DOCmed Local – Tunis 2012 : Appel à candidatures
Date limite d’inscription : 17 février 2012
http://www.docmed.me/fr

DOCmed est un programme de formation destiné aux professionnels Arabes du domaine du documentaire ayant un projet précis apte pour une co-production internationale. Ce programme est une initiative de Beirut DC (Liban), Eurodoc (France), Doc à Tunis (Tunisie) et en association avec Arte France

SKIP CITY INTERNATIONAL D-Cinema FESTIVAL 2012 (Japan)

The festival is now calling for entries for the Feature Length Competition until March 1st, 2012.

PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY

- Running time must be 70 minutes or longer.
- Director’s 1st, 2nd or 3rd feature length film.
- Production completed after January 1st 2011.
- The films shot, edited, and shown digitally.
- Entries submitted once before are not eligible.

 

AWARDS: Approx. total $53,000 USD (tentative, based on previous years)

 

For more details, please check out the festival website; http://www.skipcity-dcf.jp/en/

MIPDoc International Pitch

MIPDoc International Pitch launches a call for application for all creators and producers looking for financing partners to develop their documentary projects.

Application deadline: 21 February 2012

MIPDoc International Pitch call for application

Six of the best applications received will be pitched live in front of an international panel of commissioning editors and broadcasters. The live pitch session will be gathering an international audience of producers, distributors and journalists from around the world.

Deadline Extended for Arab Filmmakers to Apply for ADFF's SANAD Grants

SANAD, the Abu Dhabi Film Festival’s fund for Arab filmmakers, is issuing a final call for submissions for its current application cycle. The deadline, which was formerly January 26, has been extended to February 5, 2012. The deadline for the following SANAD cycle will be June 26, 2012.

Who got funds ?

SANAD is the Development and Post-Production Fund of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF). SANAD provides talented filmmakers from the Arab world with meaningful support from within the region towards the development or completion of their narrative and documentary feature-length films.

"After the Last Goal"
by Mahdi Fleifel
Lebanon/United Kingdom

"Lebanese Rocket Society" 
The Strange Tale of the Lebanese Space Race
by Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige
Lebanon/France

http://www.abudhabifilmfestival.ae/en/sanad/about-sanad

Films in developement

"Woman in Mediterranean Sea" (working title)
by Jocelyne Saab 
Lebanon/France

"After the Last Goal"
by Mahdi Fleifel
Lebanon/United Kingdom

Lebanese Films selected at the IFFR (Roterdam)

"E.D.L."
Siska, 2012, Lebanon, 21 min.
A video portrait of Lebanon’s national electricity building as an homage to a modernist project, linked to the very construction of Lebanon’s modern state. 

The video portrays Lebanon’s national electricity building, shot on Super-8 and accompanied by droning noises reminiscent of experimental electronic sounds of the 1950s and 1960s. It presents an homage to a modernist project linked to the very construction of Lebanon’s modern state.

http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/professionals/films/e-d-l/

"Bombes"
Sandra Ghosn, 2011, France, Lebanon, 5 min.
Why do we want to be seen on Facebook? And how? To find out, the artist decided to emulate the profile pictures of a number of Facebook members. 

The artist imitates a succession of profile pictures of Facebook users in a reflection on the social networking site as a breeding ground for narcissism. With its audio track evolving from bomb sounds to entertaining J-pop, the piece evokes an evolution from harsh reality to denial.

http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/professionals/films/bombes/

Post-production Support for Fiction Features and Documentaries

Enjaaz is a post-production support programme. The fund awards up to USD100,000 per film, to help filmmakers working on fiction features and documentaries.

Submission deadlines : February 1, 2012 and August 1, 2012

To apply and view rules and regulations, visit www.dubaifilmfest.com

EAVE Film Finance Forum 2012 - Call for Applications

Deadline for applications: March 2, 2012

EAVE Film Finance Forum 2012 takes place during April 19-22 in Luxembourg. It is an intensive four day workshop for European and international professionals on European film finance.

The EAVE Film Finance Forum provides an exploration and update of the latest financial developments and funding sources in Europe. It includes sessions on public and private finance, co-production, tax incentives, the sales and distribution market, banking services and new industry trends. Since most films produced in Europe are made with low to medium budgets, the Finance Forum will focus on its participants' real financial situation and provide them with solutions adapted to their needs and projects.

Aid for films from the South: the recovery ?

On the occasion of the International Film Festival Rotterdam Festival, the Hubert Bals Fund is preparing to bring together the reprentatives of the South’s different film funds based in Europe. This meeting aims to harmonise the procedures and to facilitate access to information for beneficiaries.  It is taking place in a context of a spectacular fall in amounts allocated. 2011 has in fact been a year of financial scarcity in the course of which the sum total granted by the seven main participating funds has fallen by almost a third compared to the previous year. 


here the link to Euromed

Academy's Foreign-Language Oscar Shortlist Stirs Up Controversy Yet Again

In what has become something of an annual tradition, this year's best foreign language film Oscar shortlist -- which was announced earlier this morning by the Academy -- is prompting outrage in some circles, and I can understand why.


article from the Hollywood Reporter to read here

UNESCO Office in Beirut and BBC Arabic - Call for applications for TV producers and film makers

UNESCO Office in Beirut and BBC Arabic are calling for applications from young TV producers and film makers in the media realm to participate in a training workshop in short documentaries making.

This training aims at giving media youth the ability to learn new techniques on how to produce quality and independent programmes.

When: 27th of February till 3rd of March, 2012

Where: Beirut Lebanon

Submission deadline: 25 January 2012

more information here

Eye on Films network

Eye on Films is a global network of film professionals, which guarantees the circulation of a selection of first feature films in festivals partners in Europe and third countries, and the commercial exploitation of these films by distribution partners in Europe and third countries.

Developed by Wide with the support of the MEDIA Mundus program, and bringing together more than 70 international partners (including 40 festivals and 30 distributors) Eye on Films (EoF) aims to implement a selection of a dozen of recent films per year, 1st or 2nd feature films (fiction, animation, long-length documentaries), never screened nor released outside their country of origin. Selected by the members of the EoF network, the films will have the opportunity to get screened in the festival partners and to be released via the distributors of the network.

more information here

Strategic Partnership: National Round Table Workshop in Beirut, January 20, 2012

Film and audiovisual in Lebanon: from funding to production and exhibition, the implications of a local and regional dynamic

On 20 January 2012, a meeting will be held in Beirut with Lebanese authorities and professionals of the film and audiovisual sector, as part of national consultation round tables planned by the Euromed Audiovisual Programme III of the European Union in the countries of the southern Mediterranean.

more information here

Crossroads Deadline Extended

The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture announced today the extension of Crossroads deadline through the launching of a second cycle for projects’ submissions that will close on April 12, 2012. The aim of this second cycle is to accommodate more film projects and accompany the changing reality in the Arab world.

Championing Independent Documentary

A new long-term partnership between Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation and PUMA.Creative. They’ve created a series of awards providing financial support, creative counsel and industry recognition to international documentary filmmakers, whose creative storytelling highlights social justice, peace or environmental issues.

Link here

Bertha BRITDOC for Journalism

The new Bertha BRITDOC Fund for Journalism is an international film fund dedicated to supporting long form feature documentaries of a journalistic nature.

They are looking for films that break the important stories of our time, expose injustice, bring attention to unreported issues and cameras into regions previously unseen.

This new fund recognises such films are often delicate and protracted, making them difficult to fund. With a mission to enable in-depth analysis of issues through long-form investigative filmmaking, they are particularly looking to work with filmmakers with a journalistic background or those who are collaborating with journalists.

It is key that the journalistic intent is embedded within the film itself rather than the film simply being about a journalist or journalistic institution.

http://britdoc.org/real_funds/documentary_journalism_fund

Jan Vrijman Fund Deadline January 15th

Filmmakers of the world - You have little time left to complete your application forms for this round of Jan Vrijman Funding: Deadline January 15th

The Jan Vrijman Fund is looking for creative documentaries and documentary events in developing countries. The JVF provides grants to independent documentary makers from developing countries. In addition to individual film projects, the Fund also supports projects that promote local documentary production and distribution in general, such as workshops, documentary film festivals and educational programs.

Good Films

Goodfilm.org has curated over 150 fantastic films, at all stages of production from development to completion. The filmmaking teams want to hear from you about potential partnerships and collaborations. Just click on an image to find out more about the film, watch a trailer and get in touch with the director.

http://goodfilm.org/film

The Good Pitch Workshop

The Good Pitch brings together filmmakers with foundations, NGOs, campaigners, philanthropists, policy makers, brands and media around leading social issues – to forge coalitions and campaigns that are good for all these partners, good for the films and good for society.


http://goodfilm.org/goodpitch

Funding for "Energy Security" documentary available

A coalition of leading European NGOs is looking to produce a campaigning documentary film. The available funding is EUR 25.000.

The coalition, which campaigns on the subject of energy security, poverty reduction and attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, wants to realise on e project that will be used to aid their advocacy and inform the general public about the other faces of the debate over “energy security”.

more information here

Bertha BRITDOC

The Bertha BRITDOC Connect Fund is the first European-based outreach and engagement fund, and is open to filmmakers from around the world.

Films have inspired people to engage and to act. They have led to changes in law, policy and practice. They have led viewers to question the status quo and to care more about their communities and the world around them. They have affected the way people give and/or invest money.

But for a film to achieve all this, it needs a structured outreach and audience engagement plan, and the capacity to implement it.

The next round closes at 6pm UK time on January 31st 2012. There will be no deadline extensions.

more information here

TFI New Media Fund

TFI New Media Fund

The TFI New Media Fund provides funding and support to non-fiction, social issue media projects which go beyond traditional screens—integrating film with content across media platforms, from video games and mobile apps to social networks and interactive websites.

The deadline is March 6th, 2012. 

The Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund

Filmmakers, you can apply now to the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund 

What Do They Fund?

The Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund provides finishing funds to feature-length doc which highlight issues of social importance from around the world. Funded films are driven by thoughtful and in-depth storytelling, bolstered by a compelling visual approach. 

The deadline is March 6th, 2012

The 2011 grantees were:

An American Promise (Director, Michele Stephenson & Joe Brewster)
Caught in the Net (Directors, Shosh Shlam & Hilla Medalia)
Democrats (Director, Camilla Nielsson, Producer, Henrik Veileborg)
The Great Invisible (Producer/Director Margaret Brown, Producer, Jason Orans)
Untitled Global Health Documentary (Director, Kief Davidson)
Charge (Director, Mike Plunkett) 

Films in pre production

Un Concert
by Nadim Tabet
Feature Film
Lebanon/France
Producer: Nadim Tabet

Films in developement

Beirut Solo
by Sabah Haider
Feature film
Lebanon/France/Canada
Producer: Pierre Sarraf

The Eagle and the Butterfly
by Philippe Aractingi
Feature Film
Lebanon/France/UK
Producer: Philippe Aractingi, Elzevir Films

Menage
by Mazen Khaled
Feature Film
Lebanon
Producer: Paul Lee, Fadi GANNI

Machos
by Rami Kodeih
Feature Film
Lebanon/UAE
Producer: Lara Fadel

Imagenation’s VP of development leaves company

An article by Variety Arabia

Imagenation’s vice president of development Daniela Tully is leaving the company after three years in the company.
Daniela Tully joined Imagenation in June 2009 and has since produced two feature films, Nawaf al-Janahi’s “Sea Shadow”, which is hitting the US with its international premier at Palm Springs International Film Festival, and Tobe Hooper’s horror thriller “Djinn”.

HOT DOCS 2012 FILM SUBMISSIONS

HOT DOCS 2012 FILM SUBMISSIONS AND HOT DOCS FORUM PROJECT SUBMISSIONS DEADLINES THIS WEEK!


The final deadline to submit your film to Hot Docs’ 2012 Festival is this Friday, January 13. Also, the deadline to submit your project to the Hot Docs Forum is today, Wednesday, January 11, at 11:59 pm EST! 
more information here

Screen Institute Beirut deadline extended

SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED

Screen Institute Beirut announces the extension of the deadline for submitting proposals for the DOCUMENTARY FILM FUND until February 1, 2012.

Next application deadlines:

February 1, 2012 Application submission deadline

February 15, 2012 Short list announcement

February 21 & 22, 2012 Meetings with shortlisted teams

February 29, 2012 Grant announcements

For more details about how to submit your applications

www.screeninstitutebeirut.org

Sundance Spotlight

Where Do We Go Now ?
A striking follow-up to her 2007 international hit, Caramel, Nadine Labaki’s musical comedy Where Do We Go Now? offers a wildly creative take on the intractable religious conflict in Lebanon.

Read the article on the Sundance Film Guide

Diffusion de Beyrouth Hôtel, de Danielle Arbid

Beyrouth hôtel de Danielle Arbid sur ARTE F
Vendredi, 20 Janvier 2012 à 20:35

Rediffusions : 
26.01.2012 à 00:15
30.01.2012 à 02:55

Vers le site de Arte

Nadine Labaki, Celebrity Of The Year

Nadine Labaki... The Celebrity Of The Year on Yahoo... She has surpassed Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga & other

Article on Bikhsous Hal Shi to read here

Who got funds ?

DIFF Debut Feature Award from the Film Clinic of US$10,000
Back to the Jungle (Lebanon/France)
Director: Wissam Charaf
Producer: Charlotte Vincent

DIFF Awards of US$25,000
The Eye of the Devil (Lebanon/France)
Director: Katia Jarjoura
Producer: Jerome Bleitrach

Winner of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie Prize of €5,000
Beirut Hold ‘Em (Lebanon)
Director: Michel Kammoun
Producer: Georges Schoucair

Screenwriters competition

Emerging Screenwriters Competition

Website to visit for the 2012 application

Films in Distribution

TAXI BALLAD 
by Daniel Joseph
Feature Film
Lebanon, UAE 2011
Arabic, English dialogue with English subtitles / HDCam / 96 mins
Producer: Walid Fakherddine

Cast:
Karina Logue, Talal El-Jordi

Synopsis
Youssef moves to Beirut in the hope of becoming the best taxi driver in the city, but is quickly disillusioned. While driving through the streets at night, he meets a bored American pilates instructor named Jordan, who is equally bored with her life and career. They form an unlikely bond, as he shares with her nostalgic stories from times past.

Films in Distribution

BEIRUT HOTEL 
by Danielle Arbid
Feature Film
France, Lebanon 2011
Arabic, French dialogue with English subtitles / 35 mm / 96 mins
Producer: David Thion, Gilles Sandoz, Sabine Sidawi

Cast:
Charles Berling, Darine Hamze, Fadi Abi Samra

Synopsis
Zoha and Mathieu meet one evening in Beirut. Zoha is a young Lebanese singer, trying to escape her dominating husband. Mathieu is an attorney for a French telecom company operating in Syria, who unbeknownst to him, is under surveillance and will subsequently be accused of spying. Their love story lasts 10 days, fuelled by their fears and desires, by intrigue and violence. “Beirut Hotel” is a romance constantly on edge, similar to the country in which the story is set, vacillating between war and peace, where the only certainty is the uncertain.

Films in distribution

YAMO 
by Rami Nihawi
Documentary
Lebanon, UAE 2011
Arabic dialogue with English subtitles / DCP / 70 min
Producer: Monika Borgmann, Rami Nihawi

Synopsis
In “Yamo”, the protagonist lives with his mother Nawal, sister Rima and brother Rayan, in a house that resembles the country they live in, Lebanon. They communicate through silences, unspoken words, furious clashes and repeated negotiations. Nawal is aloof and rarely talks about her past, although it is apparent there is a lot to say. Through dreams and memories, Nawal’s past is reconstructed. A past in her native village Béjjé, where her father denounced her after she married a Muslim. Nawal reveals her past, a childhood as a Christian, a youth as a Communist, the wife of Mustapha, who abandoned his family. This is Nawal's journey…


NICE TO MEET YOU 
by Rodrigue Sleiman, Tarek El Bacha
Documentary
Lebanon 2011
Arabic dialogue with English subtitles / DigiBeta / 65 mins
Producer: Tarek El Bacha

Films in distribution

MARCEDES 
Winner of FIPRESCI /FIPRESCI Arab Documentary
By Hady Zaccak
Lebanon 2011
Produced by Hady Zaccak & Marwan Tarraf
Arabic, English dialogue with Arabic, English subtitles / HDCam / 68 mins

Synopsis
“Marcedes” is a feature biopic chronicling the history and transformation of a country, through the perspective of a car and its family. The iconic Mercedes Ponton 180 arrives in Lebanon in 1960, integrates into Lebanese society and becomes a survivor as it witnesses 50 years of the country’s history.


CHE GUEVARA DIED IN LEBANON
by Christina Foerch Saab
Documentary
Producer: Hanna Saleh
Lebanon, UAE 2011
Arabic, English dialogue with English, Arabic subtitles / DigiBeta / 80 mins

Synopsis
Ziad is living with the ghosts of the Lebanese Civil Wars, and his role as an influential commander in the military wing of the Communist party. Christina, an former peace campaigner from West Germany, persuades her reticent husband to embark on a journey through film, piecing together his memories as a way of establishing their marriage for the future. This brave documentary is both a personal, cross-cultural love story, and a reflection on the impact of the Cold War and the universal nature of conflict

A Man of Honor (Insanon Charif)

Jean-Claude Codsi
Feature Narrative
Lebanon, France, Qatar
Produced by Michel Ghosn & Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre
Distributor: Aflam Films
2011 / 91 min / Color / HDCAM

Cast:
Majdi Machmouchi, Caroline Hatem, Mahmoud Said, Chadi Haddad, Rana Khalil, Bernadette Hodeib

Synopsis
Set in Lebanon and Jordan, “A Man of Honor” is the story of passion, betrayal and the many facets of human nature. Brahim has a chance encounter with a mysterious woman he knew 20 years ago.

About the Director

“A Man of Honor” is Codsi’s second feature film. His first feature “Ana el Awãn” won a Bayard Award at the Namur Francophone Film Festival and screened at many festivals worldwide. He is a graduate of Belgium’s INSAS and has taught scriptwriting and film directing since 1997 at |
Saint Joseph University’s IESAV in Beirut.

The Attack

The Attack
Director: Ziad Doueiri
Feature film / Drama
USA / UAE / Lebanon
Producer: 3B Production, Doha Film Institute, Focus feature

Logline:
An Arab surgeon living in Tel Aviv discovers a dark secret about his wife in the aftermath of a suicide bombing. Based on a novel by Yasmina Khadra.

With:
Ali Suliman, Karim Saleh, Reymond Amsalem

The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosni (Ikhtifa'aat Soad Hosni Alt-thalathat)

Rania Stephan
Feature Documentary
Lebanon 2011
Producer: Rania Stephan & JOUN FILMS
68 min / Color and B&W / HDCAM

Synopsis
“The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosni” is an elegy to a rich era of film production in Egypt, seen through the work of one of its most revered actresses. Soad Hosni embodied the complexity of the modern Arab woman. Pieced together exclusively from archival footage of her films, it tells the story of Hosni’s life up until her tragic end in 2001.

About the Director
Born in Beirut, Rania Stephan obtained a degree in Cinema Studies from Australia’s Latrobe University and a graduate degree from Paris VIII University. She has worked as a camera person, editor, first assistant with renowned filmmakers Simone Bitton and Elia Suleiman. Recent films include “DAMAGE, for Gaza "The Land of Sad Oranges” (2009) and “Smoke on the Water, 7 X El Hermel” (2007), "Lebanon/War" (2006), "Wastelands" (2005), train-trains (where is the track ?) (1999).

Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum celebrates 10th anniversary with record numbers and an eclectic line-up

Hong Kong, 6 January 2012 ― The 10th Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), to be held at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 19-21 March 2012, announced today that a record 32 projects have been selected for HAF 2012, a fitting achievement to celebrate the forum’s tenth anniversary.

Among the selected projects:

1982
Feature film
by Walid Mouaness
Producer: Feyrouz Serhal
Country: Lebanon

New publication : Public Funding for Film and Audiovisual Works in Europe

The European Audiovisual Observatory has just published its latest report on public funding for film and audiovisual works in Europe:

- Exhaustive coverage: from influential national film agencies to small-scale local initiatives
- Direct public funding in 37 European countries
- Unique overview of the geographical spread, scale and scope of direct public funding
- With authoritative answers to the key questions:
How many funds? How are they financed? What is the total volume of funding? Which activities are supported? National versus regional funding – how do they differ?


The report also provides brief insights into a selection of special topics, including funding for the transition to digital cinema, tax incentives, public financial institutions active in the sector and a review of the public policy context at European level.

Ties That Bind - Asia / Europe producers workshop call for submission

For the fourth time in 2012 and after the great success in 2011, Ties That Bind - EAVE Asia-Europe Producers Workshop will be organised again in 2012 in partnership with FVG Audiovisual Fund, EAVE, Udine Fareast Film Festival and Busan International Film Festival / Asian Project Market.

Ties That Bind 2011 will consist of two workshops, workshop 1 taking place in Udine (Italy) between April 22-26, 2012 within the framework of the Udine Far East Film Festival (April 20-28, 2012) and workshop 2 being organized in October 8-11, 2012 during the Busan International Film Festival (October 4-13, 2012) in South Korea.

Winter 2012 Feature-film Production Grants

San Francisco, CA - January 4, 2012 - In its continuing effort to promote original filmmaking by individuals from around the world, the Global Film Initiative is pleased to announce the Winter 2012 cycle of its feature-film production grants program. Applications will be accepted until January 16, 2012, and decisions will be announced in March 2012.

Global Film Initiative production grants are awarded twice a year, in winter and summer, to filmmakers whose work exhibits artistic excellence, accomplished storytelling and cultural perspective on daily life. Funds received through the Initiative's Granting Program are used to support completion of film production, and to subsidize post-production costs, such as laboratory and sound mixing fees, and access to modern editing systems.

Applications for 2012 TRT Documentary Awards Started

Application Deadline: 27 January 2012 

The TRT International Documentary Film Competition has been organized to support amateur and professional documentary film-makers.

Awards for International Compétition: Best Documentary Award: 10.000 € ; Special Prize: 7.500 € ; Special Jury Prize: 5.000 €.

8th Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival

Call for entries for the 8th Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival
The deadline for submitting entry forms will be 15 January 2012 and for receiving films 15 February 2012

The 8th Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival, which will be held in April 2012 in Doha, Qatar, has officially opened its call for entries. The Festival will accept submissions of short, medium, and long films for its Main Competition, as well as films to participate in its New Horizon competition for new filmmakers and youth and Promising Film competition for students of Qatari universities.

more information

London International Documentary Festival 2012

Application Deadline: January 6, 2012
Successful submissions for LIDF will from now on be offered the opportunity to be seen by a passionate community of online doc-lovers as well as the industry professionals and enthusiasts who attend the festival.

website

Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde

La Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde est composée de jeunes talents qui développent leur premier ou deuxième long métrage cinématographique ou qui présentent un long métrage terminé soutenu par le Fonds Sud Cinéma (Centre National de la Cinématographie et l'Image Animée/Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et Européennes/Institut Français), le Fonds Images Afrique (Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et Européennes) ou le Fonds francophone de production audiovisuelle du Sud (Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie).

Les dix réalisateurs sélectionnés ainsi que leurs producteurs sont invités à participer à ce programme pendant le Festival de Cannes.

L'appel à candidatures concerne les films en développement uniquement.

Plus d'information ici