For More Information Contact: Thursday, October 25 25,, 2007 Amy McGee, 310-492-2333 [email protected] SUNDANCE INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES 7 PROJECTS FOR THE THIRDTHIRD ANNUAL MIDDLE EAST SCREENWRITERS LAB IN JORDAN 2007 Screenwriters Lab Led By the Royal Film CommissionCommission of Jordan to Support Filmmakers Telling Stories that Explore Contemporary Culture and Transcend Geographic Boundaries Held October 2828---- November 1 Los Angeles, CA – Sundance Institute has announced the selection of seven projects for the third annual Middle East Screenwriters Lab run by the Royal Film Commission in consultation with Sundance Institute, which will take place in Jordan from October 28 – November 1, 2007. An initiative of the Royal Film Commission of Jordan, the Middle East Screenwriters Lab is part of Sundance Institute's Feature Film Program which supports emerging film artists from around the world. Launched in 2004, the Middle East Screenwriters Lab provides an opportunity for filmmakers from the region to develop distinctive storytelling under the guidance of accomplished Creative Advisors in an environment that encourages innovation, collaboration, and risk-taking. From the streets of Amman, to a small town in Lebanon, to the mountains of Morocco, the projects selected to participate in this year’s Lab examine the human condition and how identity is impacted by an increasingly and ever-changing global community. The projects and participants selected for the 2007 Middle East Screenwriter's Lab are: • BRAHIMBRAHIM/Chadi Zeneddine (Writer/Director), Lebanon • THE BUILDINGBUILDING/ Suhad Khatib (Writer/Director), Jordan • DANCING AT THE CHECKPOINTCHECKPOINT/Ismael El Habbash (Writer/Director), Palestinian Territories • DETROIT UNLEADEDUNLEADED/Rola Nashef (Writer/Director), U.S.A./ Lebanon • A PLACE FOR ATLAS’ FEETFEET/Sali Ma Ben Moumen (Writer/Director), Morocco • SAMBA DO MAAZOOZMAAZOOZ/Hicham Ayouch (Writer/Director), Morocco • SAMMY PARADISEPARADISE/Eyad Zahra (Writer/Director),U.S.A./Syria “Film is a collaborative experience, and we are especially pleased to be working with the Royal Film Commission of Jordan on the third year of the Middle East Screenwriters Lab to help discover and support the important work being done in the region. As Sundance Institute continues its commitment to international work, we are fortunate to be supporting such a diverse and singular group of filmmaker at this year's Screenwriter's Lab,” said Ken Brecher, Executive Director, Sundance Institute. “Once again, I’m struck by the quality and the boldness of the work we are supporting in the Middle East. Each project reflects the unique vision of each of the filmmakers, and tells a timely and poignant story with humor and heart that reflects the complexity and humanity of the world we live in." "Thanks to the commitment of the Royal Film Commission the Lab is being presented with Sundance Institute in Jordan therefore providing an easier access to the screenwriters from the region. This fits within the Royal Film Commission’s objectives to give filmmakers the opportunity and support needed to find their voices and build their capacity as storytellers,” says Mohannad Al Bakri, Capacity Building Manager at the Royal Film Commission. – more – Middle East Screenwriters Lab / Page 2 "Over the past three years, our commitment to a next generation of storytellers in the Middle East has built a community of filmmakers who are beginning to get their films made," said Michelle Satter, Founding Director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program. "Everyone involved has been enriched by working together in a creative experience which has focused on the art and craft of screenwriting. We are thrilled by the increased activity in the region in support of independent voices and content." This Lab is based on Sundance Institute's Screenwriters Lab, established in 1981. Once of the core components of Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, it has been the model for screenwriting labs in Latin America, Europe, Australia, and Africa over many years. The Screenwriters Lab is a five-day workshop that gives independent screenwriters the opportunity to work intensively on their feature film scripts with the support of established writers in an environment that encourages innovation and creative risk-taking. The selected seven Fellows will work with highly accomplished Creative Advisors from all over the world in individualized story sessions. Sundance Institute Associate Director Alesia Weston returns as Creative Director of the Lab. This year’s Creative Advisors join the Lab from Morocco, Iran, Egypt, South Africa , United Kingdom and U.S.A, and include: Nabil Ayouch (MEKTOUB, ALI ZAOUA), Reza Bagher (WINGS OF GLASS, CAPRICCIOSA), Craig Bolotin (STRAIGHT TALK, BLACK RAIN), Michael Goldenberg (HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, CONTACT),Mary Harron (THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE, AMERICAN PSYCHO), Yousry Nasrallah (THE DOOR TO THE SUN, THE AQUARIUM) and Shawn Slovo (CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN, A WORLD APART). The participants and projects selected for the 2007 Screenwriters Lab are: BRAHIM/Chadi ZeZeneddineneddine (Writer/Director), Lebanon Brahim is a young boy fascinated by his grandfather's legendary stories of Arabic literature and mythology. As he grows up and becomes a filmmaker, he returns to his small hometown and tells the story of his journey through war- torn Samaria to inspire a new generation of children. Chadi Zeneddine is a Lebanese filmmaker, born in 1979 in Libreville, Gabon. He belongs to the new generation of directors who did not live through the Lebanese civil war but returned to Beirut to film his vision of the city. He received an MA in Film and Video Studies from Université St Esprit de Kaslik and a BA in Communication Arts from Lebanese American University. He worked as a Director for a series of documentaries called MEMORIES OF PLACES (14 episodes) and as a Production Coordinator for television programs including FORT BOYARD, BUS STOP and PROJECT FASHION. His short film OUT-OF-FOCUS received many awards internationally. He is currently living in France, continuing his PhD in Cinema Studies at the Sorbonne under the supervision of Michel Chion. WAITING FOR…BEIRUT is his first feature film that will be released in theaters in March 2008. BRAHIM is the first installment planned in a trilogy entitled STORYTELLERS OF CINEMA. THE BUILDINGBUILDING/ Suhad Khatib (Writer/Director), Jordan The Building is a collection of apartments in Amman where the lives of its inhabitants become intimately intertwined in the aftermath of the bombings at three local hotels. It is a riveting portrait of the people of Amman, and how their lives were changed the day the bombs exploded. Born in Oman and raised in Jordan, Suhad Khatib graduated university with a BA in Graphic Design. Working in various jobs in the media field sparked her interest in filmmaking. To date, Suhad has directed and produced three short films and two pieces of video art, winning several awards, including 3rd Place at the Amman Film Festival for her short documentary, 3 GHETTOS 1 LAND . Two of her video art films were featured at the Hanover Film Festival in Germany and presented in Canada, France, Italy and Brazil. DANCING AT THE CHECKPOINTCHECKPOINT/Ismael El Habbash (Writer/Director), Palestinian Territories On the edge of a green hill between two adjacent Palestinian towns, an Israeli checkpoint divides the road in two parts. The film is one surrealistic day at a checkpoint in the eyes of the drivers, sellers, passers-by, students, workers, husbands and wives, and the soldiers. – more – Middle East Screenwriters Lab / Page 333 Born in Gaza and currently living in Ramallah, Ismail El Habbash worked with several Palestinian human rights organizations during the mid-1990s and then became a professional photographer with Palestinian television and several other foreign news agencies. During that time, he also worked with a group of Palestinian directors in production and as an actor, before becoming a film director. Since 2000, he has directed three documentary films AMANI, THE NEW APARTMENT, and LOCAL, and two feature films KAEK ON THE SIDE WALK and SAY HI. He received four awards at the 2002 Cairo Film Festival for Children for KAEK ON THE SIDEWALK and an award for THE NEW APARTMENT from Iowa University in 2004. He is one of the founders of the Palestinian Filmmakers Collective which in 2006, produced a film collection entitled SUMMER 2006, giving 10 Palestinian filmmakers the opportunity to direct a 3-minute film. With DANCING AT THE CHECKPOINT, he has participated in a number of workshops including the Euro-Med workshop in Morocco and Cross Border workshop in Greece. DETROIT UNLEADEDUNLEADED/Rola Nashef (Writer/Director), Lebanon/U.S.A. In Arab America, the gas station is the economic heart and social center of the community, which has sparked the dominance of Arab-owned gas stations in predominantly African-American neighborhoods in Detroit. From behind the bulletproof glass of the gas station, Sami is introduced to the inner workings and hustle of the station as the film navigates not only through his detached perspective on the neighborhood around him, but also the anomalous and often humorous relationships between customer and proprietor. DETROIT UNLEADED mixes elements of neo-realism, comedy and fantasy to translate themes of culture, race, economics and love. Born in South Lebanon and raised in Michigan, Rola Nashef is a writer, director and producer in Detroit and within the Arab-American community. Nashef began her filmmaking career with 8:30 , a short narrative film, and was invited to present her film at the 2001 Arab Screen Independent Film Festival in Doha, Qatar. As a short film DETROIT UNLEADED has garnered national and international recognition, as an official selection to 15 film festivals including The Arab Film Festival in San Francisco and Los Angeles. It was awarded Best Performance by Lamar Babu at the New Haven Underground Film Festival and Best Short Film at both the Flint Film Festival and the Trinity Film Festival.