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Abu Dhabi Film Festival’s SANAD Fund for Arab Filmmakers Announces Application Deadlines for 2012
SANAD, the Abu Dhabi Film Festival's fund for Arab filmmakers,
announced today the application deadlines for 2012. The current
cycle of applications will close on January 26, 2012. The deadline
for the following SANAD cycle will be June 26, 2012.
Now entering its third year, SANAD supports films at two key
stages of the production process: development (with stipends of up
to USD20,000 per project) and post-production (with stipends of up
to USD60,000 per project). SANAD ("support" in Arabic) is committed
to enabling both established filmmakers and newcomers to develop or
complete their feature-length narrative or documentary projects,
while the newly launched SANAD Emirati supports short-film
projects.
In 2011, SANAD awarded development and post-production grants to
22 distinguished productions, ten of which were films by directors
making their first features. Altogether, nine narrative and
thirteen documentary films received SANAD grants. The previous
year, 27 ambitious films - 20 narratives and seven documentaries -
received SANAD funding. Eleven of these were debut features.
"The benefits of SANAD extend far beyond the filmmakers who
receive funding," said Peter Scarlet, executive director of the Abu
Dhabi Film Festival. "These films provide audiences everywhere with
the chance to explore the Arab world through high-quality cinema.
Not surprisingly, these excellent narratives and documentaries are
quickly making their mark on the international festival
circuit."
Five SANAD post-production projects were shown at the 2011 Abu
Dhabi Film Festival (October 13-22). Death for Sale
(Morocco, Belgium, France, UAE) directed by Faouzi Bensaïdi and
In My Mother's Arms (Iraq, United Kingdom, UAE) directed
by Atia and Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji both had their world
premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival in September
just prior to their Abu Dhabi screenings. Leila Kilani's On the
Edge (Morocco, France, UAE) premiered in May at the 2011
Directors' Fortnight in Cannes, screened at Italy's Taormina Film
Festival in June where it won two major awards. After its Abu Dhabi
appearance in October, it was screened at the 52nd Thessaloniki
International Film Festival in Greece, where the film's actresses
were awarded a Jury Special Mention for their impressive
performances.
El Gusto (Algeria, Ireland, France, UAE) directed by
Safinez Bousbia won ADFF's inaugural FIPRESCI prize, and Bousbia
took home the award for Best Director from the Arab World in the
Festival's documentary competition. Tahrir 2011: The Good, the
Bad and the Politician (Egypt, UAE) directed by Tamer Ezzat,
Ayten Amin and Amr Salama garnered attention at the major festivals
in Venice and Toronto this year. ADFF's documentary competition
jury awarded this riveting film the prize for Best Producer from
the Arab World.
The international film community continues to embrace SANAD as a
vital resource for Arab filmmaking, while the region's filmmakers
have tasked the fund's selection committee with the gratifying
challenge of carefully considering a remarkably large number of
high-quality prospective projects. Overall, 320 film projects from
13 countries were submitted to SANAD in the course of its two
application cycles in 2011. In 2010, 127 films from 12 countries
were submitted to the fund for consideration.
SANAD is an integral part of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival's
commitment to independent, auteur and original filmmaking in the
Arab world. Beyond its role as a film fund, SANAD is dedicated to
providing year-round support and advice to its grant recipients. An
important part of each edition of ADFF, SANADLab and its mentors
work intensively with SANAD grantees in one-on-one sessions,
guiding the filmmakers through the process of refining scripts, the
conceptual aspects of their projects and the practicalities of
getting their films ready for production.
"Part of what makes SANAD so special is its commitment to
serving as a comprehensive resource for our talented filmmakers,"
said Marie-Pierre Macia , SANAD Fund Director. "This means we're
eager to do more than just channel money to a project. Through
SANADLab, we can provide practical insight on how a filmmaker can
realize his or her artistic vision."
SANAD-funded films expected to be released in 2012 include:
- When I Saw You (Palestine, Jordan, UAE), directed by
Annemarie Jacir
- As If We Were Catching a Cobra (Syria, France, UAE),
directed by Hala Alabdalla
- In the Last Days of the City (Egypt, UK, UAE), directed
by Tamer El Said
- Mohammad Saved From the Waters (Egypt, France, Qatar,
UAE), directed by Safaa Fathy
- My Brother (Morocco, France, Qatar, UAE), directed by
Kamal El Mahouti
- Yasmina and Mohammed (Algeria, Lebanon, France),
directed by Regine Abadia
- Ibn Battuta (Algeria, Lebanon, France), directed by
Tariq Teguia
- Playground Stories (Morocco, France), directed by
Brahim Fritah
- Lebanese Rocket Society (Lebanon, France), directed by
Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige
SANAD Emarati is the new short-film initiative of SANAD and the
Emirates Film Competition (EFC) was launched on the 10th
anniversary of the EFC, which now operates under the auspices of
ADFF. This short film fund will provide serious regional filmmaking
talents from the GCC region with meaningful support for the
development and completion of their short narrative films. SANAD
Emarati will support up to five projects annually, and the grant
for each project will be determined according to its needs. The
fund's administrators seek to help filmmakers involved in selected
projects to travel to international film festivals and markets to
present their work, connect with professionals and gain exposure to
broader audiences. Selected filmmakers will also receive assistance
in publicizing their work, finding opportunities for additional
funding and submitting their projects to other festivals.
"We are immensely proud of the feature-length films that SANAD
has supported," said Eissa Saif Rashid Al Mazrouei, Director of
Special Projects at the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and
Heritage. "Building on this record of success, we are so pleased to
launch SANAD Emarati and to extend the fund's resources to the
realm of short filmmaking."
In 2010, the Festival supported the post-production of - and
also screened - four finished SANAD-funded feature films: Here
Comes the Rain, Qarantina, Sun Dress and OK,
Enough, Goodbye. After its world premiere in Abu Dhabi,
Here Comes the Rain (Lebanon, UAE), directed by Bahij
Hojeij, won the Festival's award for Best Narrative Film from the
Arab World. It went on to garner considerable acclaim and
additional awards at several Arab and European festivals. OK,
Enough, Goodbye (Lebanon, UAE), by the directing team of Rania
Attieh and Daniel Garcia, won the Festival's award for Best New
Director from the Arab World and has screened successfully at
several major European Film Festivals. Qarantina (Iraq,
Germany, UAE), directed by Oday Rasheed, premiered in Abu Dhabi in
the Festival's New Horizons Competition and screened at the
International Film Festival Rotterdam at the beginning of this
year. Sun Dress (UAE, Syria) premiered at the Festival and
was the debut feature narrative film by celebrated Emirati film
director Saeed Salmeen Al Murry, whose previous short film Bint
Mariam received critical acclaim across the Arab world.
In 2009, prior to the launch of SANAD, the Festival supported
the post-production of three feature films: Son of
Babylon, We Were Communists and Port of
Memory. After its world premiere in Abu Dhabi, Mohamed Jabarah
Al-Daradji's Son of Babylon won numerous awards at
festivals around the world and was chosen as Iraq's official entry
for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. Following
the film's international success, Al-Daradji earned
Variety's Middle East Filmmaker of the Year Award at ADFF
in October. We Were Communists (Lebanon, France, UAE),
directed by Maher Abu Samra, won the Festival's award for Best
Documentary by an Arab Director or Related to Arab Culture in 2010.
In November 2010, Kamal Aljafari's Port of Memory
(Palestine, Germany, France, UAE) and We Were Communists
screened at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York as part of
Mapping Subjectivity: Experimentation in Arab Cinema from the
1960s to Now, a special program presented as a collaboration
between ADFF, MoMA and ArteEast.
Selected projects to travel to international film festivals and
markets to present their work, connect with professionals and gain
exposure to broader audiences. Selected filmmakers will also
receive assistance in publicizing their work, finding opportunities
for additional funding and submitting their projects to other
festivals.
"We are immensely proud of the feature-length films that SANAD
has supported," said Eissa Saif Rashid Al Mazrouei, Director of
Special Projects at the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and
Heritage. "Building on this record of success, we are so pleased to
launch SANAD Emarati and to extend the fund's resources to the
realm of short filmmaking."
In 2010, the Festival supported the post-production of - and
also screened - four finished SANAD-funded feature films: Here
Comes the Rain, Qarantina, Sun Dress and OK,
Enough, Goodbye. After its world premiere in Abu Dhabi,
Here Comes the Rain (Lebanon, UAE), directed by Bahij
Hojeij, won the Festival's award for Best Narrative Film from the
Arab World. It went on to garner considerable acclaim and
additional awards at several Arab and European festivals. OK,
Enough, Goodbye (Lebanon, UAE), by the directing team of Rania
Attieh and Daniel Garcia, won the Festival's award for Best New
Director from the Arab World and has screened successfully at
several major European Film Festivals. Qarantina (Iraq,
Germany, UAE), directed by Oday Rasheed, premiered in Abu Dhabi in
the Festival's New Horizons Competition and screened at the
International Film Festival Rotterdam at the beginning of this
year. Sun Dress (UAE, Syria) premiered at the Festival and
was the debut feature narrative film by celebrated Emirati film
director Saeed Salmeen Al Murry, whose previous short film Bint
Mariam received critical acclaim across the Arab world.
In 2009, prior to the launch of SANAD, the Festival supported
the post-production of three feature films: Son of
Babylon, We Were Communists and Port of
Memory. After its world premiere in Abu Dhabi, Mohamed Jabarah
Al-Daradji's Son of Babylon won numerous awards at
festivals around the world and was chosen as Iraq's official entry
for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. Following
the film's international success, Al-Daradji earned
Variety's Middle East Filmmaker of the Year Award at ADFF
in October. We Were Communists (Lebanon, France, UAE),
directed by Maher Abu Samra, won the Festival's award for Best
Documentary by an Arab Director or Related to Arab Culture in 2010.
In November 2010, Kamal Aljafari's Port of Memory
(Palestine, Germany, France, UAE) and We Were Communists
screened at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York as part of
Mapping Subjectivity: Experimentation in Arab Cinema from the
1960s to Now, a special program presented as a collaboration
between ADFF, MoMA and ArteEast.
Contact thePress Team