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Malmö has announced the Projects competing for their MAFF Industry Days 2022 funding programme. The festival will take place in May this year, from the 4-9 May, with the industry meetings taking place from the 4-8 May.
From the 67 projects representing 29 countries that applied to participate in the grant program, with 45 projects applying for development grants and 22 projects for post-production grants, the festival has chosen 21 projects representing 19 countries to compete in four categories: short films in development, feature fiction films in development, feature documentaries in development, and films in post-production.
Among the projects, there is a feature fiction film in development co-produced by Palestinian wonder producer May Odeh along with Shaker Tahrer, titled Hadeel and directed by Ala'a Al Qaisi. Egyptian producer Mark Lotfy along with Fadi Atallah have teamed up on My Father's Scent by Mohamed Siam, also in development.
Women of My Life is a documentary feature in development produced by Samir with Swedish producer Louise Åberg, and directed by Zahraa Ghandour. While Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala has two projects he is producing participating -- a short titled Winds of Sirocco directed by Mahmoud Assi and a feature from Yemen in post production The Burdened directed by Amr Gamal.
The founder and president of the Malmö Film Festival, Muhammad Keblawi, spoke about the choices, saying: “The diversity in the forms and types of projects selected represents a continuation of MAFF’s commitment towards supporting the Arab film industry and building bridges of communication between it and filmmakers in the Nordic countries. The participants in the industry days will finally be able to meet physically in the beautiful city of Malmö after the lifting of health restrictions, with hopes to achieve more successful and sustainable partnerships.”
Here is a list of all the participating projects:
Feature Fiction Film Projects in Development
Weedestine, Arab producer: Mais Salman, Swedish producer: Linda Mutawi, director: Said Zagha, country: Palestine, Jordan, Sweden
Aisha Can't Fly Away Anymore, Arab producer: Sawsan Yusuf, Swedish producer: Basel Mawlawi, director: Morad Mostafa, country: Egypt, Sweden
Fog, Arab producer: Huda Al Kadhimi, Swedish producer: Shaker Tahrer, director: Rouba Atiyeh, country: Lebanon, Iraq, Sweden
Hadeel, Arab producer: May Odeh, Swedish producer: Shaker Tahrer, director: Ala'a Al Qaisi, country: Jordan, Palestine, Sweden
My Father's Scent, Arab producer: Mark Lotfy, Swedish producer: Fadi Atallah, director: Mohamed Siam, country: Egypt, Sweden
Feature Documentary Projects in Development
Out of Place, producers: Manolo Diaz Rämö and Beatrice Pourbagher Garcia, director: Mohammed Al-Madjalawi, country: Sweden, Qatar
Women of My Life, Arab producer: Samir, Swedish producer: Louise Åberg, director: Zahraa Ghandour, country: Iraq, Sweden
Isthmus, producer: Melissa Lindgren, director: Lina Sinjab, country: Lebanon, France, Sweden
Short Film Projects in Development
To Pee or Not to Pee, Arab producer: Ali Al-Fatlawi, Swedish producer: Shaker Tahrer, director: Ali Al-Fatlawi, country: Switzerland, Iraq, Sweden
Winds of Sirocco, Arab producer: Amjad Abu Alala, Swedish producer: Thomas Brennan, director: Mahmoud Assi, country: Egypt, Sweden, Sudan
Where is Here, producer: Patrick El-Cheikh, director: Linda Mutawi, country: Sweden, Jordan
Nadine Doesn't Live Here Anymore, producer: Nils Bolin, director: Yousra Said, country: Sweden
On the Edge, Arab producer: Ibtissem Labidi, Swedish producer: Fahad Jabali, director: Sahar Echi, country: Tunisia, Iceland
Saleeg, Arab producer: Mariam Khayat, Swedish producer: Klara Levin, director: Afnan Bawyan, country: Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Netherlands
Feature Films in Post-Production
Three Promises, producer: Marielle Olentine, director: Yousef Sroujii, country: Palestine, USA
The Color of the Phosphate, producer: Ridha Tlili, director: Ridha Tlili, country: Tunisia
Q, producer: Jude Chehab, director: Jude Chehab, country: Lebanon, USA
Samar... Before The Final Picture, producer: Sumer Abdelnasser, director: Aya Yusuf Ellyboudy, country: Egypt
A Summer in Boujad, producer: Mohamed Nadif, director: Omar Mouldouira, country: Morocco
The Zone, producer: Bilal Athimni, director: Lassaad Dkhili, country: Tunisia, France, Germany, Luxembourg
The Burdened, producer: Amjad Abu Alala and Mohsen Alkhalifi, director: Amr Gamal, country: Yemen
For more information about the festival check out their website.
