The Royal Film Commission Jordan | OPPORTUNITIES BULLETIN #226 March 2022

OPPORTUNITIES BULLETIN #226 March 2022

N.B. The information below is provided directly by the organizers of events, festivals, audio-visual organizations or independent film projects. The Royal Film Commission - Jordan (RFC) cannot be held accountable for it.

In this bulletin:

1. Call for application: The Jordan Film Fund (JFF) – Seventh Cycle
2. Apply now to Rawi Screenwriters Lab’s 17th Edition
3. Submit your Film: Amman International Film Festival
4. Amman International Film Festival: Submit your Project
5. Call for submissions: Toronto International Film Festival
6. Call for submissions: The International Short Film Festival of Cyprus
7. Call for applications: AFAC Documentary Program

The Lab is now receiving applications for an extra two weeks, don’t miss your chance to apply!

Rawi Screenwriters Lab is an annual five-day screenplay development workshop aimed at independent Arab screenwriters working on their first or second narrative feature screenplays. Screenwriters joining the lab will be experience one-on-one mentoring sessions with internationally acclaimed screenwriters (Rawi’s Creative Advisors) from all over the world. The emphasis of the lab is to develop the writer’s individual voice as a storyteller. Advisors and fellows will engage in an in-depth dialogue about the craft of screenwriting and rewriting process, as well as the fellows’ individual visions for their stories.

Over the past 16 years, Rawi has supported 123 emerging screenwriters, with a number of Rawi’s Alumni successfully completing their films, which have toured regional and international film festivals receiving many awards.

Each year, fellows and advisors work intensively for five days on their feature narrative screenplays. Each fellow will have several one-on-one story sessions with the lab's creative advisors. The advisors’ guidance ranges from improving the fellow's technique as a screenwriter, to life lessons and practical suggestions to be explored in their next draft. Emphasis is placed o each fellow's individual voice and story.

An advisory committee of writers, established film critics, screenplay editors, script doctors, scholars and film professionals work with the Rawi Screenwriters Lab team throughout the selection process. They are referred to as “Creative Consultants”. The primary short listing is based on script merits: story, originality, characters, dialogue, structure, writing style, individual voices, the status of the screenplay and its suitability to benefit from the Lab. Where applicable, we look very closely at the directing work of the writer.

Learn about other participants by visiting the complete list of Rawi Fellows: http://www.film.jo/Contents/Mentors-Participants.aspx

For more information about Rawi’s Creative Advisors over the years, visit the complete list:
http://www.film.jo/Contents/Advisors-and-Participants.aspx

Learn more by visiting the list of Rawi’s Creative Consultants:
http://www.film.jo/Contents/Reading-Consultants.aspx

Important information:

New deadline for submissions: Saturday, March 26^th, 2022, before midnight (Jordan Time).

Lab's date: December 2022

To apply click here: http://www.film.jo/Contents/How-To-Apply.aspx

For further information and inquires please write to rawi@film.jo or call The Royal Film Commission at 0096264613835, ext. 104 or 108.

Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film (AIFF) is the first of its kind in Jordan and is aimed at début achievements in film from all over the world. The AIFF seeks works that manifest artistic boldness, strength of form and originality in the use of the medium of film. Based on the success of its two previous editions, the Festival’s third edition will be held 20 – 27 July 2022.

International jurors select the Best Feature-Length Narrative Arab film, Best Feature-Length Documentary and the Best Arab Short. The audience selects the Best Début non-Arab movie.
All winning films receive the Black Iris trophy and a cash award.

Rules and Regulations

1. Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film (AIFF) requires all submitted films to be Jordanian premiere. Films previously screened in Jordan are not eligible.

2. Films that are available in Jordan on any VOD, online platforms, TV, or any other similar media are not eligible.

3. Only film rights owners and/or their official distributors are eligible to submit films to the festival.

4. Only films that were released in 2021 or 2022 are accepted for submission.

5. The AIFF considers any narrative film over 60 minutes as feature-length.

6. The AIFF considers any documentary film over 52 minutes as feature-length.

7. The maximum duration for a short film is 25 minutes.

8. All films must be in their original language. If not in English, the film must be subtitled in English.

9. Submitted films must meet the conditions mentioned above, in addition to the specific selection criteria as described per section.

10. The final selection of all films and their placement in the program are the responsibility of the Festival.

11. The AIFF reserves the right to decide eligibility.

Sections: Arab Feature Narrative Film Competition

1. Only films that are 60 minutes or longer are accepted for this section.

2. This section is open to any feature-length narrative film released in 2021 or 2022, as long as the director is Arab or of Arab origin, and as long as it is the first feature-length narrative film by the:

o Director and/or
o Screenwriter and/or
o Lead actor and/or
o Lead actress and/or 

Arab Feature Documentary Film Competition

1. Only films that are 52 minutes or longer are accepted for this section.

2. This section is open to any feature-length documentary film released in 2021 or 2022, as long as the director is Arab or of Arab origin, and as long as it is the first feature-length documentary film by the:

o Director and/or
o Editor

Arab Short Film Competition

1. Only short films (no longer than 25 minutes) are eligible for this section.

2. This section is open to any short narrative, experimental, or animation film released in 2021 or 2022, as long as the director is Arab or of Arab origin, and as long as it is the first narrative short film by the director.

3. Short documentaries are not eligible for this section

The deadline for submissions is April 30^th, 2022

For more about AIFF: www.aiff.jo

For more information about the rules and regulations: http://aiff.jo/rules-regulations/

To submit your film to the Arab competitions: http://aiff.jo/arab-competition/

To submit your non-Arab début film to the international section: http://aiff.jo/international-section/

1. Project in Development - Awal Project:
   • Only projects by first-time Jordanian directors or first-time Arab directors resident in Jordan are accepted for this platform.
   • The project must be a feature-length narrative or documentary in its development stage; shorts are not eligible.
2. Project in Development:
   • The project must be a feature-length narrative or documentary in its development stage; shorts are not eligible.
   • Projects by all Arab directors (including Jordanians) are accepted for this platform.
3. Project in Post-Production:
   • The project must be a feature-length narrative or documentary in its post-production stage; shorts are not eligible.
   • Only projects by Arab directors (including Jordanians) are accepted for this platform.
   • You must have a producer attached to your project to be eligible for this platform.

The deadline for submission is April 30, 2022

For more information, please visit: http://aiff.jo/pitching-platforms/

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) returns in September 2022 for its 47th edition. 11 days of international and Canadian cinema, special events featuring some of the biggest names in film, and TIFF’s Industry Conference, offering diverse and innovative perspectives on the art and business of film.

Submission Categories and Eligibility

1. Films submitted to TIFF for Festival consideration must be submitted in one of its categories.

2. Films that do not meet the eligibility requirements for any of the below categories should not be submitted and will not be considered by TIFF.

3. For the purpose of the below categories, “Canadian” films are Films that were directed by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada and list Canada as one of the countries of production. All other Films are considered “international” films.

Submission categories:

Category/Description/Preliminary Eligibility Requirements:

International Features - International narrative films with run times of 60 minutes or longer (including credits). Upon submission, Films must have a World, International or North American premiere status. Films must be completed on or after May 28, 2021.

International Documentary Features - International documentary films with run times of 60 minutes or longer (including credits). Upon submission, Films must have a World, International or North American premiere status. Films must be completed on or after May 28, 2021.

International Shorts - International films of all genres — including documentary — with run times of 40 minutes or less (including credits). Upon submission, Films must have a World, International or North American premiere status. Films must be completed on or after May 14, 2021.

 The Festival is organized into a series of programmes, which are subject to change from year to year but might include, for example: Contemporary World Cinema, Gala Presentations, Midnight Madness. TIFF may slot selected films into programmes at its sole and absolute discretion. More information about these programmes is available at tiff.net.

 Upon submission, films must have a World, International or North American premiere status. TIFF reserves the right to accept submissions with only a Canadian premiere status, but the Film’s premiere status will be taken into consideration when final programming decisions are made.

The International Short Film Festival (ISFFC) of Cyprus is the official competition festival for short films in Cyprus, showcasing and celebrating an outstanding narrative, animated, documentary and experimental original short film content.

The Festival’s week will culminate with the Awards ceremony in the national and international competition, with the Jury panel presenting the winners with generous cash and in-kind awards. Each year, the ISFFC’s jury is comprised  of five established international and Cypriot film professionals, academics, festival directors and short film programmers.

ISFFC is organised by the Ministry of Education Culture, Sports and Youth of Cyprus and the Rialto Theatre, and will take place from the 8th until the 14th October 2022 at the Rialto Theatre in Limassol.

The main objective of the ISFFC is to promote the art of cinema  by showcasing a diverse programme of short films from around the globe, as well as to increase the production of short films, and to develop a spirit of friendship and cooperation among filmmakers.

Eligibility

1. All films in Competition must be Cyprus premieres.

2. The eligible short film genres entitled to participate in the competition section are the following: fiction, documentary, experimental, student and animation short films.

3. Films must not exceed 25 minutes in length.

4. Formats eligible for screening are the following: DCP, Quick Time: 720p - 1080p / H264, MPEG - 4: 720p - 1080p.

5. The overall artistry and the quality of work, the dramaturgy level of the film and the directing originality will be highly valued.

6. Films will be screened in their original language with English and Greek subtitles.

7. No screening fees are paid to any of the participating films.

The deadline is on June 15, 2022.

For more information, please visit: https://filmfreeway.com/internationalshortfilmfestivalofcyprus

The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) Documentary Program supports creative documentary films in the Arab region. The program welcomes submissions of short and medium-length documentaries in production and post-production, and feature documentary film projects that are in development, production or post-production phases.

The program provides annual grants ranging from a few thousand U.S. dollars up to a maximum of ten thousand U.S. dollars for development grants, up to fifty thousand U.S. dollars for production and a maximum of twenty-five thousand U.S. dollars for post-production grants.

Eligible Candidates

AFAC is open to receive project applications from Arab directors and producers living in the Arab region or in the diaspora. A non-Arab producer can apply for a grant provided that the film director is Arab. It is highly recommended that film projects applying to the production and post-production grants have producers attached to them. Project applications are accepted irrespective of age, years of experience, country of residence, ethnicity, gender or religion.

A film producer is eligible to apply with a maximum of two projects per category per cycle provided the two projects are not attached to the same director. However, if a film producer has one open grant, s/he can apply with one project. If s/he has two open grants, s/he is not eligible to apply before closing one grant at least.

AFAC will not provide support retroactively, i.e. to projects already completed. For projects that have already started, AFAC will cover the expenses that will occur only after the signature of the contract if the project is selected.

Projects may be implemented anywhere as long as they are created by Arab filmmakers.

The project’s time frame should not exceed 24 months.

How to Apply

1. Applications are only accepted through online application forms available on website.

2. Applications submitted via regular mail or e-mail will not be accepted.

3. Incomplete applications will not be taken into consideration.

4. In the event that the grantee does not sign the grant contract within 60 days upon receipt thereof, the grant will be canceled. Projects must be completed within 2 years of signing the contract, during which grantees are expected to submit the necessary financial and narrative reports.

5. No grantee will be awarded more than two deadline extensions during the grant period; such extensions should be justified by the grantee and approved by AFAC.

6. AFAC does not offer mobility grants. Travel costs can be covered by the AFAC grant only when they are part of the implementation of a project.

The deadline for applications is on  April 1st , 2022 at 5:00 PM (Beirut time - GMT+3).