OPPORTUNITIES BULLETIN #251 April 2024 | The Royal Film Commission

In this bulletin:

1. Rawi Screenwriters Lab (RSL): Call for Submission
2. AFAC's Cinema program: Call for Submission
3. Red Sea Production Fund Call for Funding
4. Batroun Mediterranean Film Festival (BMFF): Call for Submission
5. The MENA Film Festival: Call for Submission
6. Kastellorizo International Documentary Festival : Call for Submission
7. Chicago Women Film Festival: Call for Submission

1. Rawi Screenwriters Lab (RSL): Call for Submission

Rawi Screenwriters Lab (RSL) Chosen Arab Screenwriters (Fellows) are granted the opportunity to develop their first or second feature-length narrative screenplays under the guidance of critically acclaimed screenwriters (Creative Advisors). Advisors will have one-on-one intensive sessions and conversations with the Fellows about their projects to embrace their vision and help them find the most compelling way to tell their stories.

Eligibility:

· Complete feature narrative screenplay is required.
· Only Arab screenwriters, regardless of their country of residence, are eligible to apply.
· Independent screenwriters, co-writers or writers/directors can apply.
· Eligible applicants are those working on their first or second feature narrative screenplay.
· Rawi Alumni are not eligible to apply.
The main application requirements are (all to be submitted through the form):

1. Cover letter: Introducing yourself and your project (max 500 words). There are no strict requirements for this letter, except that, ideally, we would like to have an idea of who you are, what is your script about, and how do you think the lab will help you. e.g.: why are you applying to the Lab? Are you collaborating with a co-writer or a director on the project? Do you intend to direct the project? What is the status of the project at the stage of submission?

2. Complete feature narrative screenplay: must include a title page with the project title, name of the writer as well as the project registration number.

3. Logline: a one to two sentences description of the project (max 75 words).

4. Synopsis: a summary of your script’s plot, the main characters, key story points, including the ending (max 500 words).

5. Filmmaker’s statement: description of your vision and creative approach to the project and why you want to tell this story (max 500 words).

6. Screenwriter’s biography: in paragraph format and not CV or filmography (max 350 words).

7. Online links of your previous works: short, feature or documentary film, and you don’t have to be the main writer or director. All previous works submitted must have English subtitles.

Important note:
Screenplays submitted in Arabic will only be accepted initially, given that an English translation is provided once requested by the Rawi team. This however does not apply to the remaining application material which must be submitted in English from the beginning.

This is because members of the selection committee and the Lab’s Creative Advisors do not all speak Arabic, as the Lab always aims to collaborate with readers and advisors not only from the Arab region, but also from all around the world, in order to ensure that submitted projects are being reviewed from different perspectives, and fellows are receiving diverse feedback.

Submission Deadline: By midnight of Monday, 20th May, 2024 (Jordan's Time).

For submissions and more details about the Lab, please visit this link

2. AFAC's Cinema program: Call for Submission: Call for Submission

AFAC's Cinema program supports feature and short-length fiction films in the Arab region. For feature-length films, the program welcomes submissions by Arab directors whose projects are in development, production, or post-production phases. For short films, the program supports projects in production and post-production, provided the director has not previously made a feature film.

For feature-length films, the Cinema program provides up to USD 10,000 in development grants, up to USD 50,000 in production grants, and up to USD 25,000 in post-production grants.

For short and medium-length films, the program provides up to USD 20,000 in production grants and up to USD 10,000 in post-production grants.

Who Can Apply

The Cinema grant program is open to applications from Arab directors and producers living in the Arab region or 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.

Deadline: 14th June, 2024
Announcement: 5th December, 2024

For more information, please visit: https://www.arabculturefund.org/Programs/12

3. Red Sea Production Fund Call for Funding

The Red Sea Fund is an initiative created by the Red Sea International Film Festival Foundation. The Red Sea is the owner and organizer of the Red Sea International Film Festival. By submitting an application to the Red Sea Fund, the applicant shall be deemed as having consented to the Submission Terms and to be bound by them for all relevant times and purposes hereafter. It is the responsibility of the applicant to review the Submission Terms and to ensure its full compliance.

The following criteria will be applied:

Feature-film, documentary, or animation film, which must be a minimum length of sixty (60) minutes.

*For Saudi Projects Only: Short-films, documentary or animation films that do not exceed fifty-nine minutes will be eligible for submission.

Scripted episodic series which must be a minimum length of twenty-five (25) minutes but no more than fifty-nine (59) minutes per episode.

Directors must be of African nationality or Arab nationality/origin.

Production company profile, registration documents and passport of authorized signatory as well as an official document proving the legal authorization and capacity of the signatory to sign on behalf of the company for the purpose of entering into the Red Sea Fund Agreement for feature and series projects (if project is selected).

African or Arab countries are: Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Arab region shall mean one or more of the following countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

Deadline: 30th April, 2024

For more information, please visit: https://redseafilmfest.com/en/production-rules-regulations/

4. Batroun Mediterranean Film Festival (BMFF): Call for Submission

Batroun Mediterranean Film Festival (BMFF) is celebrated in September with a selection of short films with a Mediterranean twist.

During the first week of September, in the historical 4000 years old Phoenician Mediterranean city of Batroun, audience and filmmakers come along to share the mind-blowing artwork in an enchanting setting of the open-air unique screening venue; an environment that will generate enrichment for both, the local audience as well as international filmmakers.

Deadline: 30th April, 2024

For submission: https://filmfreeway.com/BatrounMediterraneanFilmFestival

5. The MENA Film Festival: Call for Submission

The MENA Film Festival is celebrating its sixth edition in January 2025. For five years, MENA has been Vancouver's first and only festival dedicated to films from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) / South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region.

Awards and Prizes
AWARDS - as selected by an independent jury of industry and community

Scarlet Pomegranate - Recognizing overall artistry, storytelling, technical achievement and beauty

Buraq - Recognizing films that break the mold, experiment, and help us see the region and its experiences in a new light.

Audience Choice - Top-rated film chosen by audiences through in-festival balloting.

Azure Phoenix - Recognizing an individual contributor-whether writer, actor, director etc.-that represents MENA/SWANA identity across the region and its diaspora amongst the year’s programming.

* When your film is selected, it is automatically eligible for awards.

Deadline: 11th May, 2024

Website: https://www.menafilmfestival.com/

For submission: https://filmfreeway.com/menafilmfestival

6. Kastellorizo International Documentary Festival : Call for Submission

The Audio-Visual Pitching Lab, unique in its kind in Greece, offers young filmmakers the opportunity to present their basic idea for a documentary to a group of highly experienced professionals from the film industry, such as producers, distributors, directors, editors, film critics, and others. Participants will receive professional feedback on how to turn their idea into reality, while also having the chance to pitch their idea to leading figures in the film and television industry, actively seeking immediate funding for their project.

Who can apply?

Students from film schools, emerging directors, and visual artists from Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, North Africa and elsewhere, with project ideas based on historical and multicultural content, events, and personalities that have shaped our peoples and cultures. Participants are not required to submit visual material, but they are encouraged for better support of their work. Originality and the dynamism of the idea are among the main criteria for project selection. Proficiency in the English language is essential.

What can you expect?

The Pitching Lab will be conducted via Zoom teleconference to be accessible to interested filmmakers worldwide. Participation is free. Each participant will receive valuable professional advice and information on how their idea can be developed into a project capable of reaching the broader audience of the global documentary market.

The deadline for submissions is 6th June, 2024.

Application form

For more information, please visit: Open Call for projects to the 5th Pitching Lab of Beyond Borders! - Beyond Borders Documentary Festival

7. Chicago Women Film Festival: Call for Submission

The seasonal and annual fest is dedicated to the promotion and screening of female voices in cinema. The Chicago Women Film Fest advocates for and advances the careers of women working in the screen industries—in front of and behind the camera, across all levels of experience—to achieve parity, transform culture and promote the language of cinema and female directors.

Rules & Terms
- Film and script projects must have been completed in the past three years.
- The applicant holds all the rights for submission.
- The festival only communicate with the submitter of project.
- Projects must have been directed, produced or written by a female talent.
- The festival does not offer any waivers or refunds for submissions.

Deadline: 21st April, 2024

For Submission: https://filmfreeway.com/ChicagoWomenFilmFest