The LatinArab Co-Production Forum has revealed the participation of 12 film projects in its second edition (November 21-25) held within the 32nd Mar del Plata International Film Festival. The final list of projects included two Arab films; the documentary On the Crossbar by director Sami Tlili and producer Dora Bouchoucha and the feature film Rio de Janeiro by director Sabah Haider and producer Ziad Touma.
The list of projects participating in the Forum featured a number of spectacular film projects including the feature films Bobadil, The Last Sultan by Spanish actor and director Antonio Banderas and producer Alex Sutherland and Allah's Way by director Guillermo Rocamora and producer Santiago López.
For the second year in a row, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) is taking part in the LatinArab Co-Production Forum thatlaunched its first edition last year. Film Analyst Alaa Karkouti, Managing Partner of the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) and CEO of MAD Solutions, is serving as one of the jury members of the Forum. Karkouti is also going to be part of a panel discussion on local and international distribution taking place on Thursday, November 23 at 6:30 PM (GMT -3).
The Latin Arab Co-Production Forum is organized by the non-profit organization for the Promotion of Cultural Diversity Creciente "Cine Fertil". The Forum targets projects in development and post-production stages coming from Latin America and the Arab world. It 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 competition and specialized conferences.
The selected projects in development stage shall 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). Apart from these activities, all participating projects in the Forum can take part in business rounds, where they will meet professionals who might be interested in participating in their projects.
The Forum's international juries will select the Best Fiction Pitch, which will be awarded the Haddock Films - The language lab prize worth ARS 50,000 (ARS $25,000 cash and $25,000 for the translation of dossiers); and the Best Work in Progress, which will receive the Lahaye-Pomeranec Award that consists of post-production services worth USD $16,000 and the SZ Traducciones Award, worth the subtitling to English or Spanish of the finished feature. At the same time, UNTREF MEDIA will select a project from each category (Documentary Pitch, Fiction Pitch, WIP) to whom it will provide with graphic and web design.
Organized by MAD Solutions, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), which operates for the third year, 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 Center's activities vary between film market main wings, introduction and networking sessions for Arab and foreign filmmakers, welcome parties, as well as 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 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.
Since the beginning of 2017, the ACC has made 17 stops at international festivals and markets. The festivals attended are the International Film Festival of Rotterdam (IFFR), Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), Beirut Cinema Platform (BCP) held within the Beirut Cinema Days, Istanbul Film Festival, Tripoli Film Festival, the 34th WIPO SCCR in Geneva, Cannes Film Festival, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Eurasia International Film Festival, Festival del film Locarno, Venice International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Film and Television Careers Connection (FTCC), San Sebastian International Film Festival, Malmo Arab Film Festival, Cape Town International Film Market & Festival (CTIFMF) and theDays of Cinema in Palestine.
