The Robert Bosch Stiftung, one of the main partners of Berlinale Talents, has successfully grabbed the attention of high-profile Arab and German filmmakers through its Film Prize for International Cooperation edition between young German and Arab filmmakers. The festive dinner hosted by the Robert Bosch Stiftung on Friday, February 6th, witnessed the presence of a slew of filmmakers and cinema professionals and further guests from the 65th Berlin International Film Festival (currently running).

The dinner gala was attended by several filmmaking figures including Alaa Karkouti, CEO and Co-founder of MAD Solutions; Maher Diab, Creative Director and Co-founder of MAD Solutions; Abdallah Al Shami, MAD's Managing Partner for MAD's GCC operations; Jane Williams, Arab Cinema Center Consultant at Berlinale; Emirati/Lebanese Producer Paul Baboudjian; Egyptian Producer Hani Osama, Co-founder of The Producers; Emirati Filmmaker Nawaf Al-Janahi; Shivani Pandya, Managing Director of Dubai International Film Festival; Ahmed Shahm, Founder of the post production company X-Rated; Wagih Ahmed, Co-founder of X-Rated; Lebanese Director Myrna Maakaron; Egyptian Actor/Producer Ahmad Al Fishawy, Founder of Crystal Dog; George David, General Manager of the Royal Film Commission-Jordan; Josef kullengard, Malmo Arab Film Festival Project Coordinator; Egyptian Filmmaker Marianne Khoury and Hania Mroue, Founder and Manager of Metropolis Art Cinema Association.

The event was also attended by Florian Weghorn, Programme Manager at BerlinaleTalents; Christine Tröstrum, Project Manager at Berlinale Taletns; Berlinale Shorts curator Maike Mia Höhne; Irit Neidhardt, Director at MEC Film; Adriek Van Nieuwenhuyzen, Director of Industry Office International Documetnary Film Festival Amsterdam; Claudia Jubeh, Head of Programme at ALFILM- Arab Film Festival and Fadi Abdelnour Artistic Director at ALFILM-Arab Film Festival.

Presented by Dr. Ingrid Hamm, CEO of the Robert Bosch Stiftung along with Frank W. Albers, Project Manager and Initiator of the Film Prize, the evening was intended in the first place to gather and create a network among Arab and German cinema professionals, as well as the festival's guests. The evening also included the screening of Bassem Breish's Free Range, a winner of the Film Prize of the Robert Bosch Stiftung.

This year marks the 3rd edition of the Film Prize of the Robert Bosch Stiftung which grants three awards for international co-operations between young German and Arab filmmakers in the categories documentary, short fiction film and animation. The winners will be announced at the award ceremony held within the frame of Berlinale Talents on Sunday, February 8th, 2015.

The 1st Film Prize of Robert Bosch Stiftung was initiated in 2013. The three prizes, each worth up to 70,000 Euros, are awarded in a gala within Berlinale Talents to the best 3 projects in the categories: animation, documentary, and short fiction film. One or two members of each winning team will have the opportunity to be guests at Berlinale Talents in its upcoming edition in the following year.

The Film Prize targets film co-productions between young German filmmakers and their partners from the Arab World to encourage intercultural exchange. Applying for this competition starts annually in May and ends in September and the winning film will benefit from the value of the prize in funding his/her film project.