Screen Institute Beirut picks fund winners

In celebration of its second anniversary, the Screen Institute Beirut  has announced a new batch of documentaries which have received funding and technical support from the institute’s Film Fund.

With films from Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Palestine the number of films supported by Screen Institute Beirut in two years has increased to thirty, including 15 for this year.

The institute believes that the current political and social movements in the Arab world will lead to a significant and distinctive evolution in documentaries.

Films that have received funding this year include Gate #5 by Simon El Habre which is produced by Georges Schoucair from Lebanon. The film is a journey through time and space. It retraces the life story of a man named Najm and other Lebanese truck drivers, from the late 1960s until today; a path marked by rural/urban migration, civil war and changes in the economic system.

Another film selected is Encounters by Sarah Francis. The film is the narrator’s journey in his own city in a glass box attached to a van and it consists of several encounters with several inhabitants of the city inside that glass box while the narrator/filmmaker is exploring the city through the lens of his camera.

Paul Baboudjian, executive director of Screen Institute Beirut was very pleased with the quality of films received “in terms of content, direction and production”.

“We will be witnessing the release of many documentaries that shed the light on the Arab spring and constitute a radical change in topics,” he added.

Films that have been supported by the institute during the last two years have been successful at various film festivals. For example one of the films titled Crayons of Askalan directed by Leila Hoteit will premiere at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival this October.