Five Awards Presented by Arab Cinema Centre's Partners at the Cairo Film Connection

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For Feature-length Projects in Development or in Post-production.

Five Awards Presented by Arab Cinema Centre's Partners at the Cairo Film Connection


Cairo Film Connections (CFC)has announced the winning film projects in its sixth edition that is held within the 2nd Cairo Industry Days in partnership with Arab Cinema Center at the 41st Cairo International Film Festival. Arab Cinema Center and 5 of its partners presented 5 awards for feature-length projects in development or in post-production.

List of awards offered by Arab Cinema Center and its partners at the Cairo Film Connection (CFC):

Arab Cinema Center | Invitation to the winning project's producer to attend Rotterdam Lab 2020 went to Shameem by Karim Rahbani

Arab Radio and Television (ART)| $10,000 cash award for a feature-length project in development went to Leila and I by Maggie Morgan, produced by Shady Habashy

Iraqi Cinema|$5,000 cash award for a feature length project in development or post-production went to A House for Expats by Naji Ismail

MAD Solutions and Ergo Award| Distribution in the Arab World with $30,000 Minimum Guarantee for feature-length project in development or in post-production went to The Life and Times of Omar Sharif by Mark Lotfy and Axel Petersen, produced by Muhammad Taymour and Sigrid Helleday

Rotana Group|$10,000 cash award for a feature-length project in development or in post-production went to About Her by Islam El Azzazi, produced by Dina Farouk and Rina Khoury
Sixteen documentary and feature film projects in the development and post-production phase compete for the CFC awards. The film projects come from different countries across the Arab world; Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Yemen, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Iraq. Recently, CFC revealed its jury members for its upcoming edition, which encompasses Egyptian Screenwriter Mariam Naoum, alongside Ida Martins, Founder and Managing Director of Media Luna New Films, and George David, Producer and Consultant in film and television.

Cairo Film Connection (CFC) is held as part of the festival's Cairo Industry Days in partnership with Arab Cinema Center. Cairo Industry Days provides an important space for discussions, networking sessions, meetings, workshops, masterclasses and partnership opportunities between Arab talents and regional and international key industry professionals to further support Arab Cinema.

Organized by MAD Solutions, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) celebrates its fifth year. A nonprofit organization registered in Amsterdam, the ACC is an international promotional platform for Arab cinema as it provides the filmmaking industry with a professional window to connect with their counterparts from all over the world through a number of events that it organizes. The ACC also provides networking opportunities with representatives of companies and institutions specialized in co-production and international distribution, among others. The ACC's activities vary between film markets, stands and pavilions, networking sessions and one-on-one meetings bringing together Arab and foreign filmmakers, welcome parties, as well meetings with international organizations and festivals, and the issuance of the Arab Cinema Magazine to be distributed at the leading international film festivals and markets. Furthermore, newsletter subscription is now available on the ACC's website, allowing users to obtain digital copies of the Arab Cinema Magazine, as well as news on the ACC's activities, notifications of application dates for grants, festivals and offers from educational and training institutions, updates on Arab films participating at festivals, exclusive news on the Arab Cinema LAB, and highlights from the ACC's partners and their future projects.

The ACC also launched an English-language Arab Cinema Guide, available on its website, which is a comprehensive cinematic guide that comprises a variety of tools presented collectively for the first time to offer information on Arab cinema to filmmakers inside and outside of the Arab world. It also aims to facilitate filmmakers' access to international markets and help film industry representatives to easily identify Arab film productions.

The Arab Cinema Center announced the launch of the MAD 3ARABI (Arab Flow) in Prague, Czech Republic. The festival aims to introduce the Arab culture worldwide and focus on the film and TV industry to provide an extension for Arab filmmakers and content creators in the entertainment industry to reach new shores.