The MAFF Market Forum, held within the Malmö Arab Film Festival (MAFF) announced the list of winning films in the Development Fund and Post Production Platform, where three of the Arab Cinema Center's (ACC) partners three awards presenting.
The $5,000 award offered by Arab Cinema in Sweden (ACIS) was given to the Palestinian documentary film The Smuggled Sperm by Sawsan Qaoud, while the $3,000 award by The Imaginarium Films was offered to the Egyptian feature film When We're Born by Tamer Ezzat. Additionally, the MAD Solutions Award, which offers marketing and distribution services in the Arab world to the winning film project, was granted to Fataria by Walid Tayaa.
This year marks the fourth time in a row for the ACC at the Malmö Arab Film Festival. Accompanied by 13 of its partners, the ACC will give its partners the opportunity to participate in the festival's different activities.
The partners who will accompany the ACC to the MAFF are: Arab Cinema in Sweden (ACIS), Iraqi Independent Film Center (IIFC), Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image (CNCI) (Tunisia), Carthage Film Festival (JCC) (Tunisia), Bastille Tayran Film (Iraq-France), Beirut DC (Lebanon), Film Clinic (Egypt), WIKA for Film Production and Distribution (Egypt), iProductions (Egypt), The Imaginarium Films (Jordan), MAD Solutions (Egypt, UAE), Pan East Media (Jordan) and The Producers (Egypt).
The ACC's partners will also join as jury members for the festival's MAFF Market Forum. These partners include: Chiraz Latiri, CEO of the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image (CNCI), and Producer Hani Osama, Founder and Managing Partner of The Producers, will join the jury of the MAFF Development Fund, while Abdallah Al Shami, Managing Partner and GCC Representative at MAD Solutions, will serve as a jury member of the MAFF Post-Production Platform.
During the festival, the 9th issue of the Arab Cinema Magazine will be distributed, which is also set to accompany the ACC to international film festivals until the end of the year. These festivals will include the Carthage Film Festival, Cairo International Film Festival and the Mar del Plata International Film Festival, in addition to the International Film Festival Rotterdam held in early 2019 and other festivals.
The 8th MAFF will also witness the screening of six films distributed by MAD Solutions in its different sections. Besides, the festival will also screen several films produced by the ACC's partners, including Gunshot by iProductions and Film Clinic, The Guest: Aleppo-Istanbul by Pan East Media, The Journey by Iraqi Independent Film Center (IIFC), and Kiss Me Not by WIKA for Film Production and Distribution.
On the sidelines of the festival, Bastille Tayran Film will organize a filmmaking workshop targeting Iraqi filmmakers in Europe.
Organized by MAD Solutions in 2015, the Arab Cinema Center (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 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'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 Festival (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.