The programme aims to select four projects from local filmmakers to develop into feature films.
Image Nation Abu Dhabi has teamed up with Russian-Kazakh filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov, known for pioneering screenlife films, and his production banner Bazelevs to launch the Screenlife Accelerator Programme in the UAE. This initiative is designed to train local talent – both UAE nationals and residents – in this digital filmmaking format.
His productions, Unfriended and Searching, were box office hits, earning $65m and $75m respectively against a budget of $1m. The latest instalment in the subgenre, Missing, grossed $48.8m and topped the Netflix movie chart in the US last summer. The screenlife format has earned his film and TV production company Bazelevs a spot among the top 10 most innovative video companies in the world by Fast Company. Bekmambetov is currently working on his new Amazon MGM thriller Mercy, starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson.
The Screenlife Accelerator Programme, initiated by Bekmambetov’s film and TV production company Bazelevs and Image Nation Abu Dhabi, aims to develop four feature films in the screenlife format and continue to establish the UAE as one of the emerging hubs for digital filmmaking in the region. Through its partnership with Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Bazelevs intends to expand the popularity of screenlife films across the Middle East and add it to key film markets like South Korea, India, and the UK, where the company has previously launched accelerator programmes and secured strategic partnerships for local movie productions in the screenlife format.
Speaking about the initiative, Ben Ross, Acting CEO of Image Nation, said: “How we create and consume content is changing at an unprecedented rate thanks to technological advances and changing viewing patterns. The Screenlife Accelerator Programme is an opportunity for filmmakers to be at the forefront of this evolution, challenging how we think about moviemaking and pioneering an exciting new format as we continue to build a successful and sustainable film and entertainment industry across the GCC and wider MENA region.”
Timur Bekmambetov added: “Screenlife offers the fastest way to break into the film industry. It’s quicker and less expensive to produce than traditional films, but most importantly it captures the new reality of spending much of our lives on digital screens — a transition traditional cinema struggles to reflect. I hope the accelerator program in Abu Dhabi will popularise screenlife in the growing MENA film market and pave the way for establishing a worldwide community of screenlife filmmakers.”
The accelerator programme in Abu Dhabi is open for aspiring and experienced filmmakers who are expected to have at least a basic understanding of scriptwriting, directing, and production, as well as an interest in telling stories in a screenlife format.
Twenty finalists will undergo an intensive 12-week course divided into three phases. The first phase focuses on acquiring the essential technical tools for making a screenlife film. The second phase revolves around the development and packaging of the participants’ projects by refining their concepts and narratives, while also learning about budgeting and planning for the execution of their projects. The final phase sees participants working collaboratively on a proof of concept and a pitch.
