Lights, camera, more action

Imagine you are an aspiring filmmaker based in the Gulf, have a great idea for a movie and are looking for funding. What do you do?

"You go to a tall building - and jump." Such is the gloomy advice offered by Tim Smythe, the chief executive of the Dubai production house Filmworks, which is facilitating the upcoming filming of Mission: Impossible IV in the emirate.

While a handful of big-budget titles have been made in the region - Filmworks worked on the local filming of the Hollywood movies The Kingdom and Syriana in the UAE - Mr Smythe says it is almost impossible for independent filmmakers to obtain funding in the country. There are some film financing initiatives and grants available in the Gulf but nothing that matches the comprehensive government-run film funds in Europe, he says.

"What is needed in the region is a government-subsidised film fund that is similar to the European film funds, which are more directed towards small, independent filmmakers," says Mr Smythe. "Quite a number of films have found investment from the Gulf, such as private equity investment, but these are not film funds per se," he adds. There are sources of funding available to aspiring Gulf filmmakers, such as Imagenation Abu Dhabi, the US$1 billion (Dh3.67bn) film finance and production company, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC), which owns and publishes The National.

Imagenation has international film partnerships with established media players such as Warner Bros and National Geographic Films but it also prompts interest from independent players, says Stefan Brunner, the company's chief operating officer. "We get a lot of independent producers approach us from all over the world. We are very open to it and try to be very responsive. We try to get back to everybody," he says.

Imagenation announced in May that it would be financing and producing six Emirati film projects over the next two years. Of these, four were developed in-house but two were based on scripts submitted to Imagenation. One of these is a "coming of age" story entitled Sea Shadow, which begins filming next week. The film's Emirati director Nawaf al Janahi "was one of those very passionate, very creative filmmakers, who needed a platform", says Mr Brunner.

Another potential avenue for aspiring filmmakers is Alnoor Holdings, a Doha-based private media company that launched a $200 million international production film fund last November. Alnoor's first project will involve a $150m English-language film about the life of the Prophet Mohammed, although Raja Sharif, the director of international affairs for Alnoor Holdings, says progress on the project has been "slower than I would have hoped".

The fund will typically finance 25 per cent of a film, which means that the majority of its $200m is yet to be allocated, he says. "The … film is our own project - we are developing it ourselves. But a whole bunch of scripts have come our way … We are open to outside projects," Mr Sharif says. He says Alnoor has received "hundreds" of scripts and proposals and is in the process of setting up a team to filter these. He points out applicants should bear in mind the fund is run on Islamic principles.

"Because we are Shariah-compliant, we don't charge interest. We don't do pornographic films, we don't do horror," he says. But while Alnoor is open to approaches from filmmakers, Mr Sharif says the private venture has different priorities to government schemes. Typically, the "more cautious" private film investor would look for a return in three to five years, whereas a public-sector investment would take a longer-term view, he said.

Qatar is also home to the Doha Film Institute (DFI), which launched the Doha Film Fundin May. Amanda Palmer, the executive director of the DFI, says the monetary value of the fund has not been disclosed. "We didn't define how much money it was - we talked about what we wanted to achieve," she says. "We offer financing across any level of production. We have made it very transparent on how you choose projects."

Ms Palmer says the fund will provide assistance to a minimum of 10 films a year, and says it has received almost 200 applications since it was launched. Much of the need for financing comes in the later stages of development of a film. "It's the finishing financing people are desperate for - the post-production and prints and advertising," says Ms Palmer. This is also the focus of Enjaaz, an initiative run by the Dubai International Film Festival, which is designed to support films in the post-production phase. There are also film development funds run by the Abu Dhabi Film Festival and Abu Dhabi Film Commission (ADFC) .

Many of the grants available cover only a fraction of the cost of making a movie but their existence demonstrates a commitment to getting a particular feature made, says David Shepheard, the director of the ADFC. "There's a lot of frustration but what we've got to recognise is that there are lots of new opportunities emerging," he says. "We're quite fortunate really to have a lot of places around the Gulf region dedicated to filmmaking."

So - if you are an aspiring filmmaker based in the Gulf, have a great idea for a movie and are looking for funding, should you jump? "No," says Mr Shepheard. "Not unless we're filming it."

bflanagan@thenational.ae

Regional film financing

Imagenation Abu Dhabi
US$1 billion (Dh3.67bn)
Launched in the autumn of 2008, Imagenation is geared towards both film funding and production. Its fund will invest across all its projects, which include partnerships with established media companies.

Alnoor fund
$200 million
The Sharia-compliant film fund was launched by the Qatari media group Alnoor Holdings last November. Its first project is a film about the life of the Prophet Mohammed.

Shasha Grant
$100,000 annually
Run by the Abu Dhabi Film Commission (ADFC), the annual Shasha Grant is geared towards the development of film scripts. The winner of this year's $100,000 award will be announced at The Circle Conference during next week's Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF), which runs from October 14 to 23.

Aflam Qaseera Production
Up to Dhs100,000 per film
The ADFC's annual fund for short films shortlists 20 proposals for development and 10 films for production. ADFC also runs New Voices, which distributes grants for the production of documentary films.

Sanad

$500,000 annually
ADFF has a development and post-production fund called Sanad, which distributes finance annually in grants of up to $20,000 per project for development and $60,000 per project for post-production.

Doha Film Fund
10 films annually
The Doha Film Institute announced the scheme in May. It has not disclosed the amount of the fund but says it will contribute to at least 10 feature films a year.

Enjaaz
Up to $100,000 per film
Dubai International Film Festival runs Enjaaz, which is designed to support films in the post-production phase. It distributes grants of between $20,000 and $100,000, supporting up to 15 projects each year. The festival says it disburses "more than $575,000 in prizes [and] more than $400,000 in grants, funding and support annually".