Six filmmakers have been chosen to take part in the second edition of the Arab Film Studio documentary programme, Image Nation has announced.
Hind Abdullah, 23, and Nour Al Harmoodi, 22, from the UAE; Arkus, 29, from India; Alawi Shareef, 24, from Comoros; Rana Mohammad, 22, from Egypt; and Mohammad Sakkijha, 27, from Jordan, will participate in the 20-week course.
Image Nation CEO Michael Garin stressed the importance of equipping young talent in the country with the “expertise to become the great filmmakers of the future”.
“We received an overwhelming number of submissions this year, and I think the overall calibre of this year’s participants is the best we’ve seen so far,” he said.
The course, created in association with twofour54 and Anasy Media Productions in 2012, consists of practical demonstrations, screenings and roundtable discussions, and aims to give participants a comprehensive idea of what it takes to create a high-quality, non-fiction film.
Three of last year’s candidates, Farah Diab, Tanya Daoud and Amena Al Nowais, went on to work with Image Nation after the programme ended. Diab and Daoud took on roles within the documentary department while Nowais embarked on an internship on a feature film project.
Bafta winner Tim Roberts, director of Image Nation’s documentary Every Last Child, is one of the educators in the programme, and says he absolutely loves being involved.
“The standard of films produced last year was very high, and we expect this year to be even higher,” Roberts said.
