The Project Call
Ashkal Alwan is launching a call for proposals for a documentary film that captures the cultural scene and artistic production developed in the Arab region over the course of the last decade or so.

The goal of this project is to educate and to attract attention and interest in contemporary artistic and cultural production, as well as current cultural theoretical and policy-related debates in the MENA region, with a particular focus on Egypt, Palestine, and Lebanon.

The film should aim to chart the changes in the practices of arts and culture over the years, point to their main accomplishments and articulate challenges and opportunities as well as pressing theoretical and infrastructural needs. To this end, it should include visual presentations of art works as well as interviews with artists, collectives, cultural producers, art & cultural venue operators and organizations, and other leaders to provide an in-depth portrait of the ecology for the arts and the spaces that have developed throughout the region.

The film director/ team leader/ producing entity is encouraged to work with a team of researchers and consultants such as producers, artists, curators and critics to identify the main narratives. Since part of the film is to be filmed in Palestine, it is recommended that applicants with citizenship for whom travel to Palestine is not possible include a team member or a collaborating director/producer - Arab or otherwise - who would be able & legally entitled to make the trip and coordinate the filming and direction.

It is anticipated that the film will have a short version and a long version in order to screen and distribute it in as many venues and platforms as possible, including select television networks, festivals, professional conferences and universities. This film is conceived as an alternative documentary, and will therefore serve primarily as an educational, research, and archival document of the arts & culture scene in the Arab region.

An independent jury comprised of cultural producers and professionals from the film sector will select only one project. The commissioning budget for the selected project consists of USD 45,000. Copyright of the finished film shall be the property of the author(s); please note however that in being a commission - and not a grant - the contractual and legal conditions that frame this project may follow certain standards associated with such transactions. The deadline for submissions is December 20th 2010. The selected candidate will be notified by the end of October 2010. Please note that rejected projects will not be notified.

Eligibility: Independent directors, producers, individuals or entities producing television, film, or video programming are eligible to apply. Applicants must hold artistic, budgetary and editorial control; and must be responsible for clearing and negotiating permissions with interviewees and rights of sampled copyright material. Please specify the nature of the receiving entity (individual, for-profit company, non-profit organization, or other), and be sure to provide proof of registration if not an individual.

If awarded, the applicant agrees to complete the program according to the proposed timeline, project description, and budget, and agrees to receive regular feedback from Ashkal Alwan in good faith. Progress reports and previews will be expected every two months.

While copyright of the finished film will be the property of the author(s), Ashkal Alwan reserves the right to screen the film for non-profit & educational purposes.

Please note that the former due date for the completion of the film, July 31, 2011, as mentioned in the application form, no longer applies. The new due date for completion of the film is set at roughly one year from project selection, and will be discussed & finalized, along with all other matters, with the selected applicant.

Important! Although foreign co-productions, entities & team members are welcome, team leadership and direction must remain an essentially Arab initiative.


For more info, contact:
Amal Issa : amal@ashkalalwan.org
Tel. +961-1-360251 (10 am-6 pm)