The Ajyal Youth Film Festival yesterday marked the launch of a pan-Arab film initiative aimed at nurturing the filmmaking talents of people across the region in partnership with MBC2.
At the festival’s ‘In Conversation’ session between two-time Academy Award nominated director Hany Abu-Assad and ‘Arab Idol’ champion Mohamed Assaf, MBC2’s commercial director Sharif Badreddine announced a ‘2 Minute Movie Competition’ open to all aspiring filmmakers in the Arab world.
To participate, they have to upload a movie with a running time of not more than two minutes to mbc.net/2mm or the MBC2 Mobile App to win an array of prizes.
“The competition is an open call for all aspiring moviemakers in the Arab world to showcase their talent and creativity,” said Fatma al-Remaihi, festival director and CEO of Doha Film Institute (DFI).
“It aims to inspiring them to pursue their passion for cinema, it is one of the key community oriented initiatives that is being held to mark the third edition of festival,” she noted.
The partnership between MBC2 and Ajyal created a solid platform for young talents to express their creativity and gain international exposure, according to Badreddine.
“Beyond the festival, we want to engage the Arab community and inspire people of all ages to tell their stories through the medium of film in the most effortless way,” he added. “Our objective is to solidify the expressions of the digital generation and their creativity via movie-making in the Arab world.”
Citing that ‘Arab Idol’ helped in identifying the talent pool of musicians across the region, he expressed confidence that ‘2 Minute Movie Competition’ will help them put the spotlight on aspiring filmmaking talent.
The entries will be evaluated by a jury of experts including Abu-Assad, al-Remaihi, DFI chief administrative officer Abdulla al-Mosallam, MBC2 senior channel manager Lina Matta, and producer and presenter of ‘Scoop,’ Raya Abi Rashed.
They will select the top 10 short films, which will be posted on social media channels of MBC2 for the public to vote.
The winning movies will premiere on MBC2 and will also debut on the big screen at the Ajyal Youth Film Festival’s 2016 edition.
Any resident across the region can submit their entries. All content will go live on mbc.net/2mm and MBC2 Movie Guide App. The final date for submissions will close on October 31, 2016.