Advancing the professional development of regional female film industry execs
Abu Dhabi, Wednesday 16 October 2008: Yesterday at the second edition of the Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF) - running from 10th to 19th October - it was announced that the first Middle East chapter of the international 'Women in Film and Television' (WIFT) network will be formed.
The announcement was made following the MEIFF / CINEMA VÉRITÉ debate at Emirates Palace on 'Reel Women Power' featuring Susan Sarandon as guest speaker.
"As part of our ongoing commitment to the voices of women in film and television, we have decided to work towards forming a regional chapter of WIFT - with the aim to continue playing an ongoing role in supporting the growth and development of professional opportunities for regional women in the film industry." said MEIFF's Director Nashwa Al Ruwaini, and host of the 'Reel Women Power' debate.
Dedicated to advancing the professional development and achievement for women working in all areas of film, video and other screen based media, the not-for-profit WIFT network comprises of around 40 chapters worldwide with over 10,000 members.
WIFT provides networking and learning opportunities, scholarships, a film finishing fund, as well as offering help and encouragement to women who aspire to work in the film and TV industries.
"We have presence at all major worldwide film festivals, and MEIFF is an exceptional opportunity for us to reach out to regional women working in the film industry," said Sadia Zaman, Executive Director, Women in Film and Television - Toronto.
"In these times there is a real need for women to connect across the world and form strong bonds. As someone who has a deep personal commitment to the accurate portrayal of Arab and Muslim women in film and television, it's my hope that this new WIFT chapter will increase the support for women in the regional industry and ensure greater control over their own stories."
For more information on Women in Film and Television visit www.wifti.org or contact press@meiff.com
For interviews with Filmmakers attending please contact :
Gala films/ Special Presentation Cinema Verite: Hana Al-Hirsi (hana@meiff.com) and
Stephen Lan (Lan.Stephen@sympatico.ca)
Special Presentation films:
Claudia Rische (Rische@bs-pr.de) & Gunnar Gilgen (Gilgen@bs-pr.de)
In Competition Feature films: Claudia Rische (and Gunnar Gilgen )
In Competition Documentary films: Abuzar "Z" Ikkery (z@meiff.com)
In Competition Shorts: Julie Trinchero Julie@meiff.com)
In Competition Students: Sonya Adelman (Sonya@meiff.com) &
Julie Trinchero (Julie@meiff.com) ,
Festival of Festivals films: Stephen Lan and Abuzar "Z" Ikkery (z@meiff.com)
Environment films: Sonya Adelman (Sonya@meiff.com)
Arab Women Directors films: Rahma Rachdi (Rahma@meiff.com)
Retrospective films: Sonya Adelman (Sonya@meiff.com)
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Online Press Centre information:
Materials including filmmaker's biographies and filmographies, still images from the film, and trailers are available for press use. These materials will be available to the press in hard copies as well as online. Each accredited press member will be given the login code in order to access the files from our website. Photographs from each event will also be available for download.
http://www.meiff.com/page.aspx?id=press_login
Username: meiff_press
Password: press4meiff08
Regional media contact information:
Doha Al Wazany,
Action UAE
Abu Dhabi
mobile: +971 50 662 7930
email: doha.w@actionprgroup.com
© Press Release 2008
