Edited by: TJVNews.com
Culture has a unique way of bridging cultures and nations. This is why in an effort to foster cultural exchange between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Image Nation Abu Dhabi has teamed up with the Israel Film Fund (IFF) on a series of webinars that aim to support filmmakers in both countries.
Titled “Film Exchange: Abu Dhabi–Israel,” the new series will explore critical areas within production, talent development and filming in both Abu Dhabi and Israel to encourage collaboration between Image Nation and IFF.
The first webinar will debut on March 24. It will feature industry experts spanning from the Abu Dhabi Film Commission, Israel Film Fund, the Israel Film and TV Academy as well as renowned film directors.
Those tuning in to the webinars can expect to learn about an array of different topics relating to feature film funding, such as tax rebates, film funds and opportunities for filmmakers in the two countries, among others aspects.
Speakers include Emirati filmmaker Abdullah Al-Kaabi, “City of Life” director Ali F. Mostafa and the Israeli filmmaker who gave us “The Syrian Bride,” Eran Riklis, to name a few.
“This series of webinars is a key cultural and business initiative held in partnership with the IFF,” said Michael Garin, CEO of Image Nation, in a released statement.
“We are ultimately promoting and informing audiences on the many production and investment opportunities that have resulted from the partnership between the UAE and Israel. Through collaboration on content creation, we will deepen the ties between the two countries to the benefit of the media industry in the entire region.”
Echoing on Garin’s statement, Lisa Shiloach-Uzrad, Executive Director of the Israel Film Fund, added: “We are excited to begin what we hope will be a long and fruitful relationship between Israeli and UAE filmmakers. We believe there is much that unites our two nations and are proud and happy to be the stepping stone for cultural collaboration that will bring us closer together while creating innovative and fascinating films, which is what we’re all about.”
The IFF was established in 1979 in order to assist Israeli filmmakers realize their vision and talent and produce their full length feature film.
Meanwhile, Image Nation Abu Dhabi creates films, TV series, documentaries and entertainment for consumers throughout the world. It is also the first UAE company to have multiple productions stream globally on streaming giant Netflix.
Arab News’ Hams Saleh also reported that the 14th edition of Art Dubai — recognized as the Middle East’s leading art fair for showcasing local, regional, and international artists — is attracting art lovers in the UAE with an in-person fair set to wrap up on Saturday.
Among the participating galleries is Addis Fine Art gallery, which has set up a booth at the event for the fourth year.
The art hub, which is based in London and Addis Ababa, is exhibiting a group show of four artists from across Ethiopia — Tadesse Mesfin, Addis Gezehagn, Tsedaye Makonnen and Tizta Berhanu.
Each of the artists is showcasing new works that explore and document humanity’s adaptability and resilient responses to moments of upheaval.
Gallery co-founder Rakeb Sile said that Art Dubai is one of her favorites.
“It’s the only fair where we get to see galleries from pretty much the global south. It’s a really diverse encounter. Other fairs that we do are not necessarily that diverse,” she told Arab News.
She believes that putting Ethiopian artists in “that conversation is also important, because it teaches us things that we wouldn’t have necessarily found out just by doing a Western fair.”
Sile launched Addis Fine Art gallery with Mesai Haileleul as a “passion project.”
“It was like, ‘we know this is amazing; why doesn’t the rest of the world know about any of these artists?’” she said.
Haileleul elaborated on his partner’s words, saying that the art scene in Addis Ababa has “incredible talent.”
“Obviously a lot of people might not be familiar with it. We do not have a lot of galleries there that function and work like Addis Fine Art gallery because it is very difficult,” he said.
“For that reason, artists do not get the representation they badly need. But it’s not for lack of talent. We are there to change that; we are there to help with that.”
