Screen Buzz announces the selection of nine Arab TV projects to participate in the first edition of its professional workshop series to be launched today in Amman, Jordan with the Royal Film Commission - Jordan (RFC). Screen Buzz is an innovative series of creative workshops powered by AAM bringing top Hollywood writers, directors and producers to the Arab World to support local storytellers in the creation of original, purpose driven content for global audiences.
Workshop participants have the opportunity to develop their projects through direct interaction with three Hollywood experts - Executive Producer Lindsay Goffman (The Good Doctor), Writer and Producer Mark Goffman (Bull | The West Wing), and Writer and Producer Daniel Knauf (Supernatural | Spartacus: Blood and Sand) - who have already achieved global success in the entertainment industry.
Participants also practice pitching their projects to the Hollywood mentors during one-on-one meetings. An essential aspect of Screen Buzz is establishing an ongoing dialogue between the local creatives and Hollywood mentors, which extends beyond the workshops and helps to ensure further advancement of the participants' projects and opportunities for potential collaboration and co-development.
HRH Princess Rym Ali, a member of AAM's Middle East Advisory Council in the Arab Worldand Board Member at the RFC, expressed how important this workshop is by saying, "At the core of everything is storytelling: as a former reporter, I am aware that this is something that takes years of training and practice. This series of workshops, offered by some of the best in the global industry, is a great opportunity for filmmakers to continue growing and learning, as our local Jordanian and regional Arab film industry develops."
A reception will be held in Amman, this evening at The Royal Film Commission (RFC), to mark the official launch of Screen Buzz, which will focus this year on the craft of screenwriting for television, through collaboration between the region's most promising screenwriters and top Hollywood talent.
TV Projects and Screenwriters Participating in the Screen Buzz Workshop in Amman:
Project: Beit Jeddo (Grandpa's House)
Screenwriter: Rami Delshad
Project: Mohtajaz (Trapped)
Screenwriter: Rema Saoub, Yazan Jumaa
Project: Wast Al Balad Amman (Downtown Amman)
Screenwriter: Zaina Deeb
Project: Banat Amman (Girls of Amman)
Screenwriter: Manal Shemat
Project: Al Theaab (Wolves)
Screenwriter: Mohammad Hushki, Emad Al Mohtaseb
Project: Al Masdar (The Source)
Screenwriter: Samya Ayesh
Project: Al Balat Al Malaky (The Royal Court)
Screenwriter: Abdallah Bin Zeid, Kareem Bississo
Project: Falafel El Sheikh (The Sheikh's Falafel)
Screenwriter: Sherif Nakhla
Project: Qisas Ordoneyah (Jordanian Stories)
Screenwriter: Ahmad Al Khatib
Dedicated to sharpening the skills of screenwriters from across the Arab world, Screen Buzz workshops will take place in key cities across the Middle East in 2018.
Workshops are held under the supervision of AAM's Middle East Advisory Council, which includes seven of the most prominent Arab figures in the film and TV industry: H.E. Noura Al Kaabi, UAE Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development (UAE); HRH Princess Rym Ali, Founder of the Jordan Media Institute and Board Member at the Royal Film Commission (Jordan); actress Yousra (Egypt); actress and director Nadine Labaki (Lebanon); actress and producer Saba Mubarak (Jordan); Ali Jaber, Group TV Director MBC (UAE); and actress Hend Sabry (Tunisia).
To carry out this initiative in the Arab world, AMM has joined hands with MAD Solutions and partnered with its Arab Cinema Center (ACC), organized by MAD.
About AAM: AAM champions global storytelling through the power of entertainment. Our vision is to bring together the best of Hollywood with the creative community in the Middle East to empower a new generation of storytellers in the region to produce original content that promotes positive change and shared universal values.
About RFC: The Royal Film Commission - Jordan (RFC) is a public institution, with administrative and financial autonomy, established in 2003 with a mandate to promote for and contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Jordanian audio-visual industry. The RFC organizes training workshops, screenings and provides production support services.
About MAD Solutions: MAD is the first Pan-Arab independent studio and fully integrative marketing and creative consultancy for the Arab film and Entertainment Industry. Under the umbrella of MAD Solutions, the studio is supported by five pillars: MAD Marketing, MAD Content, MAD Distribution, MAD Culture and MAD Celebrity, which together are helping to usher in an exciting new generation of Arab filmmakers and entertainment talent.
MAD Solutions attends at least 20 film festivals (Arab and International), summits, and workshops annually including Cannes, Berlinale, ADFF, DIFF, and many more. Besides its energetic, contemporary approaches to collaborating with their MAD partners, MAD Solutions prides itself on having the most extensive and up-to-date database on the Arab film industry, spanning over 20 years of a rich heritage that is still growing to this day, despite the political and socio-economic challenges.
Realizing the potential growth of the film industry in the Gulf States, and the opportunities to hatch a pan-regional strategy, MAD Solutions has expanded to Abu Dhabi, UAE, focusing on the GCC in specific and the Arab world as a whole. Based in twofour54, this has allowed MAD Solutions to become industry partners with the free zone media hub, the incubator of creativity of talent in the region. Twofour54's vision is to enable the development of world class Arabic media and entertainment content, by Arabs for Arabs, which is in tandem with MAD Solution's mission and vision.