ABU DHABI — The Film Financing Circle (FFC), which was launched recently in Abu Dhabi, together with the Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF), yesterday announced the selection of six shortlisted film-makers for the InCircle Pearl Grant. All these film-makers will be able to pitch their projects with FFC and the winner will receive a $100,000 grant for his/her next film.
The six nominees are Fadel Al Muhari (UAE) for his film ‘A Corsair’s Tale’, Soman Chainani (USA) for ‘Love Marriage’, Rusudan Chkonia (Georgia) for ‘Keep Smiling’, Max Gruber (Austria) for ‘We Kill What We Love’, Kayvan Mashayekh (Iran/USA) for ‘Batting for Palestine’ and John McFarlane (Scotland) for ‘Friends and Money’.
Stressing the importance of having an organised financial support for the movie industry, Abu Dhabi-based film-maker Fadel Al Muhari said, “So far it has been quite difficult to produce a movie in the UAE, especially an independent one. Through MEIFF and FFC filmmakers not only from the UAE but also from all over the world will have a better chance to bring their project to life,” said Al Muhari.