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Doha, Qatar; April 24, 2013: Doha Film Institute (DFI), Qatar’s independent cultural organisation that brings the country’s film initiatives under one umbrella, has selected four filmmakers from the GCC region for the first cycle of its ‘Hazawi Fund’ to provide financial and training support to accomplish their short film projects.

An initiative of DFI’s Gulf Film Development, which focuses on film education, training and support to emerging and established filmmakers in the region, the inaugural Hazawi Fund will finance each of the selected projects. The four filmmakers selected are: Nayla Al Khaja (UAE) for the movie ‘Three’; Shahad Ameen (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) for ‘Eye and Mermaid’; Faisal Al Duwaisan (Kuwait) for ‘A Dream’; and Ann Sobel & Aisha Al Muqla (Qatari Resident, Bahrain) for ‘Shway Shway, Shoo Shoo!’.

Selected from script submissions received from across the GCC, the four filmmakers will shoot their short films in Qatar over the coming 3 months. The films will have the opportunity to be screened at DFI`s festival and year around screenings. The shorts will be also submitted to other regional and international festivals.

Paul Miller, Head of Film Financing, Doha Film Institute, said: “Hazawi Fund marks our commitment to promote creativity from the Gulf region. We received tremendous interest from the region’s talent, and the four filmmakers have been selected for their powerful scripts and cinematic potential.”

Hazawi Fund aims to promote film production in Qatar and the Gulf region, by providing an opportunity to regional filmmakers to produce quality short films. The fund is dedicated to making compelling short films through assigning professional mentors to offer advice and solutions during the development and production process

Mahdi Ali Ali, Manager of Gulf Film Development, said: “While Hazawi Fund meets one of the primary requirements of emerging filmmakers to secure funding, DFI is taking it even further by offering training support to the selected directors. We want the Hazawi Fund projects to be identified as an important platform to support filmmaking from the Gulf region, and further encourage these talented directors to gain strong regional and international recognition.”

Submissions for the next cycle of Hazawi Fund will be open to filmmakers in Qatar and the Gulf in June 2013. Applicants can visit: www.dohafilminstitute.com for more details on submission requirements.

DFI is committed to nurturing and developing a strong film industry in the region through various initiatives including film appreciation, education, finance and outreach.