Malmö – May 1, 2023
The activities of the 13th Malmö Arab Film Festival continue with intensity and momentum. The fourth day of the festival (Monday, May 1) witnessed a variety of activities, from public screenings to professional meetings to workshops targeting young cinematic talents.
The day began at the Scandic Triangeln Hotel, with “Pitch and Match” and networking sessions between participating project owners, film industry experts and representatives of film institutions, before Malmö Industry Days concluded its 9th edition with the announcement of the Malmö Film Fund Awards, which includes six cash awards won by projects in three categories: Developing feature films, developing feature documentaries, developing short films.
(Full awards list in at the end of the text)
The “Make your film in 5 days” and “My Film Project” workshops, organized by the festival in cooperation with the Saudi Film Commission, continued to train 14 young talents. Today witnessed the start of shooting short films that the trainees of “Make your film in 5 days” will make while they are in Malmö.
Meanwhile in Panora Cinema, the results of another workshop were present, with the screening of five short films, which are the result of the “Voices Amplified” training program that the festival organizes throughout the year in cooperation with the Jordanian Royal Film Commission to train young talents in Jordan.
As part of the feature film competition, two screenings were held for the Saudi film “Raven Song” by Mohamed Al Salman, and the Iraqi film “Hanging Gardens” by Ahmed Yassin Aldaradji. In addition to a special screening of a three Saudi short films program.
The day’s activities concluded, as usual, with an “Arabian Night”, where music and food preceded the screening of the Tunisian film ” Moez the End of the Tunnel” directed by Mohamed Ali Nahdi.
The founder and director of the festival, Mouhamad Keblawi, talked about the activities of the day, saying: “As we quietly approach the closing of this rich edition of MAFF, we are pleased with the benefit we see for everyone, especially the large number of young talents of different nationalities that the festival has contributed to their training in recent months.”
Malmo Industries Days Award Winners List:
Short film in development, 30,000 SEK by Film I Skåne: “Not Really a Match” by Fatma Racha Shehade, Producer Fady Atallah.
Documentary film in development, 75,000 SEK by Swedish Film Institute: “The Prince” by Mohannad Salahat, Producer Kassandra Smith
Feature film in development, 9,000 USD by Arab Radio and Television (ART): “Asghar” by Hanaa Alfassi, Producer Houssam Elouan, Co-producer Bassel Mawlawi
Feature film in development, 15,000 USD by Red Sea International Film Festival: “Dear Tarkovsky” by Firas Khoury Producer Asma Chiboub, Co-producer Marta Reguera
Feature film in development, 15,000 USD by Red Sea International Film Festival: “Hamlet from the Slums” by Ahmed Fawzi Saleh, Producer Ahmed Amer, Co-producer Erik Andersson
Feature film in development, 150,000 SEK by Swedish Film Institute: “Pigeon Wars” by Dania Bdeir, Producer Pierre Sarraf, Co-producer Olivier Guerpillon
