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Imagenation Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Film Commission place candidates on ’Mawaheb’ Internship Program |
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Imagenation Abu Dhabi, in association with Abu Dhabi Film Commission, has placed the first candidates from the "Mawaheb" internship program at the Los Angeles offices of Participant Media, their producing partner, and on the set of their feature film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which is currently filming in India. Mawaheb, which means talents in English, is an internship program which was launched in June 2010 to develop local film talent in the UAE by offering Emirati students with an interest in filmmaking the opportunity to gain hands-on experience abroad. As part of the program, Hussein Shaheen (29) will spend a month on the set of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which Imagenation Abu Dhabi is partnering on with Participant Media and Fox Searchlight. The film is based on the novel by Deborah Moggach and stars Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy and Dev Patel. John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) is directing from a script by Ol Parker and Moggach. In the next few months, Ahmed Al Mutawa (33) and Majid Al Ansari (23), who are both trainees on the set of Sea Shadow, Imagenation’s first regional production, will leave the UAE to train for three months at Participant Media’s Los Angeles offices. They will receive first-hand experience of development, production, finance, sales and marketing, publishing, social action and TakePart.com editorial content. The month-long film set placements are aimed at Emiratis interested in the creative side of filmmaking. They are designed to provide in-depth experience in disciplines such as line-producing, camera work, costume design, make-up artistry, production design and technical field work. Stefan Brunner, COO of Imagenation Abu Dhabi, said: "We see Mawaheb as a great platform for investing in the next generation of filmmakers, by helping them to develop their careers and then to apply their newly-gained skills on UAE-based productions when they return." David Shepheard, Director of Abu Dhabi Film Commission, continued: "Mawaheb is all about unearthing raw talent and then giving that talent the means to excel through training or hands-on experience, which can only have a long-term positive impact on the local film industry." All three candidates were selected based on their passion for filmmaking, commitment to gaining experience and their long-term ambition to make Emirati movies for local and international audiences.
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