Dubai: Dubai-based New Media Academy, the first-of-its-kind digital academy supporting a new generation of content creators in the Arab World, is launching a six-day ‘Storytelling Programme’ delivered by renowned American screenwriting guru Robert McKee.
The programme aims at developing 1,001 storytellers from the Arab region. The six-day course seeks to empower content creators to tell great stories more effectively, irrespective of the field they are in.
Enrolment is now open, with the programme starting on November 23. The program schedule also includes an additional two days dedicated to three-hour Q&A sessions with McKee.
The intensive course takes participants through the principles of story construction, while introducing them to key archetypes and universal forms. It unveils the realities of writing and teaches audiences to master the art of telling an original compelling story while respecting target audiences, and without second-guessing what the marketplace desires.
About McKee
McKee has dedicated his career to teaching major media and literature celebrities inspirational storytelling for cinema, television and other fields requiring creative writing. He has consulted with the world’s most influential corporate storytellers such as Microsoft, Nike, Siemens, Pixar, Disney, BBC, Nickelodeon and Miramax.
McKee has also trained the top tier of creative and entertainment royalty, with alumni including Russell Brand, Jon Cleese, Peter Jackson, Geoffrey Rush, Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, John Rivers, Kirk Douglas, John Cleese, William Goldman, Ed Saxon, and many others.
His course graduates have also gone on to contribute to Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, House of Cards, The Wolf of Wall Street and Frozen.
Collectively, alumni from Mckee courses have tallied 200 Oscar nominations and 60 Oscar wins between them. They have gone on to be nominated for over 1,000 Emmys, and have scooped up 50 of them. They also share 50 DGA wins from 100 nominations, and 100 WGA wins to go with 250 nominations.
‘Greatest storyteller alive’
“Every company should strive to be a content company, it is vital. The content you create should mean something, and make your audience connect with it, crave it and want more of it. One of the core elements of great content is the story being told, it is how the content becomes meaningful, memorable, effective, lasting and ultimately valuable. On the art of storytelling, there is no better human being to learn from than Robert McKee, and New Media Academy is thrilled to be able to give the Arab World the ability to learn from the greatest storyteller alive,” said Rashid Al Awadhi, CEO of New Media Academy.
The course reinforces the idea that stories lie at the heart of what marketers, social media enthusiasts, script writers, journalists and public relations professionals do.
‘Globe conquering power’
“Nothing expresses a culture’s vision and values as powerfully as its storytelling. A well-told story unearths a universal human experience, then wraps itself inside a culturally specific expression. The New Media Academy’s brilliant vision for the future of Middle Eastern narrative art has captured my imagination and enthusiasm. Whether Arab content creators work on screen, page, stage or digital platforms, in entertainment, marketing or the business world, the New Media Academy’s in-depth education will give their unique stories globe conquering power. I am very pleased and proud to add my teachings to this bold, creative venture,” said McKee.
