MAFF MARKET FORUM ANNOUNCES ITS DEVELOPMENT AND POST-PRODUCTION FUNDS JURY MEMBERS

MAFF Market Forum (MMF) is a unique platform for the Nordic and Arab film industries designed to stimulate collaboration, co-production and distribution opportunities.

MMF brings together producers, funds, distributors and film professionals in workshops, pitching sessions, and networking sessions.

The 5th edition of MAFF Market Forum, the co-production of feature, documentary and short films in development stage, received no less than 54 projects from the Arab region, Sweden, and Nordic countries. And 45 projects in post-production platform.

The jury members of the coming MMF funds will be as follow:

The jury members of the development fund for feature projects:

Mercedes Fernandez: Managing director of Torino Film Lab.

Gabriel Khoury: Egyptian producer, managing director of Misr International Films (MIF).

While the projects competing in this fund are:

• STRAIGHT TO THE GOAL, Arab producer: Safei Eldin Mahmoud, Swedish producer: Shaker K. Tahrir, director: Tamer Ashry, country: Egypt
• I AM HERE BUT YOU CAN’T SEE ME, Arab producer: Nermine Haddad, Swedish producer: David Herdies, director: Feyrouz Serhal, country: Lebanon
• COMMEDIA, Arab producer: Myriam Sassine, Swedish producer: Olivier Guerpillon, director: Myriam El Hajj, country: Lebanon
• THE SEA NEEDS TO HEAVE, Arab producer: Alaa Alasad, Swedish producer: Helene Granqvist, director: Zain Duraie, country: Jordan
• MOTHER HOOD, Arab producer: Sarra ben Hassan, Swedish producer: Frida Mårtensson, director: Myriam Joobeur, country: Tunisia

The jury members of the development fund for documentary projects:

Irit Neidhart: German international distributor, vocational author, curator and speaker in the field of cinema and the Middle East.

Khemais Khayati: Tunisian film critic, journalist, author and presenter of several TV cinema programs.

Sherif El Bendary: Egyptian filmmaker, directing lecturer in Egypt’s higher institute of cinema.

While the projects competing in this fund are:

• ETHEL, Swedish producer: Christer Nelson, director: Mohamed Siam, country: Egypt
• LOOKING FOR SAADA, Arab producer: Rashid Masharawi, Swedish producer: Linda Mutawi, director: Areen Omari, country: Palestine
• The day of Wrath: Tales from Tripoli, Arab producer: Jinane Dagher, Swedish producer: Sofia Reshmis, director: Rania Rafei, country: Lebanon

The jury members of the development fund for short projects:

• Butheina Kazim: Emirati programmer, researcher and producer. Co-founder of Cinema Akil; the first arthouse cinema in the Gulf region.

• Johan Simonsson: Film commissioner at FilmCentrum Syd in Malmö, a filmmaker.

• Mahmoud Kamel: Egyptian film & TV director.

While the projects competing in this fund are:

• HABIB & THE THIEF, Arab Swedish producer and director: Naures Sager, country: Sweden
• THE LAST DINNER, Arab Swedish producer: Eyad Eid, director: Wassim Kashlan, country: Sweden
• A RESUME, Arab Swedish producer and director: Bassem Nabhan, country: Sweden
• REPRESSION, Arab producer: Abed Lotfi, director: Mike Malajalian, country: Lebanon
• THE GIRL IN THE MIRROR, Arab producer: Mohammed Taieb, director: Mohammed Tawfik, country: Tunisia, Iraq, Denmark

The jury members of the post-production fund for feature films:

• Khalil Demmoun: Khalil Demmoun is a Moroccan writer, journalist and cinema critic. Director of “La Revue Marocaine Des Recherches Cinématographiques”.

• Lamia Guiga: Tunisian critic and cinema professor, Artistic Director of Carthage Film Festival.

• Magdi Ahmed Ali: Egyptian Filmmaker and Producer

• Meriame Deghedi: Egyptian arts and culture marketing professional, director of Cairo Film Connection.

• Nadim Jarjoura: Lebanese Journalist and film critic.

While the projects competing in this fund are:

• MICA, producer: Lamia Chraibi, director: Ismael Ferroukhi, country: Morocco, France
• FOR THE CAUSE, producers: Hassan Benjelloun and Rachida Saadi, director: Hassan Benjelloun, country: Morocco
• THE WOMEN IN BLOCK “J”, producer: Rachida Saadi, director: Mohammed Nadif, country: Morocco
• BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE, producer: Mohammed Ali ben Hamra, director: Majdi Lakhdar, country: Tunisia
• STATE OF AGITATION, producers: Elie Khalife, Nicolas Khabbaz, and Mahmoud Karak, director: Elie Khalife, country: Lebanon

The jury members of the post-production fund for documentary films:

• Asma Grimiche: Moroccan film producer and distributor.

• Insaf Ouhiba: Tunisian researcher in cinema and audiovisual arts. Film lecturer at Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris 3 University.

• Rasmus Steen: Responsible for the Documentary Film programme of International Media Support (IMS).

• Ziad Khuzai: Iraqi writer and film critic, based in London.

While the projects competing in this fund are:

• SUSPENDED WIVES, producer: Karim Aitouna, director: Mariam Addou, country: Morocco
• THEIR ALGERIA, producer: Marie Balducchi, director: Lina Soualem, country: Algeria, France
• EXTRA TIME, producer: Eslam Mosbah, director: Alaa Mosbah, country: Egypt
• CAPTAINS OF ZA’ATARI, producer: Dina Emam, director: Ali El-Arabi, country: Jordan, Egypt