Aspiring filmmakers hone skills at Arab Film Studio

Abu Dhabi - Submissions for the other Arab Film Studio disciplines will be open throughout the year

The boot camp for filmmaking has begun in Abu Dhabi.Seven aspiring filmmakers from the UAE, UK, Canada, Egypt, Jordan, India and Pakistan have come onboard the prestigious Arab Film Studio (AFS) Narrative programme organised by Image Nation Abu Dhabi, the media and entertainment company pioneering film production in the region.
The six-month programme and competition packed with mentoring sessions, workshops and assignments began last week, and aims to help participants smooth-land in to a professional career in movie making.
"This experience is my first step into the film making industry. It will allow me to learn all the nuances of filmmaking from script-writing to production," said Emirati Hamda Salah, 26, a graduate in Media studies from Abu Dhabi.
AFS Narrative, in its sixth year now, is one of the four courses under the Arab Film Studio umbrella, which also includes Documentary and scriptwriting.
The first competition of the year 2017 will cover the narrative discipline where students will learn about what it takes to make a fictional film - before going to create a short film themselves.
Alicia Gonzalez, Head of Training & Development at Image Nation said: "Many of the students this year are post-graduates with some experience within media and looking to apply their education to a practical environment. There is no substitute to actually making a film, which is what makes Arab Film Studio so unique".
Trying to get this hands-on experience is Egyptian Nada El Azhary, 2, who graduated from NYU Abu Dhabi with a major in Psychology and a minor in Film and New Media. She has previously interned on a number of regional productions.
"Having experienced being on real film sets last year, I was completely hooked and knew I wanted to learn more about what it takes to make my own films. I believe Arab Film Studio is the place to find my style and approach to storytelling", said Nada.
What makes AFS unique is it is also open for students without any professional background in filmmaking, like Sachin Augustine from India.
"I made it as a finalist because of my sheer passion," said Augustine, 24, a graduate in Business Administration.
He was helping his father in the family business when he saw the opportunity to hone his skills with AFS. "A career in filmmaking is my dream though I don't have the educational qualification or professional track record except some amateur work done in the university," said Augustine.
At the end of the programme, one finalist will go home with the Best Film award, and receive an internship opportunity on a national or international production with Image Nation. Additionally, the opportunity for the students doesn't end with AFS, as many of their final films are entered into international film festivals.
In fact, this month AFS films have reached over 100 selections worldwide including Oscar-qualifying festivals such as LA Film Festival, Hot Docs and Melbourne International Film Festival.
Submissions for the other Arab Film Studio disciplines will be open throughout the year.
anjana@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE
• Abu Dhabi