Through the official website of the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), the 4th LatinArab Co-production Forum, which will take place within Ventana Sur - the biggest Latin American film market, has been receiving applications for Arab film projects to be part of its upcoming edition (November 30 - December 2). The call for submissions shall be open until November 13th online through the ACC's website.
To submit to "Projects in development (LatinArab Pitch)" Competition or "Works in Progress" Competition (the form may be completed in English or French): http://acc.film/open-call/
Organized by the non-profit organization for the Promotion of Cultural Diversity Creciente "Cine Fértil", recipient of the 2018 UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture, the LatinArab Co-Production Forum targets projects in the development and post-production stages, from Latin America and the Arab world. The Forum is an opportunity to promote new audiovisual projects, enable co-production agreements, and strengthen cooperation between industry professionals with its parti-colored activities that range between pitching sessions, business rounds, work in progress competitions and specialized conferences.
Christian Mouroux, Director of the Latin Arab Co-Production Forum, says "The partnership with the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) is key to continue to forge a previously non-existent scene of collaborations between our regions in terms of equality and equity. The LatinArab Co-production Forum is not only a tool, but an outlook on how to cooperate and work together in a way that pursues symmetry, reduces distances between cultures and benefits from each idiosyncrasy in order to boost creativity, innovation and troubleshooting."
Film Analyst Alaa Karkouti, Co-founder of the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) and CEO of MAD Solutions, comments, "We are thrilled to be part of this well- established and exceptional partnership with the LatinArab Co-Production Forum in its 4th edition, especially that it gradually opens channels and opportunities for cinematic co-operations between the Arab world and Latin America."
Heralded as Latin America's most important film market, Ventana Sur is the go-to hub on every international filmmaker and distributor's agenda. Ventana Sur is organized in collaboration between the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA) and Marché du Film - Cannes Film Festival. The prestigious film event brings together all the different players from the audiovisual industry to promote international co-production, financing and distribution of Latin American content.
The selected projects in development stage will have the opportunity to take part in the Pitching Sessions (LatinArab Pitch Competition) and those in their more advanced stages may show their headway during a Works in Progress session (Works in Progress Competition). The prizes that the film projects will compete for include an award for Best Documentary Pitch worth USD 15,000 and the IES en Lenguas Vivas 'Juan Ramón Fernández' Award for a Documentary Pitch, which offers translation services for the project's dossiers. The Forum also offers an award for the Best Fiction Pitch, which is worth USD 4,000, presented by the El Gouna Film Festival, one of the partners of the Arab Cinema Center, the Gui.ar Award for Fiction Pitch, consisting of script mentoring services, Haddock Films Award for an Argentinean project,and The Language Lab Award for a Fiction Pitch, which offers translation services (from Spanish to English/French) of 10,000 words for the project's dossier. The Best Work in Progress will receive the Lahaye-Pomeranec Award, consisting of post-production services worth USD $16,000, while the Cine Fértil Subtitulado Award offers the subtitling of the final cut of the film to English or Spanish.
Organized by MAD Solutions, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) celebrates its fifth year since its inception in 2015. the ACC is an international promotional platform for Arab cinema as it provides the filmmaking industry with a professional window to connect with their counterparts from all over the world through a number of events that it organizes. The ACC also provides networking opportunities with representatives of companies and institutions specialized in co-production and international distribution, among others. The ACC's activities vary between film markets, stands and pavilions, networking sessions and one-on-one meetings bringing together Arab and foreign filmmakers, welcome parties, as well meetings with international organizations and festivals, and the issuance of the Arab Cinema Magazine to be distributed at the leading international film festivals and markets.
Furthermore, newsletter subscription is now available on the ACC's website, allowing users to obtain digital copies of the Arab Cinema Magazine, as well as news on the ACC's activities, notifications of application dates for grants, festivals and offers from educational and training institutions, updates on Arab films participating at festivals, exclusive news on the Arab Cinema LAB, and highlights from the ACC's partners and their future projects.
The ACC also launched an English-language Arab Cinema Guide, available on its website, which is a comprehensive cinematic guide that comprises a variety of tools presented collectively for the first time to offer information on Arab cinema to filmmakers inside and outside of the Arab world. It also aims to facilitate filmmakers' access to international markets and help film industry representatives to easily identify Arab film productions.
The Arab Cinema Center announced the launch of the MAD 3ARABI (Arab Flow) in Prague, Czech Republic. The festival aims to introduce the Arab culture and focus on the film and TV industry, flowing Arab entertainment and culture onto European shores, and also providing an extension for Arab filmmakers and content creators in the entertainment industry to reach new shores.
