Bosch Foundation offers 60,000 euros in funding plus training, valuable industry access for co-productions combining young German, Arab world filmmakers

2013 prizes in three categories - animated film, documentary and short

Dubai, UAE; April 16, 2012: Robert Bosch Stiftung, one of Germany's major charitable foundations, today announced a new initiative to expand the reach and resources of filmmakers from the Arabian pensinula and wider Arab world via the Gulf Film Festival. The foundation will award three prizes of up to 60,000 Euros each for animated, documentary and short films jointly produced by young German filmmakers and directors based in the Arab world.

Starting this week at the festival, the Bosch Foundation team will conduct workshops across the Arab world to connect German producers to directors in the region. Additional workshops are scheduled for Amman and a North African city later this year. Pairs of teams must then apply to the foundation before October 1 with their projects.

Fifteen shortlisted teams - five in each category - will undergo Foundation training and participate in the Berlinale Talent Campus in February 2013. Of those, three teams will win the prizes.

ARTE, the French-German television station and a media partner of the foundation, will broadcast at least one of the selected films per year and will own its rights.

Shivani Pandya, Managing Director of the Dubai International Film Festival and the Gulf Film Festival, said: "Over the past years, we have been consistently focused on promoting a culture of global partnerships aimed at driving the growth of the regional film industry. The new initiative by Robert Bosch Stiftung will be a significant boost for young Arab and German filmmakers, and raise the profile of regional talent globally."

Frank Albers, a producer with the Robert Bosch Foundation, said: "We are delighted to announce our new initiative at the Gulf Film Festival, which has presented a diverse breadth of short films by Arab film talent. Through the funding, we aim to promote Arab-German collaborative ventures in film, while giving a strong support mechanism for young talent and strengthening intercultural exchange."

Joint production teams of young filmmakers based in an Arab country and Germany are eligible to participate. The young filmmakers should be between the ages 18 and 35. Applications must be made by teams, not individuals.

To apply for the prize, a sample feature has to be provided by the team director along with a detailed project outline and budget plan. Each film must comprise a producer, director, camera operator and scriptwriter. The film should be produced in Germany as well as the partner country, stressing in particular the aspect of intercultural exchange.

More details and criteria are available at: www.coproductionprize.com. The deadline for submission is September 30, 2012. The three co-production prizes will be awarded at a gala during the Berlinale Talent Campus in Berlin in 2013.

Albers and other representatives from the foundation met with regional filmmakers this week during the Gulf Film Festival.

The Investment Corporation of Dubai is the presenting sponsor of the Gulf Film Festival; Emirates airline is its official carrier. GFF is supported by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority and held in association with Dubai Studio City.  More details and updates on the festival are available online at www.gulffilmfest.com or at www.facebook.com/gulffilmfestival, www.youtube.com/gulffilmfestor @gulffilmfest on Twitter.

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About Robert Bosch Stiftung
Robert Bosch Stiftung is one of the major German foundations associated with a private company and has managed the philanthropic bequest of company founder Robert Bosch for more than 40 years. Indeed it was his entrepreneurial vision, political farsightedness, moral fortitude and charitable initiatives that set the standards for the work of the Robert Bosch Stiftung. The Foundation exclusively and directly serves charitable purposes. As a shareholder of Robert Bosch GmbH the Foundation receives a proportion of the distributed dividends in the company. Given its status as a charitable institution the Foundation does not engage in corporate activity.

For more information, please contact:
Mildred Fernandes
Head of Communications, Gulf Film Festival, Direct: +9714 361 3882; Board: +9714 391 3378
mildred.fernandes@tecom.ae

Nivine William / Divya Khanna
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller,
+9714 4507 600, n.william@asdaa.com / d.khanna@asdaa.com

© Press Release 2012