In collaboration with the ESA Business School and the Smart ESA Accelerator
Today, Wednesday 8th of June, Fondation Liban Cinema launched an initiative funded by the European Union aiming to revive Lebanese film production despite the multiple crises that Lebanon is witnessing. This initiative includes two stages, the first one is an entrepreneurship and training program that is launched this June to enhance the skills of Lebanese producers and provide them with additional tools to be able to succeed in their projects. The second stage is a film fund that will provide financial support for Lebanese feature film projects. The call for applications for the fund will be open in November 2022.
Fondation Liban Cinema
Maya de Freige, president of Fondation Liban Cinema, stated that the association, which “has been working since 2003 to support the Lebanese film industry and raise it to an international level is currently seeking to retain the precious Lebanese creative talents, endow them with the desire and the capacity to create and not only to survive, to allow a blossoming film industry to bounce back. It is therefore today more than ever essential, in a context of the unprecedented crisis, to rethink and relaunch a new creative economy, to pave the way and encourage this very strategic industry, a major asset for a healthy integration into the commercial and financial circuits of globalization.”
She explained that “in order to respond effectively and efficiently to short-term needs and challenges facing the Lebanese film industry, the foundation has adapted its support actions to the current situation, in full coordination with its institutional partners and other influential actors on the local scene.”
On the other hand, De Freige noted that “the audio-visual sector in Lebanon is suffering, in addition to the current circumstances, from the absence of much needed adequate policies to support the creative industry sector in general and the film industry in particular.” She considered that “the legislative and regulatory framework never encouraged production and creativity, but rather often hinder them.”
Creative Entrepreneurship for Film Producers
The first stage of the initiative funded by the European Union and launched on Wednesday by Fondation Liban Cinema is to provide a free training and mentoring program in cooperation with ESA Business School and Smart ESA business accelerator, “for film and media producers who have previously produced shorts, feature films or other audio-visual works, and wish to acquire new tools and develop their entrepreneurial skills in order to provide the best conditions for their projects’ success,” according to a statement by the association.
Smart ESA Director Salim Yasmine said that the program takes root in the similarities between Film Producing and Entrepreneurship and aims to give the selected producers the right financial, legal, behavioural, marketing and commercial tools to develop their film projects, pitch them and get them made. He stated that the Smart ESA accelerator “transforms creators into entrepreneurs by providing start-ups with a management toolbox for sustainable success.” He pointed out that the accelerator “supported more than 40 start-up companies and 50 projects through more than ten programmes.”
Five producers were selected to participate in the entrepreneurship and training program, which lasts four months, starting this June and ending in October. These producers are currently working on feature length films in development. They are Rosy Hajj for the feature film project Road to Damascus written and to be directed by Meedo Taha, Christelle Younes (producer of Death of a Virgin which was selected in Berlinale 2021) for the feature film project The Sad Life of Happy Pig by filmmaker Christy Whaiby, Gaby Zarazir for the feature film project The Fifteen which he will co-direct with his brother Michel Zarazir (both Gaby and Michel made several successful shorts including Sous les Soutanes which was sold to Canal +), Simon Soueid for the feature documentary project Sursock, an Everlasting Heritage which he will be directing in addition to producing, and Nicolas Khabbaz for Don’t Worry, I’m Not Okay, Manon Nammour’s first feature film, noting that Nammour’s previous shorts were selected in prestigious festivals such as Locarno and Toronto International Film Festivals.
Among the mentors of the program are French Producer Gabrielle Dumon (Le Bureau Films), French Sales Agent Hedi Zardi (Lux Box) and Entertainment Lawyer Christel Salem along with mentors from ESA Business School. The program supervisor, Lebanese producer Myriam Sassine (Panoptic by Rana Eid, 1982 by Oualid Mouannes and Costa Brava, Lebanon by Mounia Akl) noted that “the Lebanese film industry, despite the great successes it has achieved, wasn’t spared by the crisis and film production was massively affected, suffering from a lack of funds, delayed shoots, and postponed releases. All of which led to a substantial loss of earnings for professionals in the sector, and the drain of talent from the industry in search of new horizons”.
She added, “It is unfortunate that making films has become more and more difficult, even though Lebanon produces high quality films, stellar filmmakers and film professionals who are excelling in their profession worldwide. This is why this initiative is moreover important because supporting film producers indirectly supports several filmmakers and several films. Also, the participating producers will benefit from the mentors’ experience and each other’s experiences which will benefit not only the projects they’re currently working on but also their future projects.”
At the end of the creative entrepreneurship program, the five participants will receive a certificate from Smart ESA and Fondation Liban Cinema. One producer will be awarded a five thousand euros prize oriented towards the development of his film project. All five participants will also benefit from ten hours of individual consultations.
A Lebanese Film Fund
The second stage of Fondation Liban Cinema initiative, is the launch of a one-time exceptional fund to support Lebanese feature film projects, also funded by the European Union, with a total value of 75,000 euros and aims to support films that need a boost towards getting made.
The call for applications will be open in November 2022 for feature films and documentaries that are in the production and post-production stages. An independent committee will select the projects that will benefit from the support, and more information about this fund will be announced in November.