DFI picks 34 projects for Spring 2018 Grants cycle

DOHA: Thirty-four projects by first and second-time filmmakers from across the world, including four from Qatar have been selected by the Doha Film Institute (DFI) for its Spring 2018 Grants cycle.

Underlining the important role of women in filmmaking, 14 of the chosen projects are helmed by talented female directors.

Additionally, the Institute has announced the expansion of its Grants programme, to cover TV and web series by scriptwriters, producers and directors from the Middle East and North Africa region.

The announcement, which reflects the Institute’s commitment to support the development of emerging forms of entertainment and innovative content, was made on the sidelines of Cannes Film Festival 2018 by Fatma Al Remaihi, CEO of DFI. She also announced the recipients of the 2018 Spring Grants cycle covering feature, documentary and short film projects by emerging talents from across the world.

“The recipients of the 2018 Spring Grants cycle bring to the table a diversity of original stories that reflect modern-day realities as well as innovative narrative threads. Our grantees represent the core of DFI’s mandate to support emerging filmmakers and contribute to a culture of storytelling.

“The new grantees represent some powerful new and established voices in cinema from the Arab region and beyond, highlighting the remarkable leaps in creativity by our emerging filmmakers, and their innovative and bold approach to presenting our stories,” said Al Remaihi.

She said this cycle has been exceptional with over 380 submissions received from which the 34 grantees were chosen.

She added, “We are marking a new chapter in our support with the expansion of our Grants programme to include TV and web series – both of which have gained traction in the region.

“This underlines our continued commitment to support Arab talents and the evolving forms of creativity and new possibilities, allowing them to tell their stories to the world. We hope this will further drive the creation of original and compelling content from our region”.

The TV fiction and creative documentary series development grant aims to assist independent screenwriters/producers from the MENA region in developing original serialised content intended for international audiovisual markets, while the web fiction and creative documentary series grant will support independent MENA directors/producers in financing the production of original serialised content for the web.

Among the 34 projects selected for the Doha Film Institute’s Spring Grants cycle are 14 projects helmed by women filmmakers and 10 returning grantees. While four projects are by Qatari talents, there are 24 films by Arab directors from the MENA region.

Six projects are chosen from outside the MENA region with five countries supported for the first time. In addition to two films from Afghanistan, this cycle includes films from Brazil, Bulgaria, China and Montenegro.

Awarded film Long Day’s Journey into Night (China, France, Taiwan, Qatar) by Gan Bi is premiering in Un Certain Regard at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, underlining the quality of films supported by DFI.

اختارت مؤسسة الدوحة للأفلام 34 مشروع فيلم من مختلف أرجاء العالم، من ضمنها 4 أفلام من قطر، للحصول على منح دورة الربيع لعام 2018. وتستهدف هذه المنح صناع الأفلام الواعدين الذين يخوضون تجاربهم الإخراجية الأولى أو الثانية بهدف تعزيز الجيل القادم من المواهب الإبداعية. وتأكيداً على أهمية دور المرأة في عالم صناعة الأفلام، تم اختيار 14 مشروع فيلم لمخرجات نساء.

وأعلنت المؤسسة عن توسيع برنامج المنح ليغطي المسلسلات التلفزيونية ومسلسلات الويب (المسلسلات التي تبث على الإنترنت فقط)، والتي يعمل عليها كتاب سيناريو ومنتجون ومخرجون من منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال افريقيا.

جاء الإعلان من قبل فاطمة الرميحي الرئيس التنفيذي للمؤسسة على هامش مشاركة المؤسسة بمهرجان كان السينمائي 2018 ليعكس التزام المؤسسة بدعم وتطوير الأنماط الناشئة في عالم الترفيه والمحتوى المبتكر. وقد كشفت الرميحي أيضاً عن الحاصلين على منح دورة الربيع لعام 2018 التي تغطي الأفلام الروائية والوثائقية الطويلة وكذلك الأفلام القصيرة التي تقدمها المواهب الواعدة من مختلف أرجاء العالم.

وقالت الرميحي “يعمل الحاصلون على منح دورة الربيع 2018 على مجموعة متنوعة من القصص الأصلية التي تعكس واقع الحال في وقتنا الحاضر وبأساليب سردية مبتكرة. ويعتبر تقديم المنح للمخرجين الواعدين جزءاً رئيسياً من رسالة ومهمة المؤسسة لدعم الأصوات الواعدة والمساهمة في الارتقاء بثقافة السرد القصصي.