Shobak hosts Rawi’s aspiring screenwriters

AMMAN — Eight aspiring Arab screenplay writers, known as Rawi’s Fellows, have made their way to Shobak, in Maan Governorate, to take advantage of the old town's "writer-friendly and thought-stimulating atmosphere". 

Rawi’s Fellows are meant to develop their stories under the mentorship of eight internationally accomplished screenplay writers, called Creative Advisers. The aim is to help those new writers tell their feature-length stories in the most compelling way, a Royal Film Commission (RFC) statement said. 

 Ever since its launch in 2005, the Rawi Screenwriters Lab has supported promising new voices in Middle Eastern cinema. 

For its first 11 years, the lab was run in collaboration with Sundance Institute and modelled on the American Institute’s Screenwriters Lab. Over the years, the lab has matured to become an autonomous entity managed by the RFC, according to the statement. 

"The serenity of the [Shobak] area, [located 170 kilometres south of Amman] along with the stirring significance of the location, make the goal of developing compelling stories more reachable," the RFC said. 

Rawi’s Fellows and their advisers will collaborate between July 7 and 11. 

The Creative Advisers for this year include Philip Parker (UK), Csaba Bollók (Hungary), Marco Dutra (Brazil), Kaouthar Ben Hania (Tunisia/France), Mohammad Hushki (Jordan), Karim Traidia (Algeria/Netherlands), Milo Addica (US) and Nissar Modi (UK).

 The projects and participants of this year’s edition of Rawi are: “Nadia” by Ahmad Al Daradji (Iraq); “The Last Summer” by Fadi Haddad (Jordan); “Every Day Is Your Last Funeral” by Ghassan Jaradat (Jordan); “Flower Men” by Hanaa Alfassi (Saudi Arabia); “Club 534” by Christophe Nassif; “The Girl” by Said Zagha (Palestine); “Five Days of Grace” by Saleh Nass (Bahrain) and “Dead Dog” by Sarah Francis (Lebanon). 

 George David, managing director of the RFC, emphasised the importance of the Lab, describing it as “the ideal programme for an Arab writer to take their script to the next level”.

"Rawi has been, and continues to be, a door-opener for filmmakers in our region, unveiling their talent and narratives," he added. 

Rawi provides a "high standard" of film development support, David explained, adding that, "with an extremely potent selection of regional screenplays, and an impressive group of expert advisers from all over the world, we are confident that Rawi 2017 will yet again prove to be a pivotal milestone for some of this year’s most impactful Arab cinematic works towards their journey to audiences across the globe”.  

 A brief about each fellow and project of Rawi 2017 can be found on the RFC website at http://www.film.jo/Contents/RAWI-Screenwriters-Lab.aspx