Call for Participants: Nisimazine Abu Dhabi Film Journalism Workshop

Abu Dhabi, UAE - July 20, 2011 

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival and NISI MASA have announced plans to reprise Nisimazine Abu Dhabi, building on last year's successful film journalism workshop, the first such Nisimazine program in the Arab world.   

NISI MASA, a European network of young cinema professionals and enthusiasts, is currently seeking seven aspiring film critics and one photographer - all between the ages of 18 and 35 -  to participate in the workshop, to be held in conjunction with the fifth  Abu Dhabi Film Festival (October 13-22). 

Four of the chosen participants will be from Arab countries, and four will be from Europe.  Under the guidance of two experienced tutors, this international editorial team will publish the Nisimazine Abu Dhabi gazette on each of the Festival's eight days.  Written in Arabic and English, Nisimazine Abu Dhabi will include film reviews, interviews, features, and other news and photos from the Festival.  Participants will also have the opportunity to video blog about their experiences at the Festival.  An electronic version of print content will be available through Nisimazine's website (www.nisimazine.eu).  

The deadline for applicants is August 15, 2011, and participants will be chosen by August 22.  Application forms and additional information are available at www.nisimasa.com and http://www.nisimazine.eu/UpcomingWorkshops.html. 

Since launching its first free daily publication at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006, NISI MASA has organized film journalism workshops and the associated gazettes at festivals in Italy, Iran, Finland, Turkey, the Netherlands, Peru, and Brazil.  Last year's selected participants in Nisimazine Abu Dhabi included Elisabeth Renault-Geslin (France), Tina Remiz (UK), Samira Mesbahi (France), Laila Hotait (Lebanon), Nadia Muhanna (Syria), Michael O'Regan (Ireland), Fernando Vasquez (Portugal), and Nesreen El-zayat (Egypt).   

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL 

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival (formerly the Middle East International Film Festival) was established in 2007, with the aim of helping to create a vibrant film culture throughout the region.  The event, presented each October by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, is committed to curating exceptional programs to engage and educate the local community, inspire filmmakers, and nurture the growth of the regional film industry. 

With its commitment to presenting works by Arab filmmakers in competition alongside those by major talents of world cinema, the Festival offers Abu Dhabi's diverse and enthusiastic audiences a means  of engaging with their own and others' cultures through the art of cinema.  At the same time, a strong focus on the bold new voices of Arab cinema connects with Abu Dhabi's role as a burgeoning cultural capital in the region and marks the festival as a place for the world to discover and gauge the pulse of recent Arab filmmaking.   

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival Press Office is ready to assist with inquiries and to provide further information, and can be contacted by e-mail at press@adff.ae or by phone at +971 50 614 6653.  The Abu Dhabi Film Festival is online at www.abudhabifilmfestival.ae.