Abu Dhabi Film Commission reveals finalists for international screenwriting competition worth $100,000

The Abu Dhabi Film Commission has unveiled six finalists for the 2011 Shasha Grant.

The winning filmmaker or screenwriter will receive a $100,000 development grant and assistance from the Film Commission to secure production financing.

This year’s finalists are:

3000 Nights, by Mai Masri (Palestine)
The Grave Digger, by Khadar Ahmed (Somalia)
Nothing Doing in Baghdad, by Maysoon Pachachi (UAE/Iraq)
Red Valentine, by Amin Matalqa, (Jordan/US)
Asmahan, by Ziad Hamzeh, wr (Syria/US)
Blessed Benefit, by Mahmoud Al Massad [pictured] (Jordan)

Now in its fifth year, the winner of the international $100,000 screenwriting competition is chosen by industry professionals from around the world

“We continue to be immensely gratified by the range and quality of the scripts submitted for the Shasha Grant, which was established as part of our mission to support fresh voices from the Arab world,” said Abu Dhabi Film Commission Director David Shepheard. “We look forward to the next stage of the contest in which the production teams for each project will pitch their projects to a panel of industry professionals.”

Last year’s Shasha Grant was shared between Dima Hamdan (The Kidnap) and Kasem Kharsa (Shelter).

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