This Project Call (see below) just came up and I was thinking about
putting together a team highlighting some of the work of our travel
guides in the MENA region.
Warm regards,
Alana
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Ashkal Alwan is extending the call for proposals for the Documentary
Film Commission until December 20, 2010.
Please refer to the text below for more information about the project.
The Project Call
Ashkal Alwan is launching a call for proposals for a documentary film
that captures the cultural scene and artistic production developed in
the Arab region over the course of the last decade or so.
The goal of this project is to educate and to attract attention and
interest in contemporary artistic and cultural production, as well as
current cultural theoretical and policy-related debates in the MENA
region, with a particular focus on Egypt, Palestine, and Lebanon.
The film should aim to chart the changes in the practices of arts and
culture over the years, point to their main accomplishments and
articulate challenges and opportunities as well as pressing
theoretical and infrastructural needs. To this end, it should include
visual presentations of art works as well as interviews with artists,
collectives, cultural producers, art & cultural venue operators and
organizations, and other leaders to provide an in-depth portrait of
the ecology for the arts and the spaces that have developed throughout
the region.
The film director/ team leader/ producing entity is encouraged to work
with a team of researchers and consultants such as producers, artists,
curators and critics to identify the main narratives. Since part of
the film is to be filmed in Palestine, it is recommended that
applicants with citizenship for whom travel to Palestine is not
possible include a team member or a collaborating director/producer –
Arab or otherwise – who would be able & legally entitled to make the
trip and coordinate the filming and direction.
It is anticipated that the film will have a short version and a long
version in order to screen and distribute it in as many venues and
platforms as possible, including select television networks,
festivals, professional conferences and universities. This film is
conceived as an alternative documentary, and will therefore serve
primarily as an educational, research, and archival document of the
arts & culture scene in the Arab region.
An independent jury comprised of cultural producers and professionals
from the film sector will select only one project. The commissioning
budget for the selected project consists of USD 45,000. Copyright of
the finished film shall be the property of the author(s); please note
however that in being a commission – and not a grant – the contractual
and legal conditions that frame this project may follow certain
standards associated with such transactions. The deadline for
submissions is December 20th 2010. The selected candidate will be
notified by the end of October 2010. Please note that rejected
projects will not be notified.
Eligibility: Independent directors, producers, individuals or entities
producing television, film, or video programming are eligible to
apply. Applicants must hold artistic, budgetary and editorial control;
and must be responsible for clearing and negotiating permissions with
interviewees and rights of sampled copyright material. Please specify
the nature of the receiving entity (individual, for-profit company,
non-profit organization, or other), and be sure to provide proof of
registration if not an individual.
If awarded, the applicant agrees to complete the program according to
the proposed timeline, project description, and budget, and agrees to
receive regular feedback from Ashkal Alwan in good faith. Progress
reports and previews will be expected every two months.
While copyright of the finished film will be the property of the
author(s), Ashkal Alwan reserves the right to screen the film for
non-profit & educational purposes.
Please note that the former due date for the completion of the film,
July 31, 2011, as mentioned in the application form, no longer
applies. The new due date for completion of the film is set at roughly
one year from project selection, and will be discussed & finalized,
along with all other matters, with the selected applicant.
Important! Although foreign co-productions, entities & team members
are welcome, team leadership and direction must remain an essentially
Arab initiative.
To learn more & to submit proposal, go to the Submit Proposal page or
click here to fill the application form.
For more info, contact:
Amal Issa amal@ashkalalwan.org
Tel. +961-1-360251 (10 am–6 pm)
The Ashkal Alwan Documentary Film Commission is supported by the Ford
Foundation.
December 20, 2010.
Please refer to the text below for more information about the project.
Do not hesitate to call or email us for your queries:
Tel. +961-1-360251 (10a
Email: amal@ashkalalwan.org