PRODUCTION OF PROMOTIONAL SHORT FILMS

2009.

Production of a 26 minutes documentary made from the archives of Tele Liban restored by FLC. 

This film was commissioned to Lara Saba (Totem Production) who worked on it during two months and delivered it in the first week of May. We took the film with us to Cannes with the prospect of showing it in our pavilion.

Even though Cannes Festival is a platform for films meant for theatrical release, we thought that maybe we would meet institutions that may be interested, through this film, in our archives restoration project.

This was not the case because television archives are the object of other festivals and specialized seminars and the related institutions do not participate – or at least this year – in Cannes Market.

Nevertheless this film will be widely viewed the next season in the frame of various private and public screenings during events to be organized by the Fondation.

 

2008.

A promotional film about Lebanese cinema industry:

Fondation Liban Cinéma produced (with the support of “The Talkies”) a film shot in 16mm aimed at promoting cinema industry in Lebanon and addressed at international film professionals. The film briefly presents the Fondation, its objectives and activities, and it gives information about the human and technical resources of the country and the filming facilities it offers thanks to its geographic location and historical heritage, as well as a gallery of sceneries highlighting Lebanon as a cultural, tourist and leisure destination.

The executive producer of the film is « The Talkies » and the director is Georges Homsi.

This film, intended for screening in cinematographic and tourist events in which Lebanon participates, was screened for the first time during Cannes Festival, continuously inside the Lebanese Pavilion and at the beginning of each of the Market screenings programmed by the Fondation. 

 

PROMOTION OF LEBANON AS A FILMING DESTINATION

Ever since its creation, Fondation Liban Cinéma has adopted the notion of cinema industry and took upon itself to raise awareness about the need to develop cinema in Lebanon from being the sum of individual initiatives into being a national industry. In this perspective, FLC worked both on the local and international scales. On the local scene FLC organized several seminars and workshops (see workshops section). On the international scenery, FLC focused on promoting Lebanon as a filming destination and as a regional center for production and postproduction. Thus the first Lebanese Pavilion in the Cannes Festival in 2005 was the occasion for FLC to promote Lebanon’s human, technical and natural resources, all of them representing the country’s advantages offered to foreign film productions. A promotional CD was produced by FLC and distributed in Cannes and in many other festivals. The CD represented the basis for a data base on the film and audiovisual industry in Lebanon.

Since then FLC profits of its presence on the international scene in order to further this aspect of Lebanon.

2009. September – December 2009 : Project MovieMed

In September 2009, the Fondation was contacted by the Tripoli Chamber of Commerce (CCIAT) for collaboration in the project MovieMed in which CCIAT is partner and whose leader is the Marseille Chamber of Commerce. This project’s objectives are:

- Promote Mediterranean film production through better information on the natural, human and technical resources of the area, through improved efficiency and quality in facilitating shoots and through the creation of co-production opportunities.

- Develop links and interaction between the film and tourism sectors.

The partners in this project are: Film France, the Federation of Egyptian Industries, the PACA Regional Council, Three chambers of Commerce & industry of the ASCAME Network: Malaga, Tunis, Tripoli (Lebanon), the PACA Regional Film Commission, Provence Promotion, FIPA (Tunisia), the City of Marseille,  CMCA, the Souss Massa Draa Regional Investment Centre and the commission de film Ouarzazate Film Commission (Morrocco), INA Méditerranée, l'Ecole Supérieure des Arts Visuels de Marrakech, Neon Productions and Prides Image.

 The role of  Fondation Liban Cinéma was to conduct a survey on the audiovisual industry in Lebanon, and to mobilize professionals of the audiovisual and the tourism sector in order to participate in the Marseille meetings held on the 18^th and 19^th of  January 2010.

Two representatives of the Marseille Chamber of Commerce visited Lebanon for two days (2 and 3 December 2009) and met with key persons of the audiovisual industry and the Ministries of Tourism and Culture, in order to brief them about the advantages of the Marseille meetings which offer the following opportunities: 

For Producers / Project leaders

- Meet professionals able to inform, direct and advise on carrying out and financing Mediterranean film projects

- Present their project to tourism sector decision-makers, producers and film commissions at the « Project Market »

- Learn about Mediterranean financing and co-production opportunities in the « Master Class”

- Discover exceptional Mediterranean film locations in the special exhibition area.

For Film commissions or other receptive structures

-   Meet producers and learn about their needs in the Meeting Area

- Take part in the workshops and training sessions given by experts in shoot facilitation services

- Meet major tourism decision-makers and take part in the « Project Market ».

For Tourism professionals

- Get involved in audiovisual projects in the « Project Market »

- Learn about the market and promote their services in the Exhibition and Meeting Area

- Take part in the workshops and training sessions given by experts in shoot facilitation services.

 The Lebanese professionals who participated in the Marseille meetings are:

- Aimée Boulos – President of Fondation Liban Cinéma. She is President of the Jury of the « Bourse aux Projets ».

- Anthony Tayah : Associate General Manager of Platform Studios.

 

SUPPORT TO THE DEVELOPPMENT OF FILM PROJECTS

2004.

 May 10: Investors meeting organized by FLC in Berytech :

Presentation of a mode of film financing unprecedented in Lebanon; it consists of selling participation bonds for the production of Philippe Aractingi’s film “Bosta”. An amount of money was collected during this meeting allowing the launching of the project and the production of the film. 

September 15 - 25: FLC offers a 3000 USD grant for the best feature film script in a competition in the frame of the festival “Ayam Beirut Al Cinema’iya” organized by BeirutDC. The grant was awarded to two scripts in exaequo (“Oum” by Olga Naccache, and “Everyday is a holiday” by Dima El Horr). 

Organizing sessions of project pitching

Presentation of 6 feature films projects to French professionals 

Further to the initiative of Serge Akl, director of the Office of Tourism of Lebanon in Paris, who launched the project “35mm from Beirut” at Cannes Festival 2009, a familiarization trip to Lebanon too place where 5 French film professionals were invited to discover the country and meet their Lebanese peers. The trip took place from 7 to 11 October during which one day was dedicated to the presentation of six feature film projects by Lebanese screenwriters / filmmakers in front of a panel of five French producers. Five of the six projects were selected by Fondation Liban Cinéma. 

The 6 projects are :

      -          « Upside down » by Ahmad Ghossein

-          « Dabké » by Natacha Achkar Antonellou

-          « Le matin du deuxième jour » by Ali Zarakit

-          « Prison diaries » by Mai Masri

-          « The insert » by Serge Cassia

-          «  Marcedes » by Hady Zaccak

The professionals attending were:

Alexandre Mallet Guy: General Manager of Memento Films

Arthur Hallereau : Marketing Manager of Ad Vitam

Farid Merabet: General Manager of Afrik TV

Caroline Nataf: Responsible of coproductions and acquisitions of Coach 14

 

David Thion: Producer - les films Pelléas

 

2006.

December 8-9: Pitching of feature film projects - organized in the frame of the European Film festival in Beirut.

This action was addressed to feature fiction film projects in development, and it consisted of organizing one-to-one meetings where each of the Lebanese filmmakers and/or producers presented their project to potential co-producers, broadcasters and European funds, with the aim of financing these projects.

The following 7 projects were selected by a jury made of Lebanese professionals (one representative of the Fondation, one academic, one film critic, one representative of the Ministry of Culture, one cultural operator):

- “Brahim, tell me your story” by Chadi Zeineddine

- “Every day is a holiday” by Dima EL Horr (Lebanese producer Sabine Sidawi)

- “Chatti ya dini” by Bahij Hojeij

- “Halal” by Assad Fouladkar (Lebanese producer Zeina Zahreddine)

- “L’habitat” by Hagop Der-Ghougassian

- “Chantilly girl” by Lara Saba (Lebanese producer Michel Ghosn)

- “Oum” by Olga Nakkash (Lebanese producer Cynthia Choucair)

 

Despite an unstable political situation three guests attended the pitching:

-          Vincenzo Bugno (World cinema fund, Germany & “Open Doors”/ Locarno Festival, Switzerland)

-          Samuel Chauvin (Producer - Promenade films, France)

-          George Sluizer (Producer - GMS films, The Netherlands). 

December 13: Pitching of feature film projects - organized in the frame of the Dubai International Film Festival

The pitching of feature films projects organized by the FLC in Beirut found its continuity in the frame of Dubai International Film Festival.

For the purpose of offering Lebanese filmmakers the opportunity to present their projects to a wider selection of producers, broadcasters and Arab and international funds, FLC collaborated with Dubai Festival in the organization of a pitching day for 5 projects from a selection made by FLC.

-  “Brahim, tell me your story” by Chadi Zeneddine

-  “Chatti ya dini” by Bahij Hojeij

-   “Every day is a holiday” by Dima El-Horr

-   “L’habitat” by Hagop Der-Ghougassian

 

-   “Oum” by Olga Nakkash

 

The international guests who participated:

-          Esther Bannenberg (Toto Cinema, Holland)

-          Geoffrey Gilmore (Sundance Institute / Festival, USA)

-          Ivy Ho (Asian Film Financing Forum, Hong Kong)

-          Walter Ruggle (Trigon Film & Vision Sud-Est, Switzerland)

-          Amee McNaughton (Fox 2000 Pictures, USA)

-          Vincenzo Bugno (World Cinema Fund, Germany & “Open Doors”, Locarno festival, Switzerland)

-          Ido Abram (Binger’s Film Lab, Holland)

-          Jérôme Paillard (Film Market- Cannes Festival, France)

-          Claudie Ossard (Victoires Productions, France)

-          Hala Abdalla (Producer, filmmaker, France)

-          Salem Brahimi (Wamip Films, France)