FLC IN CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2015
For the 11th consecutive year, the Fondation Liban Cinema and the Tourism Office of Lebanon in France in partnership with the Investment and Development Authority in Lebanon – IDAL, had the pleasure to be in Cannes Film Festival and to welcome people in the Lebanese Pavilion, where they had the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with many Lebanese experts.
We are very proud to announce the partnership of the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon- IDAL for the 1st time in the Cannes Film Festival given the importance of this event for showcasing the talent and potential of our movie industry.
IDAL, as Lebanon’s investment promotion agency, has been entrusted with the promotion of this sector, among others, as well as the facilitation and fiscal support of production and post-production investment projects taking place in the country.
The belief in the potential of this sector has led to a series of activities aimed at empowering local Lebanese companies as well as encouraging locals and foreigners to invest in the sector. These activities were put into action following a Memorandum of Understanding between Fondation Liban Cinema and IDAL on March 2015, opening the door for IDAL to tap into the creative sector. Hand in hand, we aim to increase Lebanese film productions, support and promote for them regionally and internationally, as well as actively work towards the capacity building of existing production firms.
Events that took place in Cannes:
Like every year, the FLC introduces all the Lebanese productions in a guide booklet that gathers the feature narratives, documentaries and short films of the year as long as all the projects in the pipe line.
1- A Roundtable: New push for the Lebanese film industry
Over 2014- 2015, a great number of feature films and documentaries were shot, including movies by Daniele Arbid, Georges Hashem, Assad Fouladkar, Maryanne Zéhil, Vatche Boulghourjian, Mai Masri, Elie Khalifé, among others…
Academics and professionals commented on the growing of this production and presented new initiatives to energize the sector across financing, production, distribution and promotion.
In fact, in the last 4 years, the production of Lebanese films increased to reach today 25 films per year which is a great rise compared to the year 2005 where we only produced 6 films per year.
Through the years, Lebanese producers gained international experience and learned how to get the interest of investors and public funds.
Georges Choucair, the CEO of Abbout production talked about the arab industry and funds that helped in the development of the financial structure.
Antoine Khalife, the programmer of the Arab section in the Dubai film Festival and the producer in ART was also present and had a word about the Arab funds.
Talking about the importance of private investments, Leila Sawaya, from IDAL, presented the role of this institution and introduced the idea of a new fund that will be in relation with banks and that the government can support.
Since the round table tackled the funds and the production, we had also to talk about the distribution part. This is why, Beirut DC, FLC, and IDAL partnered this year to create a meeting platform for Arab cinema with a special focus on Lebanese Cinema.
Finally, during the round table, Hania Mroue from Metropolis announced the launching of Beirut Cinémathèque.
Major cinematographic events of the year were also presented.
2- The FLC, accompanied by the minister of Tourism, had the honor to walk the red carpet for “Waves 98”, the short animation film of Ely Dagher that was competing amongst 9 short films for the Palme D’or award.
Waves 98 tells the wanderings of Omar in the suburbs of Beirut.
Few days later, we had the pleasure to celebrate with Ely Dagher his Palme d’or of Short films prize.
3- Screening of « Film kteer kbeer» (WIP)
On 21 May at Palais H, 3.30 pm – Film Market
A feature narrative directed by Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya and produced by Kabreet Productions.
4- Screening of “Rough-Cuts – Films to become”, a scene selection from movies in post-production and distribution.
On 21 May at Palais H, 5.30pm – Film Market
– “The road”, a feature film by Rana Salem
– “The other side of November”, a feature film by Maryanne Zéhil
– “Nour”, a feature film by Khalil Zaarour
Producer’s network: Lara Bou Saifane
Like every year, Fondation Liban Cinema, registers a young talented producer to the producer’s workshop in Cannes Film Festival.
The Producers Workshop is a program conducted by experts in the industry that aims in supporting young producers who have no or little experience in their approach to produce in the international market and to make their participation, to the Cannes’s Film Market, smoother.
This year, Lara Abou Saifan was designed by the Fondation Liban Cinema to attend the meetings and round tables of this producer’s workshop in the 69th edition of Cannes.
The participation of Lara was, according to her, a very enriching experience. During these 6 days’ workshop, she had the opportunity to meet important people from the international industry such as the San Sebastien Film Festival, the Sundance Institute, and International production houses such as Match Factory and Image Nation Abu Dhabi.