The Doha Film Institute (DFI) has selected four filmmakers from the GCC region for the first cycle of its Hazawi fund to provide financial and training support to accomplish their short film projects.

An initiative of DFI’s Gulf Film Development, which focuses on film education, training and support to emerging and established filmmakers in the region, the inaugural fund will finance each of the selected projects, a statement from the institute said.

The four filmmakers are Nayla Al Khaja (UAE) for the movie Three; Shahad Ameen (Saudi Arabia) for Eye and Mermaid; Faisal Al Duwaisan (Kuwait) for A Dream; and Ann Sobel & Aisha Al Muqla (Qatari resident, Bahrain) for Shway Shway, Shoo Shoo!

Selected from script submissions received from across the GCC, the four filmmakers will shoot their short films in Qatar over the coming three months. The films will have the opportunity to be screened at DFI`s festival and year around screenings. The shorts will be also submitted to other regional and international festivals.

Paul Miller, head of film financing, Doha Film Institute, said: “Hazawi Fund marks our commitment to promote creativity from the Gulf region. We received tremendous interest from the region’s talent, and the four filmmakers have been selected for their powerful scripts and cinematic potential.”

The fund aims to promote film production in Qatar and the Gulf region, by providing an opportunity to regional filmmakers to produce quality short films, the statement said. It is dedicated to making compelling short films through assigning professional mentors to offer advice and solutions during the development and production process.

Mahdi Ali Ali, manager of Gulf Film Development, said: “While Hazawi Fund meets one of the primary requirements of emerging filmmakers to secure funding, DFI is taking it even further by offering training support to the selected directors.”

“We want the fund projects to be identified as an important platform to support filmmaking from the Gulf region, and further encourage these talented directors to gain strong regional and international recognition,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service