.png)
As the 12th edition of the Malmö Arab Film Festival begins to wind down to a close on Monday, May 9th, the weekend belonged to the industry projects, which walked away with a total of more than 200K USD in money funding.
Among the esteemed juries giving out the awards, there was Palestinian filmmaker Suha Arraf, whose writing work on Lemon Tree and The Syrian Bride, both directed by Eran Riklis was only outdone by her fantastic directorial debut Villa Touma, which premiered in 2014 at the Venice Film Festival. Also French-Swedish director, scriptwriter and producer Olivier Guerpillon and former CEO of the Saudi Film Council, Saudi Arabian producer Faisal Baltyuor, who served with Arraf on the Feature Fiction Film Projects in Development jury.
The trio awarded the following prizes:
Swedish Film Institute (Sweden) cash prize of 150,000 SEK: My Father's Scent, Arab producer: Mark Lotfy, Swedish producer: Fadi Atallah, director: Mohamed Siam, country: Egypt, Sweden
Red Sea Film Festival (Saudi Arabia) cash prize of 150,000 SEK: Hadeel, Arab producer: May Odeh, Swedish producer: Shaker Tahrer, director: Ala'a Al Qaisi, country: Jordan, Palestine, Sweden
El Maraya Production (Egypt) Script development and post-production services worth $15,000: My Father's Scent, Arab producer: Mark Lotfy, Swedish producer: Fadi Atallah, director: Mohamed Siam, country: Egypt, Sweden
Musician Hisham Gabr (Egypt) Film Score services worth $15,000: Aisha Can't Fly Away Anymore, Arab producer: Sawsan Yusuf, Swedish producer: Basel Mawlawi, director: Morad Mostafa, country: Egypt, Sweden
Where to Film (Jordan) pre-production services worth $10,000: Weedestine, Arab producer: Mais Salman, Swedish producer: Linda Mutawi, director: Said Zagha, country: Palestine, Jordan, Sweden
The Royal Film Commission (Jordan) filming equipment to be used inside Jordan worth $10,000: Hadeel, Arab producer: May Odeh, Swedish producer: Shaker Tahrer, director: Ala'a Al Qaisi, country: Jordan, Palestine, Sweden
Saudi cinema has been a guest of honour at the festival this year, with a programme that included one of our favourite short films Nour Shams, directed by Faiza Ambah and produced by Basil Khalil. During the MAFF industry days, Abdullah Al Eyyaf Al-Qahtani, CEO of the Saudi Film Commission held a fascinating talk presenting the commission's strategies and its most important goals and projects going forward.
On the Feature Documentary Projects in Development the jury included Amman International Film Festival director Nada Doumani, Swiss film editor Sascha Fülscher and Egyptian writer and film critic Ramy Abdelrazek.
They awarded the following prizes:
Swedish Film Institute (Sweden) cash prize of 75,000 SEK: Women of My Life, Arab producer: Samir, Swedish producer: Louise Åberg, director: Zahraa Ghandour, country: Iraq, Sweden
Red Sea Film Festival (Saudi Arabia) cash prize of 75,000 SEK: Isthmus, producer: Melissa Lindgren, director: Lina Sinjab, country: Lebanon, France, Sweden
Greener Screen (UAE) Environmental Consultancy worth $10,000: Out of Place, producers: Manolo Diaz Rämö and Beatrice Pourbagher Garcia, director: Mohammed Al-Madjalawi, country: Sweden, Qatar
The Short Film Projects in Development jury was made up of Tunisian actress and director Nidhal Guiga, Johan Simonsson and Saudi actress and filmmaker Fatima Al Banawi.
They awarded the following prizes:
Film I Skåne (Sweden) cash prize of 30,000 SEK: Winds of Sirocco, Arab producer: Amjad Abu Alala, Swedish producer: Thomas Brennan, director: Mahmoud Assi, country: Egypt, Sweden, Sudan
Film Centrum Syd (Sweden) Script and/or production mentorship equivalent to 20,000 SEK: Saleeg, Arab producer: Mariam Khayat, Swedish producer: Klara Levin, director: Afnan Bawyan, country: Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Netherlands
Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala had two projects competing for industry awards. The second is a feature from Yemen in post-production titled The Burdened, directed by Amr Gamal, which won a distribution packet award from Saudi's Rowad Media as well as two awards from Egypt-based company Mad Solutions. This included a marketing package for the promotion of the Film (poster + trailer + press kit) worth US$10,000 -- but we have to admit that we've never received a press kit from them, though their artwork is typically stunning.
Here are all the Feature Films in Post-Production that were awarded, with the representatives from the funding bodies participating as juries:
The Cell (Egypt) Color grading package worth $10,000: Three Promises, producer: Marielle Olentine, director: Yousef Sroujii, country: Palestine, USA
The Cell (Egypt) Full promotion package (teaser and trailer) worth $10,000: Q, producer: Jude Chehab Chehab, director: Jude Chehab Chehab, country: Lebanon, USA
Arts Animation Productions (Saudi Arabia) Sound mix worth $15,000: Q, producer: Jude Chehab Chehab, director: Jude Chehab Chehab, country: Lebanon, USA
Hecat Studio (France) Post-Production Services (VFX) worth $10,000: Q, producer: Jude Chehab Chehab, director: Jude Chehab Chehab, country: Lebanon, USA
Creative Media Solutions (UAE) Branding Deal worth $10,000: Three Promises, producer: Marielle Olentine, director: Yousef Sroujii, country: Palestine, USA
Rowad Media (Saudi Arabia) Distribution award in the Arab world equal to $10,000 qualified as a MG for a feature fiction project: The Burdened, producer: Amjad Abu Alalaa and Mohsen Alkhalifi, director: Amr Gamal, country: Yemen
Cinewaves Films (Saudi Arabia) Distribution award in the Arab world equal to $10,000 qualified as a MG for a feature fiction project: A Summer in Boujad, producer: Mohamed Nadif, director: Omar Mouldouira, country: Morocco
Mad Solutions (Egypt) Distribution award in the Arab world equal to $10,000 qualified as a MG for a feature fiction project: The Burdened, producer: Amjad Abu Alalaa and Mohsen Alkhalifi, director: Amr Gamal, country: Yemen
Mad Solutions (Egypt) Marketing package for the promotion of the Film (poster + trailer + press kit) worth $10,000: The Burdened, producer: Amjad Abu Alalaa and Mohsen Alkhalifi, director: Amr Gamal, country: Yemen
Rum Pictures (Jordan) Color grading and Mastering services worth $10,000: Q, producer: Jude Chehab Chehab, director: Jude Chehab Chehab, country: Lebanon, USA
Rum Pictures (Jordan) Sound design services (by Swish Audio House) worth $10,000: Three Promises, producer: Marielle Olentine, director: Yousef Sroujii, country: Palestine, USA
The Malmö Arab Film Festival runs through May 9, 2022. For more info, check out their website.
