ID :
203475
Thu, 08/25/2011 - 12:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/203475
The shortlink copeid
Abu Dhabi Film Festival announces second round of Sanad grant recipients for 2011
Abu Dhabi, Aug 25, 2011 (WAM) - The Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF) announced yesterday the latest group of projects to receive financial support from Sanad, the Festival's fund for filmmakers from the Arab world. Each year, Sanad awards a total of $500,000 in development and post-production grants to feature-length narrative and documentary projects.
Twelve new projects were chosen for the second cycle of Sanad, bringing the total to 23 projects for this year. The next deadline for submissions is February, 2012 and winners will be announced in April.
Launched in 2010, Sanad supports films at two key stages of the production process: development and post-production. Sanad (which means "support" or "help" in Arabic) is committed to benefitting established filmmakers as well as newcomers.
Several films produced with the help of Sanad have gone on to critical acclaim at international festivals. Leila Kilani's On the Plank (Morocco) was selected for the 2011 Directors' Fortnight in Cannes. Death for Sale by Faouzi Bensa di (Morocco) and In My Mother's Arms by Atia and Mohamed Al-Daradji (Iraq) are both set to celebrate premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival next month. Both films have also been selected for ADFF's upcoming fifth edition (October 13-22, 2011).
This year's second cycle is also off to a good start: the Egyptian documentary Tahrir 2011: The Good, The Bad '&' The Politician, by Amr Salama, Ayten Amin and Tamer Ezzat, was included in the official selection of the Venice Film Festival just weeks after its completion. "Through Sanad, we have the opportunity to support an exciting range of talents and there are few things that make us happier than seeing a project go on to international success, as has already been the case several times since the fund's launch," said Peter Scarlet, ADFF's Executive Director.
"We've seen an interesting continuation and development of the trend that we noticed in the first rounds of Sanad: Experimentation, daring artistic choices and bold subjects stand out among this crop of projects. We're particularly thrilled that a number of films that reflect the vitality of Arab cinema right now will be included in this year's Festival lineup, which we will announce next month." he added.
"We launched Sanad in response to the lack of funding opportunities from within the Arab world for films from the region. Europe, Asia and the Americas have many film funding sources and we wanted to help create a regional alternative. Sanad is now an important source of support for Arab filmmakers, providing a strong platform to present, promote and share their work with the international film community," said Eissa Saif Rashed Al Mazrouei, Director of Special Projects for ADACH.
"The twelve selected projects come from all over the region including, for the first time, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Selecting them was as tough as it was exciting because of the high quality of the submitted projects, which hailed from all over the Arab world. The selection process confirmed the vitality and creativity of Arab cinema as it pushes for artistic independence and begins to reflect the Arab Spring," commented Marie-Pierre Macia, Director of Sanad.
"We are also proud to have a large number of women filmmakers among the winning projects and are happy to be able to provide support to new films by acclaimed directors such as Hala Alabdalla, Joana Hadjithomas '&' Khalil Joreige, Annemarie Jacir, Jocelyne Saab, Samir and Abderrhamane Sissako." The complete program of the fifth edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (October 11-23, 2011) will be announced on September 21. - Emirates News Agency, WAM
Twelve new projects were chosen for the second cycle of Sanad, bringing the total to 23 projects for this year. The next deadline for submissions is February, 2012 and winners will be announced in April.
Launched in 2010, Sanad supports films at two key stages of the production process: development and post-production. Sanad (which means "support" or "help" in Arabic) is committed to benefitting established filmmakers as well as newcomers.
Several films produced with the help of Sanad have gone on to critical acclaim at international festivals. Leila Kilani's On the Plank (Morocco) was selected for the 2011 Directors' Fortnight in Cannes. Death for Sale by Faouzi Bensa di (Morocco) and In My Mother's Arms by Atia and Mohamed Al-Daradji (Iraq) are both set to celebrate premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival next month. Both films have also been selected for ADFF's upcoming fifth edition (October 13-22, 2011).
This year's second cycle is also off to a good start: the Egyptian documentary Tahrir 2011: The Good, The Bad '&' The Politician, by Amr Salama, Ayten Amin and Tamer Ezzat, was included in the official selection of the Venice Film Festival just weeks after its completion. "Through Sanad, we have the opportunity to support an exciting range of talents and there are few things that make us happier than seeing a project go on to international success, as has already been the case several times since the fund's launch," said Peter Scarlet, ADFF's Executive Director.
"We've seen an interesting continuation and development of the trend that we noticed in the first rounds of Sanad: Experimentation, daring artistic choices and bold subjects stand out among this crop of projects. We're particularly thrilled that a number of films that reflect the vitality of Arab cinema right now will be included in this year's Festival lineup, which we will announce next month." he added.
"We launched Sanad in response to the lack of funding opportunities from within the Arab world for films from the region. Europe, Asia and the Americas have many film funding sources and we wanted to help create a regional alternative. Sanad is now an important source of support for Arab filmmakers, providing a strong platform to present, promote and share their work with the international film community," said Eissa Saif Rashed Al Mazrouei, Director of Special Projects for ADACH.
"The twelve selected projects come from all over the region including, for the first time, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Selecting them was as tough as it was exciting because of the high quality of the submitted projects, which hailed from all over the Arab world. The selection process confirmed the vitality and creativity of Arab cinema as it pushes for artistic independence and begins to reflect the Arab Spring," commented Marie-Pierre Macia, Director of Sanad.
"We are also proud to have a large number of women filmmakers among the winning projects and are happy to be able to provide support to new films by acclaimed directors such as Hala Alabdalla, Joana Hadjithomas '&' Khalil Joreige, Annemarie Jacir, Jocelyne Saab, Samir and Abderrhamane Sissako." The complete program of the fifth edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (October 11-23, 2011) will be announced on September 21. - Emirates News Agency, WAM
