DOHA: The Doha Film Institute (DFI) yesterday announced that submissions are now open for its Mena Grants 2013 Spring Session.
The deadline for applications is January 31, which has been extended to February 4 for Gulf citizens.
Qataris who have a short fiction idea in development can also submit their projects to gulffilmdevelopment@dohafilminstitute.com to be considered for funding.
With no restriction on story genre or overall budget, projects eligible for funding include fiction and documentary feature films, experimental and essay films and short films.
Films are eligible for funding at all stages of production – from development, production, postproduction to prints and advertising.
The aim of the Mena Grants is to support a diverse range of culturally authentic stories and to help new and more established filmmakers within the Mena region get their films made and their stories heard which in turn helps to build a dynamic film industry in Qatar and the Gulf region.
Applications can be made by directors, screenwriters and/or producers who are nationals or descendants of the Mena region. Applications are also welcome from non-Mena directors if the subject matter of the project is related to and/or shot in the region and if a Mena producer and/or screenwriter is/are attached to the project.
DFI has also announce that two recipients of Mena Grants in 2012 have had their films selected for the 42nd edition of the Rotterdam Film Festiva, Die Welt, Alex Pitstra, Netherlands (screening in Bright Future section) and Though I Know The River Is Dry – Omar Robert Hamilton, UK/Palestine (nominated for a Tiger Award for Short Film, World Premiere screening).
The Peninsula
