Abu Dhabi awards nearly Dh2m in film grants

Nearly 30 Arab filmmakers will be given an injection of funds to help finish daring, experimental cinematic projects, the Abu Dhabi Film Festival announced yesterday.

Its new Sanad fund for Arab filmmakers announced the first round of grant recipients yesterday, giving away a total of $500,000 (Dh1.83 million) to 28 feature-length narrative and documentary films by both new and established filmmakers from all over the Arab world.

Established in April 2010, the new fund provides talented filmmakers from around the region with meaningful support from within the region towards the development or completion of their feature-length narrative and documentary films.

And during the selection process, the Sanad team discovered a fascinating new trend in Arab film: a large number of filmmakers from all over the region are developing experimental, daring films. Describing 2010 as the 'Year of the Independents’, the team noted that there was a marked trend towards artistic innovation and radical departures from the conventional in style, language and approach.

“We are privileged to be the first-hand witnesses of such an exciting trend and we want to transmit this passion to audiences in Abu Dhabi and beyond.

Artistic films can be difficult, but the courage of the directors, screenwriters, editors and actors to step away from formulas is one of the most reassuring signs of the vitality and potential of Arab filmmaking,” said Marie-Pierre Macia, head of Sanad.

Interestingly, young directors are not the only ones taking thematic and stylistic risks; seasoned directors are also straying from the beaten path. Broken narrative structures, off-kilter characters and unconventional image composition are used to pose serious questions about the status quo.

Even though political engagement remains mostly abstract and indirect, these films are bound to surprise.

Peter Scarlet, executive director of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, said: “I am not sure there has been a comparable trend towards artistic independence here since the late 1960s.

These filmmakers are breaking the mold and developing a new cinematic vocabulary that is unique to the Arab region. It is our mission to provide these inspired artistic experiments with the support they need.”

“We are committed to fostering a vibrant regional film culture and the high number of applications for Sanad shows that independent films are an important and growing part of it. These daring films reflect Abu Dhabi’s spirit of openness and innovation and we are proud to help Arab filmmakers explore new directions,” commented Eissa Saif Al Mazrouei, the Festival’s project director.

As the first film fund in the region to be connected to a festival, Sanad benefits recipients not only through generous funding, but also from the international exposure of festival screenings as well as year-round publicity and support. Every October, the Festival is committed to showing many of the Sanad-funded films.

There are two open calls for applications each year. The second cycle of Sanad grants will be announced in February 2011.

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival (formerly the Middle East International Film Festival) was established in 2007, with the aim of helping to create a vibrant film culture throughout the region.

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