(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Some 35 projects by first-, second-time and established Middle East and North Africa (Mena) filmmakers from across the world, including eight from Qatar, have been selected by the Doha Film Institute (DFI) for its Fall 2017 Grants programme.
In a statement, DFI said the programme aims to nurture the new generation of film talents. Underlining the important role of women in filmmaking, 18 of the chosen projects are by talented female directors.
'The diversity of submissions for this cycle has been exceptional, and we chose the 35 projects for their ability to engage with audiences anywhere in the world, DFI CEO Fatma al-Remaihi said.
'Through our grants programme, we are empowering talented young filmmakers, especially from our region, to help fulfil their creative aspirations, she noted.
'We are proud to be developing the next generation of Arab film talents, and we are delighted to see their numbers continue to grow every year.
To date, DFI supported more than 380 film projects from more than 63 countries including 310 from the Mena region, offering development, production and post-production resources through the Grants programme. Of these, 26 films are by Qatari filmmakers, in addition to the 23 films supported through the Qatari Film Fund.
This year's Fall Grantees include projects from Algeria, Argentina, Chile, Egypt, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Serbia, Syria, Tunisia, and the UK. The Grants programme promotes the original voices of emerging talents in film by encouraging creative interaction and establishing a filmmaking community.
The programme also supports established names from the Mena region who are recognised for their creative vision and compelling content to set new benchmarks. Two acclaimed directors Mohamed Zineddaine for The Healer (Morocco, Italy, Qatar) and Merzak Allouache for Divine Wind (Algeria, France, Qatar) are this year's Grantees. Seven projects from the Mena region, including feature narratives, feature documentaries and short narratives have been awarded development grants.
Feature narratives included Beneath the Dunes (Qatar) by Mohammed al-Ibrahim and Saffron's Land (Morocco, Qatar) by Yassine El Idrissi while Corner Boy (Palestine, UK, Qatar) by Omar El-Khairy and My English Cousin (Algeria, Switzerland, France, Qatar) by Karim Sayad made it to feature documentary.
I, Hummus (Lebanon, Canada, Qatar) by Rawane Nassif is the only film for the feature experimental or Essay while Split-Screen (Qatar) by Nadia al-Khater and Fahad al-Khater, and The Mute (Qatar) by Thamer al-Thani made it to short narrative.
DFI said 15 Mena films have been awarded production grants.
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