achieve her private aspirations. He says: “Having to be the perfect eldest sister, then a young wife living up to the social standards expected of her, then a mother to four boys, all that seemed to put her personal plans on hold.”
Eventually, Abu Hamdan sent out 300 surveys to Jordanian women of different religious, educational and socio-economic backgrounds. What came back was so unsettling that...
The inspiration for the plot came from the multi-hyphenate’s own mother, as he realized that she had been unable to achieve her private aspirations. He says: “Having to be the perfect eldest sister, then a young wife living up to the social standards expected of her, then a mother to four boys, all that seemed to put her personal plans on hold.”
Eventually, Abu Hamdan sent out 300 surveys to Jordanian women of different religious, educational and socio-economic backgrounds. What came back was so unsettling that...
- 11/27/2021
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
The Middle East premiere of caustic Spanish comedy “Official Competition” will open the Cairo Film Festival, which has assembled a rich roster of international titles for its upcoming 43rd edition, to be held in person Nov. 26-Dec. 5.
Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, who are co-directors of the colorful pic starring Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas — which turns on a billionaire businessman determined to bankroll a memorable movie — are expected, barring complications, to attend the regional launch of their Venice-premiering comedy.
Cairo, which is the grande dame of the Arab world’s cinema shindigs — and the only festival in the Middle East and North Africa region to be accorded category “A” status by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations in Paris (Fiapf) — has been subjected to some disruption lately caused by Saudi Arabia’s deep-pocketed Red Sea Festival.
The Red Sea Festival in May decided to move the dates for...
Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, who are co-directors of the colorful pic starring Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas — which turns on a billionaire businessman determined to bankroll a memorable movie — are expected, barring complications, to attend the regional launch of their Venice-premiering comedy.
Cairo, which is the grande dame of the Arab world’s cinema shindigs — and the only festival in the Middle East and North Africa region to be accorded category “A” status by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations in Paris (Fiapf) — has been subjected to some disruption lately caused by Saudi Arabia’s deep-pocketed Red Sea Festival.
The Red Sea Festival in May decided to move the dates for...
- 11/8/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Five works in progress and 11 films in development due to be showcased at event running December 8-11.
The Red Souk, the industry component of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival’s project market, has unveiled fresh details for its inaugural edition running December 8-11.
Running within the framework of its larger parent festival, which will also mark its first edition this year from December 6-15, the souk will focus on Arab and African filmmakers and will feature a project market, work in progress screenings, an exhibition space and an industry talks programme.
Lebanese-French director Wissam Charaf’s Beirut-set romantic drama Dirty Difficult Dangerous,...
The Red Souk, the industry component of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival’s project market, has unveiled fresh details for its inaugural edition running December 8-11.
Running within the framework of its larger parent festival, which will also mark its first edition this year from December 6-15, the souk will focus on Arab and African filmmakers and will feature a project market, work in progress screenings, an exhibition space and an industry talks programme.
Lebanese-French director Wissam Charaf’s Beirut-set romantic drama Dirty Difficult Dangerous,...
- 9/30/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Acquisitions include upcoming films Yousry Nasrallah, Muayad Alayan and Mohamed ben Attia.
Cairo-based film company Mad Solutions has unveiled an acquisition slate of more than 50 Arabic-language titles from 13 different territories that it plans to get into festivals and cinemas across the Middle East and North Africa in 2021 and 2022.
“During the pandemic, we used the opportunity to discuss the objectives and goals for Arab films, to strengthen links with the public, and to be a part of projects from the beginning, developing the films together,” said company co-heads Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab. “We feel that there is a bright future...
Cairo-based film company Mad Solutions has unveiled an acquisition slate of more than 50 Arabic-language titles from 13 different territories that it plans to get into festivals and cinemas across the Middle East and North Africa in 2021 and 2022.
“During the pandemic, we used the opportunity to discuss the objectives and goals for Arab films, to strengthen links with the public, and to be a part of projects from the beginning, developing the films together,” said company co-heads Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab. “We feel that there is a bright future...
- 5/28/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman, which is up for five Oscars this year, will skip cinemas in the UK and debut directly on Sky Cinema. It will be released by the broadcaster on April 16, 10 days before the Oscars. The deal was made by Focus Features and Universal with Sky, all of which are owned by Comcast. The pic premiered at Sundance in 2020 and was released stateside by Focus on December 25, grossing $5.8M to date in the pandemic-hit theatrical market.
HBO Europe has given the green-light to The Informant, an 8 x 40” Hungarian drama written by Bálint Szentgyörgyi, who also directs alongside Áron Mátyássy and Bence Miklauzic. Filming is now underway on the series, which follows 20-year-old Geri (Gergely Váradi) who is starting university in 1980’s Hungary. Unbeknownst to his friends, Geri lives a second life as a government informant. Cast includes Váradi with Márton Patkós, Júlia Szász, Abigél Szőke and Szabolcs Thuróczy.
HBO Europe has given the green-light to The Informant, an 8 x 40” Hungarian drama written by Bálint Szentgyörgyi, who also directs alongside Áron Mátyássy and Bence Miklauzic. Filming is now underway on the series, which follows 20-year-old Geri (Gergely Váradi) who is starting university in 1980’s Hungary. Unbeknownst to his friends, Geri lives a second life as a government informant. Cast includes Váradi with Márton Patkós, Júlia Szász, Abigél Szőke and Szabolcs Thuróczy.
- 3/25/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Eight-month programme culminates with industry pitching event at first edition of Red Sea International Film Festival in November.
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival has unveiled the 12 projects that will participate in its 2021 Red Sea Lodge project lab, which is organised in collaboration with the TorinoFilmLab.
Six of the projects are Saudi while the other projects hail from Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Lebanon.
Half of the projects are directed by women including Saudi director Dalyah Bakheet’s The Photographer Of Madina, based on the true story of a female photographer who opened the first studio for women in Saudia Arabia,...
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival has unveiled the 12 projects that will participate in its 2021 Red Sea Lodge project lab, which is organised in collaboration with the TorinoFilmLab.
Six of the projects are Saudi while the other projects hail from Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Lebanon.
Half of the projects are directed by women including Saudi director Dalyah Bakheet’s The Photographer Of Madina, based on the true story of a female photographer who opened the first studio for women in Saudia Arabia,...
- 3/25/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Films include Hany Abu-Assad’s Huda’s Salon and Mohammed Diab’s Amira.
Cairo-based Mad Solutions has boarded Arab sales and distribution rights for 11 anticipated films from the Middle East and North Africa, most of which are now in post-production.
It is handling three of the titles with Shahinaz El-Akkad’s Lagoonie Film Production: Amira, Huda’s Salon and Daughters Of Abdulrahman
Amira, the third film from Egypt’s Mohamed Diab following the award-winning dramas 678 and Clash, is in post-production. Palestinian Oscar-nominated director Hany Abu-Assad thriller Huda’s Salon is midway through shooting.
Daughters Of Abdulrahman is the debut feature...
Cairo-based Mad Solutions has boarded Arab sales and distribution rights for 11 anticipated films from the Middle East and North Africa, most of which are now in post-production.
It is handling three of the titles with Shahinaz El-Akkad’s Lagoonie Film Production: Amira, Huda’s Salon and Daughters Of Abdulrahman
Amira, the third film from Egypt’s Mohamed Diab following the award-winning dramas 678 and Clash, is in post-production. Palestinian Oscar-nominated director Hany Abu-Assad thriller Huda’s Salon is midway through shooting.
Daughters Of Abdulrahman is the debut feature...
- 6/23/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
Eight projects for the eighth edition of the Rawi Screenwriters Lab have been chosen by The Royal Film Commission-Jordan and Sundance Institute. The Rawi Screenwriters Lab is an example of Sundance Institute’s longstanding international work to support emerging filmmakers around the world. Former Rawi Fellows include Cherien Dabis (Amreeka), Mohammed Al Daradji (Son Of Babylon) and Sally El Hosaini (My Brother The Devil).
Launched in 2005, the Lab is led by the Royal Film Commission of Jordan (Rfc), under the leadership of Deema Azar, in consultation with Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program, under the direction of Michelle Satter. The Lab provides an opportunity for filmmakers from the region to develop their work under the guidance of accomplished Creative Advisors—this year including Athina Rachel Tsangari (Attenberg), Henry Bean (The Believer), So Yong Kim (Treeless Mountain), Bernd Lichtenberg (Goodbye Lenin!) and Katherine Dieckmann (Motherhood)—in an environment that encourages storytelling at the highest level.
George David, General Manager of the Rfc, said, “It makes us very proud to be organizing the eighth round of the Rawi Screenwriters Lab again this year in consultation with Sundance Institute. The Lab is gaining momentum and receiving increased regional and international acclaim, with more and more projects developed through the Lab and being awarded internationally. The caliber of this year’s selected projects will certainly have an impact on the regional filmmaking scene, at a time when cinema in the region is attracting worldwide attention with all the changes that have been taken place recently and are often reflected in cinematic works.”
Paul Federbush, International Director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, said, “We’ve had the privilege to help give voice to some extraordinary new filmmakers in the region over our eight-year partnership with the Rfc. This year’s Fellows continue in that tradition and bring a diverse range of stories that we believe will resonate with audiences around the world.”
2009 Rawi alumnus Haifaa Al Mansour premiered her debut feature Wadjda—the first feature film shot entirely in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the first-ever by a Saudi female filmmaker—at this year’s Venice International Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival. The film was acquired for U.S. distribution by Sony Pictures Classics.
About her experience at the Lab, Mansour said, "The real momentum for Wadjda began with the Rawi Screenwriters Lab; I am tremendously grateful for the unwavering support of Michelle Satter and her entire team at Sundance Institute who not only helped the script find its true voice, but also in every aspect of getting the film made.”
The participants and projects selected for the 2012 Rawi Screenwriters Lab represent eight different countries. The Lab takes place November 14-18 in Wadi Feynan in Southern Jordan.
Daughters of Abdel Rahman by Zaid Abu Hamdan (Jordan)
Years after running away from their oppressive past, four estranged sisters have to join forces to find their suddenly missing father.
Zaid Abu Hamdan holds an Mfa from the New York Film Academy in Hollywood California, and a BA in Communication Arts from the Lebanese American University in Beirut. In 2009, Zaid established his company Zaha Productions, producing 5 award winning short films in both the Us and the Gulf. His debut film Baram & Hamza won International awards and distribution in the Us and Europe. His other films include Love…Older (of 2 parts) and the 2012 Oscar-qualified film Bahiya & Mahmoud, after winning “Best of Fest” at the Palm Springs Int. Shortfest. Zaid is currently developing his first feature film Daughters of Abdul-Rahman, which has been selected for The Doha Film Institute, the Torino Film Lab, the Royal Film Commission of Jordan and other international film organizations.
Via Dolorosa by Sobhi Al Zubaidi (Palestine)
A Palestinian man is released after 20 years in Israeli prisons and is united with his family, only to face new challenges in life after Oslo in the West Bank.
Sobhi al-Zobaidi is a Palestinian filmmaker (My Very Private Map, Women in the Sun, Light at the End of the Tunnel, Hawal, Crossing Kalandia, About the Sea). His film projects have received awards and recognition from institutions including Hubert Bals Fund, Rotterdam Flm Festival, Locarno Flm Festival, Goteborg Flm Festival and Abu Dhabi Flm Festival. His current project, Via Dolorosa, is a feature film that has received development support from Afac and Abu Dhabi Film Festival (Sanad).
Trees Also Die by Rabih El Amine (Lebanon)
A young mother and her child decide to isolate themselves from the outside world in a delirious attempt to flee the war and to escape their fate.
Born in 1974, Rabih El-Amine is a Lebanese-Canadian photographer, screenwriter and filmmaker based in Montreal. He holds a BA in Communication Arts (Radio/TV/Films). His first documentary Ahmad the Japanese screened at various festivals and won a jury prize in Docudays. Trees Also Die is his first feature film project.
Noor by Mustafa Shakarchi (Iraq)
Inspired by a true story, a 10-year-old Palestinian girl dreams of a normal childhood—to go to school and make friends. But her caretaker Aunt forces her to work in the streets selling novelty items.
Born in Baghdad, Iraq and raised in Southern California, Mustafa is a co-founder of TruArt Pictures, an independent production company. Noor is his first feature film.
Crescent Moon by Naz Sadoughi (Iran)
Ignorance is bliss, but knowledge is freedom, and Ebby is suddenly forced to test the limits of his loyalties – either remain faithful to the regime and his corrupt paymasters, or to his conscience and feelings for the man he’s spying on.
Naz Sadoughi is an Iranian screenwriter. Born in Tehran she moved to the UK with her parents in 1978. Initially trained as an Illustration and animation artist she moved into live action film-making in 1999 and began working as a commercials director in the UK and throughout Europe. In 2004 she set up a production company where she produced and directed short documentaries for the Discovery Channel. In 2011 Naz completed an Ma in screenwriting at The Lcc, University of the Arts London.
I Am Nojood by Khadija Al-Salami (Yemen)
Ignorance and poverty force a ten -year old girl, Nojood, to endure an outrageous experience when she is forced to marry a thirty-year-old man. Unable to accept this fate others have chosen for her, Nojood does the unthinkable: she asks for a divorce.
Khadija Al-Salami gained her independence at an early age when her family forced her into an early marriage at the age of 11. In order to escape family pressure and tradition, she found a job at the local TV station in the afternoons, while pursuing her studies in the mornings. She earned a scholarship at 16 years of age to the United States, where she studied film-making. Her first film, for her thesis, was about women in Yemen. Khadija is Yemen’s first woman film-maker, and has made some over 20 documentaries for various TV stations in France and Yemen and received several awards at various film festivals worldwide. With her husband, she has written a book, The Tears of Sheba, about her experiences growing up in Yemen. She was, until 2011, the Press Counselor and Director of the Communication and Cultural Center at the Embassy of Yemen in Paris.
Two Rooms & a Parlor by Mohamed Salah El Azzab & Sherif Bendari (Egypt)
Khalil has spent his life living the routine of a low profile employee. When he finds himself alone after the death of his wife Ihsan, Khalil decides to discover the world outside of his little house and life beyond its ordinary details.
Born in 1978, Egyptian filmmaker Sherif Elbendary lives and works in Cairo. Elbendary graduated from the Faculty of Applied Arts in 2001, then in 2007 studied film directing at the High Institute of Cinema in Cairo. His first short fiction film Rise & Shine produced by the Egyptian Film Center in 2006 was officially selected in more than 75 film festivals in 33 countries and won 15 awards. Elbendary’s second short film was his graduation project At Day's End produced by the High Institute of Cinema in 2008 which was officially selected in more than 50 film festivals and won 14 awards. Sherif directed the segment “curfew” in the omnibus feature 18 Days which was selected to the Cannes Film Festival in 2011.
Born in Cairo 1981, novelist and journalist and scriptwriter Mohammad El Azzab has four novels which are: A Long Cellar with a Low Ceiling making you Crouch, Repeated Stoppingwas, Tales of Sidi Barrani and The Italian's Bed. Also a collection of short stories, Blue In a Sad Way. El Azab, has won several literary Egyptian and Arabian awards. He wrote the screenplay films: Repeated Stoppingwas and Two-Bedroom Apartment, which was awarded best screenplay in Sawiris awards in Egypt in 2011.
Until the End of Time by Yasmine Chouikh (Algeria)
As they slowly approach the hour of their death, Ali and Joher, both in their seventies, meet and discover love, friendship and the happiness of living the joys of life together.
Born in 1982 in Algiers, Yasmine Chouikh studied human arts and sciences, graduate in psychology and educational sciences. She worked as an actress in La Citadelle (1987) by Mohamed Chouikh, in a television film by Djamel Bendedouch in 1990, then in Hamlet of Women (2004) by Mohamed Chouikh. She wrote in the cultural page of the daily newspaperl'Autentique and works as a journalist as well as presenting a cinematographic television program on the national Algerian television since 2005. She has written some shorts film scripts, and directed two of them, The Door and the djinn. She is the art director of the International Taghit.
The eighth annual Rawi Screenwriters Lab of The Royal Film Commission-Jordan is presented in consultation with Sundance Institute and made possible in part by a grant from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art.
Launched in 2005, the Lab is led by the Royal Film Commission of Jordan (Rfc), under the leadership of Deema Azar, in consultation with Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program, under the direction of Michelle Satter. The Lab provides an opportunity for filmmakers from the region to develop their work under the guidance of accomplished Creative Advisors—this year including Athina Rachel Tsangari (Attenberg), Henry Bean (The Believer), So Yong Kim (Treeless Mountain), Bernd Lichtenberg (Goodbye Lenin!) and Katherine Dieckmann (Motherhood)—in an environment that encourages storytelling at the highest level.
George David, General Manager of the Rfc, said, “It makes us very proud to be organizing the eighth round of the Rawi Screenwriters Lab again this year in consultation with Sundance Institute. The Lab is gaining momentum and receiving increased regional and international acclaim, with more and more projects developed through the Lab and being awarded internationally. The caliber of this year’s selected projects will certainly have an impact on the regional filmmaking scene, at a time when cinema in the region is attracting worldwide attention with all the changes that have been taken place recently and are often reflected in cinematic works.”
Paul Federbush, International Director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, said, “We’ve had the privilege to help give voice to some extraordinary new filmmakers in the region over our eight-year partnership with the Rfc. This year’s Fellows continue in that tradition and bring a diverse range of stories that we believe will resonate with audiences around the world.”
2009 Rawi alumnus Haifaa Al Mansour premiered her debut feature Wadjda—the first feature film shot entirely in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the first-ever by a Saudi female filmmaker—at this year’s Venice International Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival. The film was acquired for U.S. distribution by Sony Pictures Classics.
About her experience at the Lab, Mansour said, "The real momentum for Wadjda began with the Rawi Screenwriters Lab; I am tremendously grateful for the unwavering support of Michelle Satter and her entire team at Sundance Institute who not only helped the script find its true voice, but also in every aspect of getting the film made.”
The participants and projects selected for the 2012 Rawi Screenwriters Lab represent eight different countries. The Lab takes place November 14-18 in Wadi Feynan in Southern Jordan.
Daughters of Abdel Rahman by Zaid Abu Hamdan (Jordan)
Years after running away from their oppressive past, four estranged sisters have to join forces to find their suddenly missing father.
Zaid Abu Hamdan holds an Mfa from the New York Film Academy in Hollywood California, and a BA in Communication Arts from the Lebanese American University in Beirut. In 2009, Zaid established his company Zaha Productions, producing 5 award winning short films in both the Us and the Gulf. His debut film Baram & Hamza won International awards and distribution in the Us and Europe. His other films include Love…Older (of 2 parts) and the 2012 Oscar-qualified film Bahiya & Mahmoud, after winning “Best of Fest” at the Palm Springs Int. Shortfest. Zaid is currently developing his first feature film Daughters of Abdul-Rahman, which has been selected for The Doha Film Institute, the Torino Film Lab, the Royal Film Commission of Jordan and other international film organizations.
Via Dolorosa by Sobhi Al Zubaidi (Palestine)
A Palestinian man is released after 20 years in Israeli prisons and is united with his family, only to face new challenges in life after Oslo in the West Bank.
Sobhi al-Zobaidi is a Palestinian filmmaker (My Very Private Map, Women in the Sun, Light at the End of the Tunnel, Hawal, Crossing Kalandia, About the Sea). His film projects have received awards and recognition from institutions including Hubert Bals Fund, Rotterdam Flm Festival, Locarno Flm Festival, Goteborg Flm Festival and Abu Dhabi Flm Festival. His current project, Via Dolorosa, is a feature film that has received development support from Afac and Abu Dhabi Film Festival (Sanad).
Trees Also Die by Rabih El Amine (Lebanon)
A young mother and her child decide to isolate themselves from the outside world in a delirious attempt to flee the war and to escape their fate.
Born in 1974, Rabih El-Amine is a Lebanese-Canadian photographer, screenwriter and filmmaker based in Montreal. He holds a BA in Communication Arts (Radio/TV/Films). His first documentary Ahmad the Japanese screened at various festivals and won a jury prize in Docudays. Trees Also Die is his first feature film project.
Noor by Mustafa Shakarchi (Iraq)
Inspired by a true story, a 10-year-old Palestinian girl dreams of a normal childhood—to go to school and make friends. But her caretaker Aunt forces her to work in the streets selling novelty items.
Born in Baghdad, Iraq and raised in Southern California, Mustafa is a co-founder of TruArt Pictures, an independent production company. Noor is his first feature film.
Crescent Moon by Naz Sadoughi (Iran)
Ignorance is bliss, but knowledge is freedom, and Ebby is suddenly forced to test the limits of his loyalties – either remain faithful to the regime and his corrupt paymasters, or to his conscience and feelings for the man he’s spying on.
Naz Sadoughi is an Iranian screenwriter. Born in Tehran she moved to the UK with her parents in 1978. Initially trained as an Illustration and animation artist she moved into live action film-making in 1999 and began working as a commercials director in the UK and throughout Europe. In 2004 she set up a production company where she produced and directed short documentaries for the Discovery Channel. In 2011 Naz completed an Ma in screenwriting at The Lcc, University of the Arts London.
I Am Nojood by Khadija Al-Salami (Yemen)
Ignorance and poverty force a ten -year old girl, Nojood, to endure an outrageous experience when she is forced to marry a thirty-year-old man. Unable to accept this fate others have chosen for her, Nojood does the unthinkable: she asks for a divorce.
Khadija Al-Salami gained her independence at an early age when her family forced her into an early marriage at the age of 11. In order to escape family pressure and tradition, she found a job at the local TV station in the afternoons, while pursuing her studies in the mornings. She earned a scholarship at 16 years of age to the United States, where she studied film-making. Her first film, for her thesis, was about women in Yemen. Khadija is Yemen’s first woman film-maker, and has made some over 20 documentaries for various TV stations in France and Yemen and received several awards at various film festivals worldwide. With her husband, she has written a book, The Tears of Sheba, about her experiences growing up in Yemen. She was, until 2011, the Press Counselor and Director of the Communication and Cultural Center at the Embassy of Yemen in Paris.
Two Rooms & a Parlor by Mohamed Salah El Azzab & Sherif Bendari (Egypt)
Khalil has spent his life living the routine of a low profile employee. When he finds himself alone after the death of his wife Ihsan, Khalil decides to discover the world outside of his little house and life beyond its ordinary details.
Born in 1978, Egyptian filmmaker Sherif Elbendary lives and works in Cairo. Elbendary graduated from the Faculty of Applied Arts in 2001, then in 2007 studied film directing at the High Institute of Cinema in Cairo. His first short fiction film Rise & Shine produced by the Egyptian Film Center in 2006 was officially selected in more than 75 film festivals in 33 countries and won 15 awards. Elbendary’s second short film was his graduation project At Day's End produced by the High Institute of Cinema in 2008 which was officially selected in more than 50 film festivals and won 14 awards. Sherif directed the segment “curfew” in the omnibus feature 18 Days which was selected to the Cannes Film Festival in 2011.
Born in Cairo 1981, novelist and journalist and scriptwriter Mohammad El Azzab has four novels which are: A Long Cellar with a Low Ceiling making you Crouch, Repeated Stoppingwas, Tales of Sidi Barrani and The Italian's Bed. Also a collection of short stories, Blue In a Sad Way. El Azab, has won several literary Egyptian and Arabian awards. He wrote the screenplay films: Repeated Stoppingwas and Two-Bedroom Apartment, which was awarded best screenplay in Sawiris awards in Egypt in 2011.
Until the End of Time by Yasmine Chouikh (Algeria)
As they slowly approach the hour of their death, Ali and Joher, both in their seventies, meet and discover love, friendship and the happiness of living the joys of life together.
Born in 1982 in Algiers, Yasmine Chouikh studied human arts and sciences, graduate in psychology and educational sciences. She worked as an actress in La Citadelle (1987) by Mohamed Chouikh, in a television film by Djamel Bendedouch in 1990, then in Hamlet of Women (2004) by Mohamed Chouikh. She wrote in the cultural page of the daily newspaperl'Autentique and works as a journalist as well as presenting a cinematographic television program on the national Algerian television since 2005. She has written some shorts film scripts, and directed two of them, The Door and the djinn. She is the art director of the International Taghit.
The eighth annual Rawi Screenwriters Lab of The Royal Film Commission-Jordan is presented in consultation with Sundance Institute and made possible in part by a grant from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art.
- 12/1/2012
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The Palm Springs International ShortFest, billed as the largest short film festival in North America, has announced its Festival award winners! 331 short films were screened, but in the end, only 18 categories were awarded.
I love and totally support the Palm Springs International ShortFest, many winners move on to nab an Oscar! According to Festival Director, Darry Macdonald, "It.s been a remarkable year for ShortFest, with record attendance and a rapturous response to the programming by audiences, industry and filmmakers alike. The Film Market and industry programs were particulary active, adding hugely to the Festival.s success. I.m confident a number of major future filmmakers emerged here this year and will go on to enliven the feature film world."
And the winners of the 2011 Palm Springs International ShortFest are:
Jury Awards
Best Of Festival Award - $2,000 cash and Software Package courtesy of The Showbiz Café & Store; Ultimate Stock Footage...
I love and totally support the Palm Springs International ShortFest, many winners move on to nab an Oscar! According to Festival Director, Darry Macdonald, "It.s been a remarkable year for ShortFest, with record attendance and a rapturous response to the programming by audiences, industry and filmmakers alike. The Film Market and industry programs were particulary active, adding hugely to the Festival.s success. I.m confident a number of major future filmmakers emerged here this year and will go on to enliven the feature film world."
And the winners of the 2011 Palm Springs International ShortFest are:
Jury Awards
Best Of Festival Award - $2,000 cash and Software Package courtesy of The Showbiz Café & Store; Ultimate Stock Footage...
- 6/27/2011
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
As definite favorites emerged from an incredibly strong selection of shorts, the winning list well-represented the demographics of the overall line-up. From 32 Australian short films in the festival, a few were sure to rise to the top – Elizabeth Tadic’s “Umoja: No Men Allowed” receiving the Grand Jury Award (while Christopher Stollery’s very funny “dik” was by far the most recommended film in the marketplace); and, with many well-known directors, there were always going to be some that ascended (Terry George – writer/director of “Hotel Rwanda” and “Reservation Road” – picked up $500 for his second place effort).
For the full list of winners, see below.
Jury Awards
Best Of Festival Award - The winner of this award is eligible to submit their film to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar consideration.
Bahiya & Mahmoud (Jordan/USA), Zaid Abu Hamdan
Aging couple Bahiya and Mahmoud have fallen into...
For the full list of winners, see below.
Jury Awards
Best Of Festival Award - The winner of this award is eligible to submit their film to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar consideration.
Bahiya & Mahmoud (Jordan/USA), Zaid Abu Hamdan
Aging couple Bahiya and Mahmoud have fallen into...
- 6/27/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
As definite favorites emerged from an incredibly strong selection of shorts, the winning list well-represented the demographics of the overall line-up. From 32 Australian short films in the festival, a few were sure to rise to the top – Elizabeth Tadic’s “Umoja: No Men Allowed” receiving the Grand Jury Award (while Christopher Stollery’s very funny “dik” was by far the most recommended film in the marketplace); and, with many well-known directors, there were always going to be some that ascended (Terry George – writer/director of “Hotel Rwanda” and “Reservation Road” – picked up $500 for his second place effort).
For the full list of winners, see below.
Jury Awards
Best Of Festival Award - The winner of this award is eligible to submit their film to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar consideration.
Bahiya & Mahmoud (Jordan/USA), Zaid Abu Hamdan
Aging couple Bahiya and Mahmoud have fallen into...
For the full list of winners, see below.
Jury Awards
Best Of Festival Award - The winner of this award is eligible to submit their film to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar consideration.
Bahiya & Mahmoud (Jordan/USA), Zaid Abu Hamdan
Aging couple Bahiya and Mahmoud have fallen into...
- 6/27/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
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