Dubai has announced plans to set up the first Arab Film Institute (AFI), a non-profit cultural association dedicated to celebrating and promoting regional film.

Designed to bring together the most promising and brightest of Arab filmmakers under one roof, the AFI will be a unique meeting point between the art, technique and commerce involved in a prosperous film industry through learning, advocacy and networking.

The new institute was announced during the Dubai International Film Festival's (DIFF) landmark 13th year underlining the event’s commitment to supporting the growth of the regional film industry today.
 
The non-profit cultural association will provide a platform where Arab films’ past, present and future is discussed, imagined and celebrated by those who contribute to the development of the industry, said experts at the DIFF.

AFI will also promote a healthy eco-system of distribution and promotion to bolster the ever-growing regional film network and will work across the globe with international organizations to provide opportunities for Arab film globally, they added.

Speaking at the launch, Paul Baboudjian, the executive director and producer of AFI at DIFF, said: "Being a witness and active member of the bright and rich Arab film scene, I felt we needed to bring together all this energy and exchange experiences and ideas as well as offering wider opportunities in a fast-changing world to our film community."

Set to honour the work of the film community, its talent and its innovation are the annual Arab Film Awards, a key initiative from the new institute.

The inaugural AFI awards ceremony will be held in March 2018 and includes honours for best film, best director, best producer, best actor, best actress, best screenwriter, best director of photography, best short film, best student film and lifetime achievement award, he noted.   

Helping drive the goals of the new institute forward are an experienced and respected board, comprised some of the regions most renowned filmmakers and supporters of the arts, he added.

The noteworthy board members include Al Zain Al Sabah, the undersecretary of the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs & Film Producer (Kuwait); Nabil Ayouch, a filmmaker and producer (Morocco); Jawaheer Abdulla Al Qassimi, the director of Funn, Media Arts for Youth and Sharjah Children International Film Festival (UAE); Hafiz Ali Ali, a filmmaker and producer (Qatar); Dora Bouchoucha, a Tunisian producer; Salem Brahimi, a filmmaker and producer (Algeria); George David, the managing director of Royal Film Commission (Jordan); Mohamed Hefzy, film producer and scriptwriter (Egypt); Antoine Khalife, director of Arab Film Programme at DIFF and film expert (Lebanon); Rashid Masharawi, filmmaker and producer (Palestine) and Maysoon Pachachi, filmmaker (Iraq).-TradeArabia News Service