Arab Film Studio submissions open for another year

Submissions have opened for the next two programmes of Arab Film Studio, the documentary and script writing strands of the long-running free training programme based out of Abu Dhabi.

The winner of the documentary programme receives an internship with Image Nation's documentary department, previously responsible for internationally acclaimed docs including He Named Me Malala and Anwar Roma (Lights of Rome).

Documentaries from previous students, meanwhile, have covered topics from Down Syndrome to female genital mutilation and been screened at over 100 international festivals.

AFS Scriptwriting - the newest branch of AFS - returns in association with Dubai Film Market, the industry arm of the Dubai International Film Festival.

Under the programme students learn how to perfect scripts for the big screen under the guidance of industry figureheads. The five-month course provides mentoring from some of the industry’s finest instructors, including a three-week intensive workshop covering all disciplines of scriptwriting and is followed by a three-month assignment to write a short film screenplay that is pitched to industry experts at the Dubai Film Market.

The winning screenplay will be produced into a short film by Image Nation Abu Dhabi with a budget of up to AED100,000.

Michael Garin, CEO of Image Nation Abu Dhabi, said: “Arab Film Studio continues to grow year-on-year and the competition is the most popular it has ever been. As well as teaching the fundamentals of filmmaking, it provides world class training and international internships, which ultimately contributes talent to the regional industry.”

Courses are open to all UAE residents. For full submission details visit www.imagenationabudhabi.com.

cnewbould@thenational.ae