Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Reflecting the monumental changes in the Middle East and North Africa since the start of the uprisings in December 2010, BBC Arabic and the British Council are launching Aan Korb Film and Documentary Festival: Close Up Stories from the New Arab World with screenings, talks, debates and workshops over four days at the legendary Radio Theatre at BBC Broadcasting House in London from 31 October – 3 November 2014.

Aan Korb (literally meaning ‘close-up’ in Arabic) will give an unprecedented platform in London to a generation that experienced events and in many cases risked their lives documenting them in the Middle East and North Africa. The Festival programme will include full length films and shorts, fiction and non-fiction, screening the work of professionals alongside citizen journalists armed with the everyday tools of mobile phones, hand-held cameras, social media, to document real, subjective stories.

The Festival will include extensive opportunities to meet film-makers and participate in discussions and debates around the topics raised in the films. The winner of the first BBC Arabic Young Journalist Award, open to young people aged 18-30, worth up to £10,000, including training, mentoring and equipment, will be announced on the final day of the Festival.

Programme highlights include:

The Dark Outside (2012) by Jordanian film-maker, Darin Sallam. It tells the story of a fictional character, Nina, a 12 year old girl who lives in a strict society, and has a phobia of darkness. Selected in the short films category at Cannes in 2013, this is the fourth short film made by Sallam. She is currently working on her first feature film project.

Though I Know the River is Dry (2013), is the first independent, crowd-sourced film in the post-revolutionary Arab world, made by Cairo based film-maker, producer and photographer Omar Robert Hamilton. Premiered in competition at the 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam where it won the Prix UIP, it was nominated for Best Short Film at the European Film Awards and won Best Short at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

In the short, A Farewell To Damascus, (2013) first-time film maker and award-winning Syrian artist, Azza Al-Hamwi, provides a platform for the outspoken views of Syrian actress, artist and activist, May Skaf, who has been detained a number of times due to her critical stance against Bashar Al-Assad’s regime.

The Festival programme has been selected by two expert juries:

Short films have been selected by Kaleem Aftab, Film Correspondent of the Independent; Briony Hanson, Director of Film, British Council; Sara Ishaq, freelance director/producer, Rose Issa, curator and publisher. Panel Chair: Liliane Landor, Controller, Languages, BBC Global News.

Documentaries and citizen journalism have been selected by Hussain Currimbhoy, Director of Programming, Sheffield Doc/Fest; Maggie O’Kane, Multimedia Editor, Investigations, The Guardian; Marc Perkins, BBC Arabic Head of Documentaries; Ahdaf Soueif, author and commentator. Panel Chair: Tom Giles, Editor, BBC Panorama.

Tarik Kafala, Head of BBC Arabic, said: “We are proud to be able present these films to a London audience, in this first Aan Korb Festival, with numerous opportunities to hear from the directors themselves, and many panels and discussions to encourage wider debate. The Arab world is going through a critical period of its history. These voices and stories deserve to be heard.”

Graham Sheffield, Director of Arts for the British Council, said: “In times of political and social upheaval, the arts have been used as a channel for freedom of speech and identity, when other channels have been restricted. We have grown our arts programme so that it delivers skills that help nurture emerging talent, and also identify further channels for expression. We believe it is crucial for the UK’s relationship with the world to have a keen understanding of the challenges and realities of life and culture in other countries. We are pleased to be partnering with BBC Arabic on Aan Korb to provide an international platform for these extraordinary films and filmmakers.”