The MENA Programme 2012-2014

An initative by: Funded by: CONTENT

THE MENA PROGRAMME 2012-2014 1

FINISHED FILMS AMAL 8 FISH KILLED TWICE 9 FREEDOM FIELDS 10 GAYE EL ZAMAN 11 HALFWAY 12 I AM A SCRIPT GIRL 13 MOTHER OF THE UNBORN 14 ROOM FOR A MAN 15 THE CITY WILL PURSUE YOU 16 Rand Beiruty, Halfway

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The City Will Pursue You (MENA2012) by Ahmed Nabil from Egyptwas among the eight fiinal projects Thechosen Cityto Wpillarticipate PursueinYnouthe (MENACIF20124012)(Cairo byIndAdhustrymedNabilForum f),romaneveEgyptnttwashattakamongespllacetheparaeightllel fiinaltothe projectCairos chosenInternationtopaalarticipate Film Festinnival.theCIFA 9020 m14in(Cairoutes scrInddeustryeningForuof thme),roughaneventcutthatwastak preseesplnlacetedpara to cinlleletomathe expertCairos InternaincludingtioneddaalitingFilmcons Festuival.ltants Aand90mproducers.inutes scrTeheeningplan ofis thtoe finishroughthecutpostwasͲprpreseoducntiontedtobycinFeberuaryma expert2015s. includingThisincludedeesdittheingfinalconseuditingltantsphasande,eproducers.thesoundTmix,heplmusicanisatondfinishcoloring.thepostͲproductionby February2015. This includeesthefinaleditingphase,e thesoundmix,musicandcoloring. A goodexamplethatneetworkingiskeytofindinngprofessionalpartnersforyourprojjectisMakingn Sex(a.k.a AFAPgoodFAPexa/mMpleENAthat2012nee)twbyorkingJoweisHkeyarfouchetofindifrnngoomprofessioLebanonn.alMostafapartnersYfoussef,oryouralsproojjectaparticipisMakiangnntSeofxMEN(a.k.Aa 2012FAPFAPcame/MonENAboard2012ass)thebyJoweproducHerarfoucheoftheprfroomojectLebanonandad.ditionally,MostafathhYoussef,eymettheialsoiracoproductparticipaionntofpartnerMENAs 2012ChristiancamePooonppboardandJeaassntheBouéproduc(DOCerDAYSoftheProdprouuctionjectands,Beradlin)ditionally,inLeipzithhgeywmethileattetheieirndingcoproducttheDionocumentarpartnerys CampusChristianLeiPoopzigppandNetwoJearnkingBouéDays.(DOTCheDAYSfilmProdwasuuctionalsonomins,Beralin)tedinforLeipzithegRobertwhileBosatteecchndingStiftungtheDFilmocumentarPrizefoyr ArabCampusͲGermaLeianpzigcoproduNetwocrtionkinginDays.2014T.he filmwasalsonominatedfortheRobertBoscchStiftungFilmPrizefor Arab ͲGermaancoproductionin2014. El Medestansi(MENA2013)byHamzaOunifroomTunisiawasselectedtorepresentTunisiaatTAKMILpart ElofMedestthe 25tahnsi edition(MENA of2 the013) CarthabyHagegmza FilmOuni FestfroomivalTunisia 2014.wThroughasselected TAKMIL,torepresen roughtcutsTunisia areatselTectedAKMIL topar beet viewedof the25tbyhaneditioninternati ofothenaljuryCarthaofgegprofe Filmssiona Festllsivalfrom 2014.the Tfhroughilmindustr TAKyMIL,.Directors roughhhavecutsaretheseoplportunityected tobetooe discussviewedandbyadefendninternatitheiornalworkjury.Prizofeprofesaressionaawarddllsedfrombythethejufryilmatindustrtheenyd.ofDirectorsthefestiihhaveval. theopportunitytoo discuss anddefendtheirwork.Prizesareawarddedbythejuryattheendofthefestiival. Amal (MENNA2014)byMohamedSiamwasawardedtheRobertBoschStiftungFilmPrizeforInternational CooperatioAmal(MENNAnbetween2014)byMoyounghamed GermSiamanandwasawAraardedb filmmaktheReorsber intBoschthe caStiftutegoryng docFilmumPrizeenƚaforry,Iwnternationaorth up tool 70,000CooperatioEurons. betweenJurystatyoungement:GerFormitsanfreshnesand Aras,bintimacyfilmmakearsnd indynami the cactegoryapproa docchsumhowingenƚary,thewpowerorth upof tooa marginaliz70,000Eureods.youngJurystawotmanementin:EgyForptianitsfreshnessocietys,todayintimacyandtahendopennesdynamiscofapproathedirechcshowingtortothethesuddenpowerturofnas historymarginalizandedprivateyounglivewosmancanintakEgye,tphtianeprizesocietygoestodaytoAmaland.theopennessofthedirectortothesuddenturns historyandprivatelivescantake,theprizegoestoAmal. BENEFITS OFTHETRAINING BENEFITS OFTHETRAINING The knowledge gained at the MENAN workshops is addedvalue for other film projects. Thiscan be seen whenThe knowlfollowedgeingthegainecarde aters theoftheMEMNANENA workshoalumnpiswho is addedsuccesvaluesfullypresefor otntherother filmfilprmosjects.atfestival Thisscanaround be seethne whenworld.follo wingthecareersoftheMENAalumniwhosuccessfullypresentotherfilmsatfestivalsaroundthe world. Take forexampleHamzaz OuniwhoreceivedtheSparkasseLeipzigMediaFoundation’sTalentDoveatDOK TakeLeipzigfor 20ex1a4:mple TheHam intezazrnationalOuniwho juureceivedry for youthnngeSparkasse cinemaatLeipzig theMe57tdhia InteFoundatirnatioonnaln’sLeipzigTalentDFestivaloveatDO foKr LeipzigDocument 20a1ry4:andTheAni inmteatedrnationalFilmchjuhuosery fortohonyouoornngHamza cinemaOuuniat(Tuthenisia/ 57tUhnitedInternatioArabnnalEmirat Leipziges)annFestivaldhisfilm foElrl GortDocumentwithathheryandSparkassAnimeatedLeipzigFilmMechehdiaoseFoundatohonoortion’sHamza“TaleOuntnuniDove”(Tunisia/in2U014.nitedTheArabMeEmiratdiaFoundaes)anntiondhisendowfilmElsl theGort“TalentwiththheDove”Sparkasswithe10,000LeipzigEuroMeesdiainstFoundaartͲuptffundingion’s“TaleforntntheDove”winner’in2s014.nextThefilmMprreoject.diaFounda tionendows the“TalentDove”with10,000EurosinstartͲupffundingforthewinner’snextfilmprroject. Or AhmedNourfromEggypt(MENA2012)whoscreenedWaveshisfeatureͲlengthdocate.g.theDubaiFilm Festival,OrAhmedthNeourSanfromSebastEggianyptFil(MmENAFest2012ivalor)whointhsecreenedDocYounWgavesCinemahisfeatCompetitionmureͲlengthofdocDOKatLeipe.g.zthige2014.Dubai Film Festival,theSanSebastianFilmFestivalorintheDocYoun gCinemaCompetitionm ofDOKLeipzig2014. ©DocumentaryCampus e.V.–Page4 ©DocumentaryCampus e.V.–Page4 � ��

� � �� Mohamed Siam , Siam Mohamed Amal

Amal Lussas Karlovy Vary Robert Vision du Réel AfriDocs Prize World Premiere Int. Film Festival Bosch Film Prize & Opening Film Göteborg Festival DOK.fest Sheffield Jury Prize Thessaloniki Docs- IDFA 2017 CPH:DOX München FidaDoc Award In-Progress Hot Docs Award

Amal is 14 years old when she ends up on Tahrir Square during the Egyptian CREDITS revolution, after the death of her boyfriend in the Port Said Stadium riot. During Director the protests, she is beaten by police and dragged across the square by her hair. Mohamed Siam This coming-of-age film follows her over the years after the revolution. As the film cuts between the unfolding current events and Amal’s rapidly changing life and ap- Production pearance, we see her searching for her own identity in a country in transition. Amal Myriam Sassine for Abbout is fiery and fearless, sinking her teeth into the protests and constantly lecturing her Productions & Mohamed Siam for ArtKhana mother, who works as a judge. A girl among men, she also has to fight for respect and the right to take part, both in the street and in the rest of her life. In Egypt, Executive Producer even for a young woman like Amal - her name means „hope“ - the choices open Talal Al-Muhanna, Bruni Burres to her for her future are limited. Coproduction Andolfi, Barentsfilm As Director‘s Biography Good Company Pictures Siam is a Member of The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences - The Oscars. His film WHOSE COUNTRY? Cinematography Mohamed Siam was shown in NYFF, Karlovy Vary, Vision du Réel and Journées Cinématographiques de Carthage where he Country won Best Cinematography. His film AMAL, 2017 IDFA Egypt and Lussas Opening film won the Sheffield Jury Prize and FidaDoc Award and went to Göteborg, CPH:Dox, MENA Year 2014 Visions du Réel, Hot Docs, and was sold worldwide. He is an alumnus of Sundance Labs, IDFA Academy, La Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde in Cannes Film Festival. Release Date He won the Robert Bosch Film Prize, the AfriDocs Prize at Durban FilmMart 2017 and Thessaloniki Docs-In-Progress award. He’s a jury member at Karlovy Vary, Göteborg Film Festivals, IDFA Bertha Fund and Hot Docs among others. Duration 83 mins © Documentary Campus e.V. – Page 8 Ahmed Fawzi Saleh, Fish Killed Twice Killed Fish Saleh, Fawzi Ahmed

Fish killed twice Postproduction Grant Award at Ismailia worth $15.000 of Int. Film Festival: production services Coproduction provided by Aroma Platform Company

The film traces the story of two enthusiastic football fans who suddenly find CREDITS themselves charged and sentenced to death for their alleged participation in murdering Al-Ahly fans during the famous massacre that took place at Port Director Said stadium. This sentence could be put into effect within a day, a month or Ahmed Fawzi Saleh a year. Apparently, their lives might seem normal; spending their time in their houses or in coffee shops with friends; yet if go a little deeper in their lives you Producers Haut les Mains Productions can realize that nothing is normal at all. Country Egypt Director‘s Biography MENA Year Ahmed Fawzi Saleh is a director and a human rights 2014 activist. Born in Alexandria, Saleh was raised in Port Said and holds a degree in History from Suez Canal Status University. He then studied screenwriting at the High In Post-Production Cinema Institute (2009). As a researcher and a scriptwriter, he took part in several documentaries. He directed an experimental short film, MOCHA, then he directed his documentary LIVING SKIN (2010) that screened in several international film festivals and received 7 awards.

Freedom Fields

World Premiere IDFA 2018 TIFF 2018

Emboldened by the Arab Spring, the Libyan women’s soccer team is dreaming of CREDITS playing their first international game. However, their sport faces huge opposition Director in Libya; so when news of a possible cap is released, media attention ends up Naziha Arebi playing in the hands of those who want to thwart their ambitions. With broad and intimate access, three players coming from different social and Production Flore Cosquer / SDI Productions political backgrounds are being followed on and off the field. Over the course of Ltd, Naziha Arebi for Huna several years we witness their repetitive attempts at getting support to be able Productions to play and, as the country descends into civil war, their fight to reinvent their lives on a daily basis when uncertainty has become a routine. With conservative Executive producer forces in society getting in the way, even in more moderate circles the women Noe Mendelle for SDI Productions must constantly fight for room to maneuver, both in public and private life. As Ltd, Sonja Henrici for SDI Productions Ltd, Leslie Finlay for they keep pursuing their dream, they experience disillusionment and seize new Creative Scotland opportunities—and almost accidentally find their calling as role models for a new generation of girls. Cinematography Naziha Arebi Director‘s biography World Sales A British-Libyan artist and filmmaker, Naziha returned Wide House to Libya during the revolution. Coming from a theatre background, Naziha works at the cross section between Country cinema and activism, producing shorts for Oxfam, UN Lybia Women, Hivos, Al Jazeera, and BBC. Her photographic MENA Year work has been published online, in print, and exhibited 2013 internationally. Release Date She regularly works as a cinematographer in the MENA region, and is currently 2018 working on two feature documentaries in Libya. Naziha is also a HotDocs Blue Ice Fund and a Sundance Lab fellow. Duration 99 mins © Documentary Campus e.V. – Page 10 Dina Hamza, Gaye Zaman El Hamza, Dina

Winner Gaye El Zaman Winner Radwan Independent Shabab Foundation Special Prize El Kashef Prize Prize Best Artistic Kazan Int. Film Luxor African Film Festival Achievement Festival 2015 2015 CREDITS CREDITS Dina, a young filmmaker, feels alone after the death of her father, Mohamed Director Hamza, a renowned poet who wrote songs for the biggest of Arab stars, the epic Director Naziha Arebi Abdel Halim Hafez. In his desk, Dina finds clippings about the young women who Dina Hamza committed suicide on the day of Halim’s death in 1977 — a story unknown to her. Production The despair and grief they must have felt echo her own feelings regarding her Producers Flore Cosquer / SDI Productions Marianne Khoury Ltd, Naziha Arebi for Huna father’s death. But why exactly did they take their own lives? Dina decides to find out more about these young women and decipher their motivations, leading her Ida Ven Bruusgaard Productions Misr International Film on a journey into her father’s past. Through these memories, she reconstructs his Executive producer life and offers a glimpse of Egypt’s history from the 1950s until the late 1970s. Cnematography Noe Mendelle for SDI Productions She comes to understand that Hamza’s lyrics and Halim’s voice served as the Ltd, Sonja Henrici for SDI Mohamed Abdel Raouf mouthpiece of this era of dreams and the ideals of the 1952 Revolution. Productions Ltd, Leslie Finlay for Creative Scotland Country Egypt, Norway Cinematography Director‘s Biography Naziha Arebi Dina debuted as a director with her short KOHL, MENA Year World Sales shown at the Avignon Film Festival. Her documentary, 2012 Wide House VISION was screened at the CPH:DOX, and her next documentary VOICES was shown at the Release Date Country 2016 Lybia Vienna Film Festival and went on to win the Saad Nadim Documentary Film Award at the Egyptian Duration MENA Year National Film Festival. 90 mins 2013 In 2010, her documentary BUT THERE‘S SOMETHING ELSE MISSING won an Release Date honorary prize at the Rotterdam Film Festival. Dina directed IN/OUT OF THE 2018 ROOM, a film about Aashmawy, a public executioner. The film was screened in Duration the Official Competition Category at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival and won the first 99 mins prize at the “Leqaa el Soura“. © Documentary Campus e.V. – Page 11 Rand Beiruty, Halfway Beiruty, Rand

Halfway Short Ismailia International Film Fest Film Week International Documentary & Dresden Regensburg Film Festival Short Film Festival 2018 2018 2018 of Kerala 2018

An abstraction of the journey Abu Haidar’s family took upon themselves when CREDITS they flew their own war-torn country to reach a safe haven. Halfway starts with Director a still picture of Aleppo. A transition of the real image into an animated picture Rand Beiruty occurs. The animation afterward recounts through facebook message the journey of a Syrian family, highlighting their state of being stuck, halfway. Country Jordan

Director‘s Biography MENA Year Rand Beiruty is a Jordanian filmmaker based between 2014 Amman and Berlin. After obtaining her MA degree in Media Arts from Bauhaus University Weimar, Release Date Beiruty pursued a practice-based Ph.D. from the 2017 Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF. She is Duration an alumna of Berlinale Talents, Beirut Talents, Film 4 mins Leader Incubator Asia, Documentary Campus and Locarno Documentary Summer School. She was nominated for the Robert Bosch co-production Film Prize in 2016 and 2018. Beiruty won the ESP Jury Prize for the International Script Pitch at Interfilm Berlin 2016 for her short animation Encountering Samir and the Tribeca Film Institute IF/Then Pitch Competition at CPH:DOX 2017 for her short documentary NUDAR.

I am a Script Girl The Cell US Embassy Hot Docs Robert Bosch Postproduction Postproduction Blue Ice Foundation Grant Grant Fund Prize

In a male-dominated industry, she was the ultimate career woman. I AM A CREDITS SCRIPT GIRL is a close-up and personal examination of the life, challenges, Director and career of the unstoppable Sylvette Baudrot. She’s a spunky 90-year-old Mina Nabil woman, who has worked for 70 years in the film industry. Producers Fig Leaf Studios Director‘s Biography Mina Nabil is a director, cinematographer and Producer Country from Egypt who holds a Bachelor degree in Cinema Egypt Production. He is one of the co-founders of Fig Leaf Studios Inc. which is also located in Alexandria. He MENA Year 2014 has ten years of experience in filmmaking and has directed several shorts films which attended many Status film festivals. His latest project was nominated for the In post-Production Robert Bosch Stiftung film Prize at Berlinale in 2016. He is active in a variety of visual and cinematographic languages including relying on the frame instead of the dialogue to reach the mysterious cinematic enigma. Mina is mentoring a one-year documentary workshop for its first time in Alexandria, called Cinedelta, which gives the students the opportunities the experience to start documentary filmmaking in a professionally. It is followed by a film festival and separate screening all over the delta region in Egypt.

Mother of the Unborn Thessaloniki Arabian Abu Dhabi Sheffield Documentary Film Days Film Festival IDFA 2014 Doc/Fest Festival Oslo 2015 2014 2015 2015

In Hanan’s opinion, “The best thing in the world is God giving you a baby and a kind CREDITS husband.” She has the kind husband, but not yet the baby. This Egyptian woman has been trying to become a mother for 12 years now. According to the doctor, Director her womb is too narrow, and she has undergone three unsuccessful operations to Nadine Salib enlarge it. Known in the village as “mother of the unborn,” Hanan is also willing to try less orthodox medical options. In fact, she has tried everything the small community Production rooted in ritual, magic and superstition has to offer. She crossed the railroad tracks Maartje Alders, Hassala Films seven times just before a train passed, an experience almost as terrifying as the time Coproduction she had to step over a huge snake. During conversations with family members and Albatrik Art Production and villagers, Hanan is funny, levelheaded and hopeful, but her sorrow and bitterness are Cinema Services revealed in personal, candid interviews. Against the backdrop of the sandy village in the south of Egypt, other villagers, including the midwife, the gravedigger and an Cinematography expectant mother, give their opinions of Hanan’s misfortune and talk about marriage, Sara Yahia new life, miscarriages and mourning. Country Director‘s Biography Egypt Born in Egypt in 1984, Nadine Salib graduated from film school in 2006. She started her career as an MENA Year assistant director in commercials and then headed to 2012 the independent field in the year 2009. In 2011, she Release Date joined filmmaking workshops where she directed her 2014 first short documentary DAWN, which won the second prize in the Baghdad International Film Festival and the first prize at the 12th Goethe Duration Independent Film Festival. MOTHER OF THE UNBORN is her first feature-length 85 mins documentary for which she was supported by the IDFA’s Bertha Fund, the Arab Documentary Film Program of the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture and Hot Docs Blue Ice. © Documentary Campus e.V. – Page 14 Room for a Man for Room Chidiac, Anthony

Room for a Man Thessaloniki Sheffield Montréal RIDM Queer Lisboa Isf-Hamburg Documentary Doc/Fest & Grand Prize Grand Prize Grand Prize Festival 2018 IDFA 2018 2017 2017 2017

The first thing Anthony Chidiac says about himself is that life scares him, and he is CREDITS paralyzed by fear. He lives with his mother, a French teacher, in Beirut, and rarely leaves the house. His home is a refuge, but in some respects also a prison. To Director Chidiac, the outside world feels like a hostile environment, for one thing because Anthony Chidiac he’s gay. This is something his own family also refuses to accept, as we learn from conversations with his mother and uncle. His mom wanted him to be a notary, so he Production would earn a lot of money and become “a real man.” But that‘s not how he sees himself. Carole Abboud,c.cam production In carefully composed shots of his immediate surroundings, reflections on moments in Coproduction his life, conversations with the Syrian builders who are renovating his house, and a trip Linked Productions with his father to Argentina, Chidiac constructs an intriguing self-portrait. Insecure as he might be about his own identity, his documentary debut is remarkably self-assured. Cinematography Anthony Chidiac

Director‘s Biography Country Born in Beirut in 1988, Anthony Chidiac holds a Lebanon BA in Audiovisual Studies. His diploma short film KFARHANEM’S INN was screened on MTV Lebanon MENA Year and on BBC Arabia. In 2013, he co-wrote (with Selim 2013 Mourad) and directed his first medium-length fiction film MAMAN, NON, MERCI, screened in various European Release Date and Arab film festivals. His first feature documentary, 2017 ROOM FOR A MAN, was one of the twelve films selected for the 2017 International Duration Feature Competition at RIDM in Montreal and was awarded the Grand Prize. 77 mins

The City will pursue you Ismailia French International Geothe Film Cairo Cinema Institute of Film Festival Week 2018 Days 2018 Alexandria 2017 2018

In Alexandria, Ossama follows stories of old buildings being demolished CREDITS and historical landmarks disappearing. He encounters different characters recounting their connections to certain places in the city that are on the verge Director of vanishing. Some are quite nostalgic and take the matter as a sign of the Ahmed Nabil city’s downfall, while others are more “practical.” Producers Rufy‘s Films

Director‘s Biography With the support of The British Council in Cairo Ahmed Nabil was born in Alexandria in 1984. He has both Egyptian and French citizenships. With an Country interest in filmmaking and drawing, he joined the Egypt faculty of fine arts and got his BFA in oil painting in 2006. He studied filmmaking under Islam El MENA Year Azzazi in the Jesuits Cultural Center of Alexandria. 2012 Ahmed produced his first documentary THE TRIP in 2009 and joined a number of workshops with acclaimed filmmakers and Release Date artists. His short documentary 17 FOUAD STREET won four prizes in Egypt 2017 and Spain. His first feature documentary THE CITY WILL PURSUE YOU premiered in the 19th Ismailia International Film Festival long documentary Duration competition in 2017. 70 mins