MAD Solutions among backers of Maghreb films in Co-pro Lab lineup.

open doors

Arab-focused promotion agency MAD Solutions will this year provide distribution and promotional support to one film of its choice in Locarno’s Open Doors section.

The strand will highlight directors from Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia with the section’s Co-production Lab pairing selected directors with other filmmakers and networking opportunities to bolster their films.

An award of $52,500 (50,000 CHF) is financed by the Open Doors initiative in collaboration with the town of Bellinzona and the Swiss production fund Visions Sud Est, also supported by the DSC, while ICAM (Investing in Culture & Art in the South Mediterranean), a new initiative funded by the European Union (Programme Med Culture), will offer, for the first time, a contribution of $21,900 (€20,000) for development or post-production.

The CNC (Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée) will offer a prize worth $10,900 (€10,000) and ARTE will finance a prize of $6,600 (€6,000).

The 12 films chosen for this year’s Open Doors Co-production Lab are:

Aller Simple, dir Nadia Raïs (Tunisia)
Dieu Reconnaîtra Les Siens, dir Hassan Legzouli (Morocco)
En Attendant les Hirondelles, dir Karim Moussaoui (Algeria/France)
Inhebek Hedi, dir Mohamed Ben Attia (Tunisia)
L’Amour des Hommes, dir Mehdi Ben Attia (Tunisia/France)
Le Fort des Fous, dir Narimane Mari (Algeria)
Le Sacrifié, dir Amin Sidi-Boumédiène (Algeria)
Pagan Magic, dir Fyzal Boulifa (Morocco/France)
Retina, dir Nejib Belkadhi (Tunisia)
Ruqya, dir Yanis Koussim (Algeria/France)
Saint Inconnu, dir Alaa Eddine Aljem (Morocco)
The Colonel’s Stray Dogs, dir Khalid Shamis (Libya/South Africa)

Some projects will receive script-writing support through a partnership with the TorinoFilmLab, and one of the selected projects may be presented at the next edition of the Torino festival.

As with the last edition, three producers from the films presented will also have the chance to participate in the Producers Network of the Marché du Film during the 2016 Cannes Festival.

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