Abu Dhabi Film Commission (ADFC), an initiative by Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage, today announced the names of the four emerging Filmmakers who made it to the final stage of the documentary programme “New Voices” and they are: Farazdak Al Kaabi, Amna Ehtesham Shahid, Rola Shamas and Natalie Al Shami. The winners will be working in teams of two, and mentored through the production by documentary professionals including award winning directors, photographers and sound engineers. The four half an hour films should be ready to air by May 2010. New Voices is an annual development programme that aims to produce up to six half-hour documentaries slated for regional television broadcast. The New Voices programme, which was announced in December last year, targeted filmmakers of short documentaries from the region. Filmmakers from the UAE and the GCC were invited to take part in an extensive workshop, and successful applicants underwent a 3-week intensive training programme conducted by high-profile international professionals. Eight out of the 14 participants have already produced three-minute documentaries that covered various themes from the UAE and some of the documentaries can be viewed at the film commission website www.film.gov.ae.

Earlier, Abu Dhabi Film Commission has announced a call for entries to take up to 4 emerging UAE based filmmakers, directors and producers to the Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival in Toronto and up to 5 UAE based filmmakers to have the chance to attend Cannes Film Festival and both festivals will be taking place in May 2010 and the registration can be done through the commission website. ADFC continues supporting the UAE and regional emerging filmmakers through different programmes and professional development opportunities throughout the year.

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Contact:  

Marcelle Aleid, Head of Marketing & Communications – Abu Dhabi Film Commission

marcelle@film.gov.ae or marcelle.aleid@adach.ae

Tel +9712- 4177444     Fax +9712- 4436076 

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Abu Dhabi Film Commission

Abu Dhabi Film Commission is an initiative launched by Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage in January 2009 with an objective of assisting the development of the Film and TV industry in Abu Dhabi, nurturing of new talent and contributing to the promotion of Arab culture through film.

www.film.gov.ae