GFF will offer crowdfunding night on April 13, in association with Aflamnah, the Arab worlds first crowdfunding website. The crowdfunding night will take place as part of the Festivals popular Gulf Film Nights programme under the guidance of Vida Rizq, co-founder of Aflamnah: the first crowdfunding site specifically dedicated to the Arab World. The interactive […]
GFF will offer crowdfunding night on April 13, in association with Aflamnah, the Arab worlds first crowdfunding website. The crowdfunding night will take place as part of the Festivals popular Gulf Film Nights programme under the guidance of Vida Rizq, co-founder of Aflamnah: the first crowdfunding site specifically dedicated to the Arab World.
The interactive session will introduce the concept of crowdfunding, analyse the international growth of the phenomenon, share some best practice examples from across the Globe and create conversation about its merits. Rizq explained: Our ambition is to get people to participate in the process of creating culture and upping the number and attraction of creative ideas for and from the region. We are delighted that several of the projects that raised funds through Aflamnah have enjoyed international success and won awards including Best Film at the Berlinale for When I Saw You by Annemarie Jacir. We want to be able to celebrate and share many more successes, and we think crowdfunding will become increasingly important and strategic in the coming years.
Commenting ahead of the session Samr Husain Al Marzooqi, Dubai Film Market Manager said, GFF is committed to nurturing grassroots talent and innovative platforms such as Aflamnah will help projects come to fruition. I hope this session opens filmmakers eyes to the possibilities and opportunities available to talent across the Region.
Aflamnah was launched in2012 and has since supported over 30 projects, including films, magazines, and art buses. The average contribution to a project is USD140, and to date almost USD 100,000 has been raised from approximately 500 funders. Aflamnah has created partnerships with the Dubai International Film Festival, GFF, and the Middle East Film and Comic Con, and has created a flurry of press, from the New York Times to Al Khaleej newspaper.
