Tarak Ben Ammar launches competition for Tunisian filmmakers

Tunisian film producer Tarak Ben Ammar is launching a competition aimed at promoting the talent of young filmmakers in the country.

The Tunisian Mobile Film Festival is calling for budding filmmakers to shoot a one-minute movie on a mobile phone and upload it to the Internet.

Teams of up to six people under the age of 30 and residing in Tunisia are eligible to enter.

The ten best entries will be chosen by a jury and the winning teams will participate in a 3-day workshop with professionals from the Tunisian film industry, including Ben Ammar, at the Empire Studio film sets near the resort city of Hammamet.

During the workshop teams will develop, shoot and edit a 3-minute film, which in turn will be judged by a jury and the public. These films will also be made with cellphones, to be provided by the organizers.

Ben Ammar has launched the competition because he feels that “young Tunisian filmmakers are stymied by a lack of opportunity to develop their skills.”

The competition is “a way to uncover and nurture new talent, through new technologies,” he said.

The deadline for entries is April 20, with the workshop for winning teams running from Aprl 27-29. For more information click here.