Rising Stars Overview
WHY?
Promote a new generation of independent Egyptian cinema artists
reducing the distance between them and the audience. Actually, through
the action, we look forward to putting the attention on the Egyptian
cinema artistic productions and to keeping it on them on the long period.
Providing a showcase to local independent cinema, the project will create
a link among the filmmakers and the audiences. Screening quality cinema
production, we expect to stimulate the people cinematographic “taste”
as a way of personal and social enhancement. Screening independent
films will allow viewers/audiences to gain a better understanding of the
present status of independent cinema in Egypt and eventually to
appreciate it. The project is an attempt to articulate a model for an
independent structured art cinema scene in Egypt. Moreover, it projects
the future of a cinema genre that has started to gain power in recent
years.
Enhance Egyptian art filmmaking and to promote it throughout Egypt.
The scope of the action is to promote creative artistic trends, which are
parallel to but independent from the existing cinema institutions. The
new trend is to use forms and patterns of art and production techniques
that are different from those adopted by the cinema institutions. The
purpose of this trend is to open new channels for artistic expression;
encourage youths to join this field; and stress the role of cinema as a tool
for culture and increasing awareness. The action will involve independent
groups of filmmakers because every year in Egypt independent film
productions increase at a high rate and so does the quality and the
diversity of films.
Since independent cinema has appeared in Egypt in the form of an
unorganized movement towards renewing an artistic cinematic
framework in the last ten years or so, many landmark films have been
produced with this new cinematic paradigm and a number of Egyptian
films have won local and international awards. Every year, new forms are
introduced into independent filmmaking in an attempt to build and
reshape the film scene in Egypt.
All the films offer the opportunity to explore patterns of short
filmmaking, and to explore how to deal with the time element of a short
movie when introducing ideas, working with a mediator, improving the
product, and other relevant issues.
Initiative Context:
After identifying the main problems touching the sector of Egyptian
independent cinema, the project has been structured focusing on the
promotion of Egyptian independent films in Egypt and indirectly outside
Egypt. Egyptian filmmakers are the main target of this action. In fact, they
will have the chance to get in touch with foreign perspectives, European
and Mediterranean specialists, and this experience will enrich their
knowledge and capacities.
As written before, still movie photography in Egypt is denied the
importance it deserves. That is why we decided to make of it one of the
elements of our preparation phase. Professional Egyptian photographers
will benefit from specific training on still movie photography.
Furthermore, still movie photographs produced on the backstage of the
short movies will be exhibited with the aim of contributing to raise the
awareness of local cinema professionals on its importance. A particular
attention will be also put on the quality of the scripts, as they are integral
and critical part of the production phase. The connection between movie
scripts and literature will represent one of the project added values.
The third main problem in Egypt as far as the cinema concerned is the
lack of cultural opportunities outside the main cities of Cairo and
Alexandria. Local audiences do not have access to several
cinematographic productions and for this reason they do not know the
talented Egyptian artists and their creations, as well as other European
productions. The third phase of the project specifically aims to promote
independent movies/creations outside the mainstream of Cairo and
Alexandria. An itinerant cinema will be organised in two cities outside
Cairo: Minia and Port Said. Besides the promotion of contemporary
Egyptian creations/artists, local audiences will be given a chance to finally
discover Egyptian independent movies and to get close to artistic cinema
in general. We chose these three locations to touch two different areas in
Egypt: poor Upper Egypt and industrialized Northern Egypt. In spite of the
fact that Port Said Governorate is one of the richest industrialized areas
of Egypt, it still remains out of the main Egyptian cultural circuits.
Stakeholders:
-Direct Beneficiaries:
20 Egyptian talented and professional filmmakers; Egyptian professional
photographers; European professionals/specialists working in the cinema
field; Cinema professionals
-Final Beneficiaries:
Egyptian young filmmakers; Egyptian cinema students; International and
Egyptian audiences in the target cities; International and Local Cultural
Institutes and associations; Media – Newspapers, Radio, Television,
Expatriated community
-Partners: Semat for Production and Distribution
-Associates:
Instituto Cervantes – Centro de El Cairo, Istituto Italiano di Cultura,
Centre Français de Culture et de Coopération – Le Caire, Baad el Bahr
Cultural Association.
Overall Sustainability
After the end of the project, the activities implemented can be replicated
with moderate financial resources to continue and the main actors
involved will guarantee regular follow-up. All the outputs, activities and
initiatives of the proposal are considered by their nature to last longer
than project time. Mutually beneficial relations will have been forged at
international, national and local levels between professionals with the
support of the project.
Financial sustainability The follow up activities that will spring from the
project essentially concern those connected to the platform of
collaboration between the various factors involved, at the national and
international levels; this will therefore lead to the promotion of
opportunities for meeting even after the conclusion of the project and
organizing similar initiatives after project end.
Institutional level
The organizations involved, both as beneficiaries and as active
participants (sometimes simultaneously), represent the structures which
support the extension and easy to replicate results. The filmmakers, in
the wake of this project, will be able to replicate the results and use the
outputs in other interventions as well as during the exchange with other
stakeholders with whom, by that time, they will have established
relationships, such as media, local and international cultural bodies.
Policy level
Sustainability at the political level will be the strong point and ultimate
significance of the project, which will have an electrifying structural
impact; as it generates growing consensus and bargaining power within
civil society/audience, it will go on to influence the attitude through the
independent cinema. The analysis of new cinema trends will stimulate
the development of interest in the final beneficiaries as well as in the
target groups; the education and propagation carried out at audience
level will allow the stimulation of cinema producers to address their
attention on the independent cinema. A decisive element is also the
involvement of international individuals and bodies in the project,
through the participation of exponents and experts in the training, public,
workshops and media gathering.
Environmental sustainability
During the action implementation, the project staff will advocate for the
respect of a safe and healthy environment. Internal meetings between
actors and participants will pay attention to the environmental issue and
to the Office Code of Conduct. The management will use informatics
technologies for most of the correspondence and communications. For
invitations and other written materials will be mainly used soft means
avoiding any kind of wastefulness. The places chosen as rooms for
training/workshop/gathering will be safe, clean and healthy. Any instable
or degraded environment will be avoided. Refreshments served during
the trainings and conferences will consist in local products in order to
avoid the use of junk food. Costs for C02 offsetting of air travel will be
considered through airplane companies programs when available.
Total duration
12 months
of the action
Objectives
the action
of Overall Objective: To promote a new generation of
independent Egyptian cinema artists reducing the distance
between them and the audience.
Specific Objective: Egyptian art filmmaking enhanced and
promoted throughout Egypt.
Partner(s)
SEMAT
Target group(s)
Egyptian talented and professional filmmakers; Egyptian
professional
photographers;
European
professionals/specialists working in the cinema field; Cinema
professionals.
Final
beneficiaries
Egyptian young filmmakers; Egyptian cinema students;
International and Egyptian audiences in the target cities;
International and Local Cultural Institutes and associations;
Media – Newspapers, Radio, Television, Expatriated
community.
Estimated
results
1) Capacities of n.20 Egyptian talented filmmakers improved
2) Multimedia materials produced
3) N.9 public events organised and materials disseminated
Main activities
1.1 Training of 20 Egyptian filmmakers
1.1.1 Selection of local and foreign artists/specialists
1.1.2 Training on script movie writing, movie direction and
movie stills photography
2.1 N.4 short movies produced
2.2 Advertising Campaign
2.2.1 Publication of project information on internet
2.2.2 Realization of advertising materials
2.2.3 1 DVD (n.200 copies) and n.1 trailer of the short movies
3.1 Organisation of n. 2 Media Conferences and n.1 Award
ceremony
3.2 Still movie Photos Exhibition
3.3 Itinerant Cinema
3.3.1 Selection of International and Egyptian films to screen
3.3.2 Establishment of n.3 juries for the evaluation of the
realized works 3.3.3 Itinerant Cinema events
3.4 Organisation of n.3 public workshops