The third Arab Film Studio Young Filmmakers programme was launched earlier this month by Image Nation Abu Dhabi, which teaches high school students how to produce and direct their own short films
The programme, which is in collaboration with New York University (NYU) Abu Dhabi, saw 11 Emirati high-school students, between the ages of 14 and 16, participate in a three-week workshop that teaches filmmaking with the help of the region’s noted industry professionals.
Sixteen-year-old Rashid Kabbani from Dubai, who is one of the participants in this year’s programme and has completed an internship earlier this year on one of Image Nation’s upcoming projects, Rashid & Rajab, spoke about his experience, saying: “I hope to be a director one day and I strongly believe this workshop will open the door to the filmmaking industry and I look forward to learning as much as I possibly can about it.”
By the end of the programme, the students will produce and direct their own one-minute film to be screened at a special Arab Film Studio ceremony planned for the end of the year.
NYU Abu Dhabi Programme Head of Film and New Media, Scandar Copti, is leading the three-week course that will run until July 20 at the NYU Abu Dhabi campus. The Palestinian filmmaker’s full-length feature film, Ajami, (co-directed by Yaron Shani) won the Camera d’Or Special Mention and was nominated for the 82nd Academy Awards.
The Young Filmmakers programme is one of four courses under the Arab Film Studio umbrella, which also includes narrative, documentary, and scriptwriting in partnership with Dubai Film Market.
