LONDON: Netflix and the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture have teamed up to launch an initiative aimed at supporting the professional growth of Arab women filmmakers.
“Women in Film – Bring Your Story to Life” will offer training and development opportunities to up to 25 women from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait.
Nuha Al-Tayeb, director of content for the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey at Netflix, said the initiative “underscores our unwavering support for authentic storytelling and the development of the region’s talent pipeline.”
She said the participants would work in groups to create a short fiction film — from scriptwriting to post-production — with mentorship from industry professionals and a budget of $25,000 per team.
Al-Tayeb said the initiative was aligned with Netflix’s strategy of increasing female representation “both on and off camera” and that previous partnerships with the AFAC had “uncovered a generation of promising Arab talent.”
Rima Mismar, the fund’s executive director, said that over the past 18 years the organization had supported the production of more than 500 films by Arab artists and filmmakers.
“We are glad to be able to expand our support to filmmakers through this partnership with Netflix, coupling the financial support with mentorship and accompaniment and providing a platform for learning and experimenting for emerging women filmmakers,” she said.
Last year, Netflix and the AFAC launched the “Because She Created” initiative, which introduced emerging female talent to the creative filmmaking process and highlighted the various roles women can play behind the camera.
Applications for the new scheme are open to women under 28 who have directed no more than one short film outside their academic studies.
People can apply as teams with a complete project or as individuals for positions such as cinematographer or editor. A jury will select five projects while a matchmaking process will be used to help incomplete groups find the technical expertise they need.
