Marrakech: New Project launched to boost South Mediterranean cinema

By Karima Rhanem | Morocco TIMES 11/19/2005 | 10:17 am

Marrakech---Ali n' Productions, headed by Moroccan director/producer Nabil Ayouch, held a conference on Thursday in Marrakech to present MEDA Films Development project (MFD), a new programme that aims at boosting cinematographic projects of the South Mediterranean countries.


Nabil Ayouch, head of Ali n' Productions, told a press conference that the project aims at promoting synergies between producers and scriptwriters of the MEDA countries (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey) and between MEDA and European producers.

Ayouch said that “in the MEDA countries, professionals of motion pictures face common problems in the development of cinematographic projects.”

“These problems are essentially linked to the lack of training in both scriptwriting and film production. Therefore, training these professionals will eventually improve filmmaking projects in the MEDA countries.”

Ayouch quoted Elia Kazan, an acclaimed filmmaker, as saying: to have a good film, we should have three major requirements: a good script... a good script .... a good script.”

Ayouch added that to have a good script, there should be a good scriptwriter behind it, and above all a good producer who knows how to provide material and moral working conditions for the scriptwriter.

“That's why we have thought of this project because we believe that a producer's role is not limited to film financing. He is also involved throughout all phases of the filmmaking process from inception to completion of a project. Therefore, he is a professional who should be totally aware of the artistic arguments of the project he defends.” Ayouch explained.

Highlighting the importance of the producer's work, the MFD programme aims at grouping together the scriptwriter and the producer in a joint exchange programme and train them to better communicate together for a better common work.

Every year, 10 producers from the MEDA countries, who are currently working on a length-feature film, will be selected for this programme. They will attend the workshops accompanied with the scriptwriter of the film. Ayouch said a total of 20 cinema professionals (producers and their scriptwriters) will benefit from 3 workshops (one workshop a year).

Nourdine Sail, director of the Moroccan cinematographic center said the whole objective of this programme is to make both producers and scriptwriter review their way of perceiving length-feature filmmaking, which will eventually improve the quality of films in the MEDA countries.

The major themes of the workshops will include scriptwriting, rights and contracts between the scriptwriters and producers, the producer's role, the artistic features of the filmmaking process, the marketing and communication aspect of the film, and the film distribution.

The selection committee of the MFD project has set a deadline (Jan. 31, 2006) for the submission of applications. By April 2006, MFD will begin its first workshops in Marrakech.

Financed by the European Union, the project will be implemented by Ali n' Productions in partnership with the Marrakech Film Festival Foundation and the Moroccan Cinematographic