The Royal Film Commission – Jordan (RFC), in partnership with New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT) and with the support of the US Embassy in Jordan, launched “Hakayaha: Stories of Women in Jordan”. The two-year project will develop and fund two web-series showcasing stories focused on women, produced by filmmakers: Jordanians and residents of Jordan.
The program takes place over two cycles, beginning with documentary and followed by narrative. Each cycle, the RFC and NYWIFT, will advise and fund 15 filmmakers to develop and produce a web-series about women in Jordan. By the end of the project, the series will be screened locally and abroad through media outlets, and physically in the RFC’s film centers across Jordan.
Each cycle consists of three phases:
1. Development
a) A six-week virtual writers’ lab where participants will be guided by two NYWIFT advisors as they develop the treatment/script for each episode.
b) A five-day in-person producers’ lab in Jordan where two advisors from NYWIFT will train the participants on budgeting, scheduling, financing, and other producer tasks, and support the filmmakers to develop a production plan for each episode.
c) A five-day in-person director’s lab in Jordan where two advisors from NYWIFT will advise the participants on the essentials for excelling through pre-production, shooting, and post-production. The participants will work on developing their style for the series and understand how to direct actors.
2. Production
The participants will be granted a production fund of 40,000 USD to produce four episodes. Jordanian mentors will lead and advise the teams throughout the production phase.
3. Post-production
The six-week post-production lab will take place virtually and physically in Jordan. A post-production advisor from NYWIFT will work with the participants of the episodes to produce a final cut of the series.
Language: English, with Arabic translation and interpretation available.