Recently, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel of women filmmakers in the region, on behalf of Canon. I'm usually sceptical when I meet aspiring young filmmakers with dreams of changing the world or, more importantly, executing the story they have worked out in their head for years.
Recently, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel of women filmmakers in the region, on behalf of Canon. I’m usually sceptical when I meet aspiring young filmmakers with dreams of changing the world or, more importantly, executing the story they have worked out in their head for years. Over the years, we have seen many of them fall by the wayside and take to better-paying jobs.
Not this lot, though. These are 30-something women or older who have endured that first phase of pain and have managed to sustain themselves despite the many challenges they continue to face making films.
One of them is well-known among us. I still remember Nayla Al Khaja, straight out of college with her Canadian friends, gearing up to shoot her first project in the UAE. I interviewed her then. Since then, I have seen her blossom from an aspiring young filmmaker with sparkles in her eyes, always brimming with laughter, to a more mature filmmaker who has used her skills to strike a fine balance between the projects that bring in the revenue and fulfilling her dreams. She still has the sparkle and the laughter.
The other filmmakers in the room havent achieved as much success in the commercial world but havent lost that spark either. As these women agree, it is a beautiful time to be making films in the Middle East. There is plenty of publicised support, very few fish in the pond and a lot of festivals at which to screen ones films.
On another note, as these magazines reach your desk, I will have completed seven years at CPI and, with me, BroadcastPro ME. What a fantastic journey it has been! I have loved every moment of it. In fact, I think we are just getting started, with lots of new ideas in the bag to take BroadcastPro and SatellitePro to new heights. Thank you for being with us on this journey. See you at the party!
