Netflix and Arab Fund Are Supporting Female Filmmakers with a $250.000 Grant

Pushing the industry into the right direction

American streaming giant Netflix is teaming up with the Lebanese-based Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) to support women filmmakers from the region. The two entities will provide a one-time grant through Netflix’s Fund for Creative Equity, which was established last year, to amplify the voices of underrepresented communities in the entertainment industry while aiming to close skill gaps with training programs where they are needed. 

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Launched in early 2021, the global initiative is now in its second round. This year, the partnership will seek to put the spotlight on Arab women as the investment will provide directors and producers with the financial means, via a one-off $250.000 grant, to bring their fiction and non-fiction projects to life. 

“The Arab world has a long-standing history of women in entertainment, and we’ve had incredible successes and firsts from the region that we’re all very proud of,” says Nuha El Tayeb, Director of Content Acquisitions, Middle East, and Turkey at Netflix. 

“But in order to give more people a chance to see their lives reflected on screen, we need more women behind and in front of the camera. The Fund for Creative Equity helps the industry as a whole to have a much more dynamic, interesting, multidimensional representation of women and this is one step in the journey to enabling more women to tell their stories and have new audiences discover their work”, she continued. 

The cohort of hand-picked creatives hail from Tunisia, Lebanon, and Morocco. 5 projects have been selected, which include Asmae El Moudir from Morocco, with the documentary The Mother of All Lies, Diala Kachmar, Jana Wehbe and Tania Khoury, from Lebanon with the film From the Other Shore, The Day Vladimir Died and Manity as well as Sarra Abidi from Tunisia with My Name Is Clara. 

Finally addressing the gender issues that prevail and still persist within the silver-screen industry, Netflix and AFAC’s latest philanthropic move is one to celebrate. 

Image:  from ‘The Mother of All Lies’ by Asmae El Moudir

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