The Arab Cinema Center (ACC) has just opened a new window that will benefit Arab film projects. Four Arab film projects will benefit from this window, where two of which will have the opportunity to take part in the MAFF - Málaga Film Festival Fund & Co-production Event and the other two will participate in the Málaga Work In Progress that are held on the sidelines of the Málaga Film Festival in Spain. This comes in accordance with an agreement sealed between the Arab Cinema Center and the festival.
The Arab Cinema Center is going to announce the criteria of the projects eligible to apply for the Málaga Workshop before the end of October 2017. The call for submissions will be opened through the Arab Cinema Center's website in November 2017.
Film Analyst Alaa Karkouti, Managing Partner of the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) and CEO of MAD Solutions, commented, "After the ACC's partnerships with the Latin Arab International Film Festival and the Latin Arab Co-Production Forum, the Arab films participating in the Málaga Film Festival in Spain come as a confirmation of the continuity of the ACC's strategy in opening more windows for Arab cinema to reach international markets and connect with filmmakers from all over the world aiming to support the production of more Arab films."
Juan Antonio Vigar, Director of the Malaga Film Festival, added, "The Málaga Festival Industry Zone - MAFIZ is an addition that multiplies our objective to improve the expansion and promotion of films. In order to continue advancing in this direction, new goals must be set. For this purpose, we have created an Industry Zone consisting of a series of events geared at boosting Latin American film productions to which we added the participation of projects originating in the Arab world in our event of Co-production, MAFF and Málaga Work in Progress, in which we cooperated with the Arab Cinema Center. We are looking forward to further fruitful cooperation for the benefit of both sides."
Under this agreement, the Málaga Film Festival is going to cover the accommodation and accreditation for the producers or directors of the film projects taking part in both the co-production fund event and the workshop held during the period from April 13 -22, 2018. The selected projects for the Málaga Workshop are going to be announced at the 68th Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale). This is the first initiative dedicated to the Arab film industry in the history of the Málaga Film Festival.
The two winning film projects in the Málaga Festival Co-production Fund are going to have the opportunity to connect with the international funding institutions attending the festival and producers from Spain and other European countries. The MAFF - Málaga Film Festival Fund & Co-production Event focuses on financing film productionand facilitating its completion and international distribution.
The Arab Cinema Center (ACC) has previously revealed its new partners: the Latin Arab International Film Festival, which is considered as the only film festival in the world that connects Latin America and the Arab countries through cinema,and the Latin Arab Co-Production Forum that contributes to the development of a scenario of cinematographic cooperation between the countries of Latin America and the Arab world. This step aims to promote Arab cinema and support co-production between the Arab world and Latin America.
The Málaga Film Festival was launched in 1998. Through its 19th edition, the festival helped in supporting and boosting Spanish films on both national and international levels, along with promoting the Spanish city of Málaga as a cultural city open to different cultures. The Málaga Film Festival aims to promote film culture and reach audiences from all over the world.
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 ten 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, and the Locarno International Film Festival.
