Following a successful wrap of its first cycle in April 2012, Med Film Factory – reportedly the first specialised training of its kind for Arab directors and producers in the MENA region – commenced its second cycle in Amman. Launched in 2011, this programme was initiated by the Royal Film Commission- Jordan (RFC), in partnership […]
Following a successful wrap of its first cycle in April 2012, Med Film Factory – reportedly the first specialised training of its kind for Arab directors and producers in the MENA region – commenced its second cycle in Amman.
Launched in 2011, this programme was initiated by the Royal Film Commission- Jordan (RFC), in partnership with Sud Ecriture – Tunisia and the Huston School of Film & Digital Media Ireland, and co-financed by the Euromed Audiovisual Programme of the European Union. It aims to support directors and producers and to enhance the filmmaking industry in the region.
This first session, the Directors Workshop, is an eight-day hands-on-training taking place in Amman and will conclude on July 18, 2012. During this session, 10 participating directors working on their first or second feature narrative film projects will be mentored by international tutors, directors, script editors, film experts and technicians, in order to develop their creative skills and support them in the materialisation of their projects.
Tutors and experts for this workshop include Ghassan Salhab (Lebanon), Jérôme Boivin (France), Raja Amari (Tunisia), Gary Sanctuary (UK), Diane Baratier (France) and Pauline Dairou (France).
George David, general manager of the Royal Film Commission, confirmed the importance of the training provided through Med Film Factory: Throughout its first cycle, Med Film Factory has proved to be one of the best training opportunities in the region for Arab filmmakers. Our aim is to have an excellent second round with the participation of talented directors and producers, needless to say wonderful tutors and experts.
Dora Bouchoucha of Med Film Factorys Pedagogical Committee added: Now that we have started the second round, we are already thinking about the next workshop of the programme, focused on creative producing, which is the cornerstone of this programme. In this respect, we are seriously thinking of reshuffling the format to make it more efficient and better adapted to the specific needs of the participants.
The eight projects and teams of directors and producers from the Middle East and North Africa that were selected to take part in the three interrelated training sessions of the programme are: A Few Days In Syria, by writer/director Ahmad Ameen and producer Majd Hijjawi from Jordan; The Kidnap, by writer/director Dima Hamdan and producer Vida Rizq, also from Jordan; Cold Coffee by writer/director Toufic Khreich and producer Lara Ayoub from Lebanon; 1982 by writer/director Oualid Mouaness and producer Feyrouz Serhal from Lebanon; Trees Also Die by writer/director Rabih El-Amine and producer Ihab El-Amine also from Lebanon; Situation Under Control by writer/director Hany Fawzi and co-director Essam Youssef and producer Eman Hameda from Egypt; Full Moon Night by writer/director Fares Naanaa and co-writer Nadia Khammari and producer Sarra Ben Hassen from Tunisia; and The Late Life by Writer/Director Youssef Chebbi and Producer Melik Kochbati also from Tunisia.
Rabih El-Amine, One of the participating directors in the current workshop, confirmed the importance of undergoing this specialised training: I believe this is a very useful and necessary exercise to understand what the process of filmmaking implies. Also, the on-going meetings with the tutors and experts as well as the exchange between the participants themselves will enable me to progress at all levels.
Two training sessions within the same cycle will follow this Directors Workshop: a Producers Coaching Programme in December 2012 and an Independent Film Assembly in Spring 2013.
