Abu Dhabi Film Festival’s development and post-production fund awards $500,000 per year.

SANAD, the Development and Post-Production Fund of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF), has revealed the nine projects by Arab filmmakers that have been awarded in its second cycle of 2014.

SANAD awards $500,000 per year; each post-production grant is worth up to $60,000 of funding, while development grants are up to $20,000.

Ali Al Jabri, Director of ADFF, said: “Our commitment towards supporting filmmakers from the region continues through SANAD’s funds and services that take great projects a step further towards establishing their presence in festivals around the world. We are confident that this year’s grantees are on par with international standards and they represent Arab countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia. Many films supported by SANAD have been recognised by leading international film festivals and have won prestigious awards globally.”

The post-production grants go to:

A MAID FOR EACH (Lebanon, France, Norway, UAE) directed by Maher Abi Samra [it received development funding in 2012]

QUEENS OF SYRIA (Lebanon, Jordan, UAE) directed by Yasmin Fedda [part of ADFF documentary competition] [pictured]

SOUNDS OF THE SEA (UAE) directed by Nujoom Al Ghanem [received development funding in 2013; part of ADFF documentary competition]

The development grants go to:

THALA MY LOVE (Tunisia) directed by Mehdi Hmili

YOMEDDINE (Egypt) directed by Abu Bakr Shawky

THE FLAG (Palestine) directed by Firas Khoury

JOINT POSSESSION (Morocco, France) directed by Leila Kilani

WARD NO. 3 (Egypt) directed by Aida Elkashef

FOLKTALE OF PALESTINE (Lebanon) directed by Dahna Abourahme

Grantees will have the chance to participate in the SANAD Co-production Meetings.

Al Jabri said: “We are pleased to witness increased participation this year from key industry professionals at our SANAD Co-production Meetings that open the door for MENA filmmakers to connect with international and regional professionals and broaden their horizons. We look forward to screening grant-winning films following this announcement to showcase the region’s world-class creativity.”

Topics