Red Sea Film Festival announces $10m fund for Arab and African Filmmakers

The Red Sea Film Festival Foundation has announced the $10 million Red Sea Fund that will support projects with directors from the Arab World and Africa, launching a new generation of filmmakers and supporting established auteurs as they bring their work from script to screen.

The Red Sea Fund is part of the Red Sea Film Foundation’s commitment to the regional screen sector, that will also include launching the inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival that will take place from 11th to 20th November 2021.

The fund will support fiction, documentary and animation feature films, as well as episodic content. Additionally, Saudi nationals will be able to apply to the Red Sea Fund to support short films in development and production.

“Helping African and Arab cinema grow, that’s a very exciting responsibility. That’s what the Red Sea Fund will do at every stage of the making of the chosen movies and episodic content. In providing more than 100 grants of up to $10 million to help the development, production and post-production of movies across the Arab World and Africa, the Red Sea Fund will help cinema that is in full metamorphosis,” says Edouard Waintrop, Artistic Director, Red Sea International Film Festival.

Applications are welcome from around the world to support projects that are being helmed by an African or Arab director. The fund is open from 15th June – 21st July 2021, with all details and requirements available via https://redseafilmfest.com/en/red-sea-fund/.

The Red Sea Fund will be split across three main categories:

Red Sea Fund – Development

The fund aims to support bold and creative directors in developing live-action, emerging media, and animation projects from treatments to production-ready screenplays and concepts. Red Sea Fund will develop projects from Arab, African and Saudi directors that have a director and producer attached.

Red Sea Fund – Production.

The Red Sea Fund – Production is for projects going into production and is aimed at supporting any aspect of the shoot. Open to viable projects at the production stage, with a script, committed director and producer attached, as well as potential cast and confirmed timeline. The team can be emerging or established, but with proven experience in filmmaking.

Red Sea Fund – Post-Production

A fund supporting all aspects of post-production on feature-length projects. Once a rough cut is ready, these grants will support filmmakers to complete their films and get them ready for distribution and exhibition. The team can be emerging or established, but with proven experience in filmmaking.

The festival will see the launch of the Red Sea Souk, its market place and industry hub for the region. Red Sea Souk will include a Project Market, with pitching sessions of more than 20 projects from the Arab World and Africa, as well as the Films-in-Progress workshop. All projects that apply to the Red Sea Fund will automatically be eligible for Red Sea Souk – Project Market and Red Sea Souk Films-in-Progress Workshop.

The Red Sea Souk - Project Market will take place from 12th to 15th November 2021 at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah. The projects will compete for the Red Sea Development and Production Awards respectively in the amount of $25,000 and $100,000.

The Red Sea Souk Films-in-Progress Workshop will take place from 12th to 15th November 2021, at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah. Each selected project in Films-in-Progress will compete for the Red Sea Post-Production Awards in the amount of $30,000.

“The Red Sea Fund is a major boost for the African and Arab film industry. Over the past two decades, we have seen the Arab and African film industry grow and flourish. The Fund and the Red Sea Souk will provide more tools to support the Arab and African film business to make even more of an impact on the international marketplace with the launch of its project market and films in-progress workshop this November,” said Shivani Pandya, Managing Director, Red Sea International Film Festival.

The Red Sea Souk will also contain panels, networking events, workshops and booths connecting the international film community to the exciting new Saudi market.

Dear Hon. Lai Mohammed, Where is the Remaining N1.9 Billion of the Project Act Nollywood Fund?

Dear Hon. Lai Mohammed, Where is the Remaining N1.9 Billion of the Project Act Nollywood Fund?

Read the special investigative report on http://totnaija.blogspot.com/2020/11/where-is-remaining-n19-billion-of.html

USADF Grant Targets Business Expansion for Leather Workers in Northern Nigeria

14 Jul 2011 18:15 Africa/Lagos

The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) Grant Targets Business Expansion for Leather Workers in Northern Nigeria

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) signed an Enterprise Expansion Grant to benefit almost 100 small scale leather workers in Nigeria's northern Kaduna State. This is USADF's second grant to the Zaria Leather Workers Cooperative Society (ZLWCS). Nigeria is one of 21 sub-Saharan countries where USADF promotes economic development for Africans to develop profitable businesses at the community level.


USADF President Lloyd Pierson stated, “USADF's vision is to help grantees earn higher revenues for homegrown African-led and managed businesses, such as ZLWCS. We are helping traditional leather workers to improve their business model and expand in news markets.”


The Zaria Leather Workers Enterprise Expansion Grant will increase production efficiencies and improve the quality of leather products sought after by local and regional consumers. USADF funding will enable the cooperative to acquire better production materials, hire marketing and sales specialists, and open two new retail channels; creating a pathway for expansion and growth. This expansion will in turn improve traditional leather worker's lives by increasing incomes for members and creating a demand for more jobs.


USADF has more than $6 million invested in 46 grassroots organizations and emerging companies, like ZLWC, in Nigeria. To learn more about ZLWCS and other USADF projects in Nigeria, see our Nigeria Country Pages at http://www.adf.gov/USADF-QuickSourceCountryPortfolioPage-Nigeria.htm.



The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is an independent United States Government agency dedicated to ensuring economic opportunities for marginalized populations in 21 sub-Saharan African countries. Over the past 30 years, USADF has funded more than $200 million in African designed and led development projects. For more information on USADF and its programs, visit www.usadf.gov.



Source: United States African Development Foundation (USADF)

'Enough is Enough Nigeria' Receives $130,000 grant to Promote free and fair Election

22 Feb 2011 15:17 Africa/Lagos

'Enough is Enough Nigeria' Receives Grant from Omidyar Network to Promote Transparency Around the Presidential Elections

PR Newswire

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb. 22, 2011

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Omidyar Network announced today a grant of up to $130,000 to Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE Nigeria), a coalition of individuals and youth-led organizations leading a campaign aimed at enabling citizen participation in the Nigerian general elections in April.

The grant will be used in support of a non-partisan, one-stop online portal designed to aid voter registration, provide candidate information and monitor the elections. The project will utilize Twitter, Facebook and local social media tools such as Nairaland, Naijatalk and Gnaiga, as well as SMS, radio and television, to broaden its reach and citizen engagement.

"Democracy requires active participation, and the majority of Nigeria's population under 35 years of age has never voted. EiE Nigeria's platform and use of social media will help engage this significant portion of Nigeria's citizens and enable active participation and the ability to influence outcomes on issues of importance to them," said Stephen King, investment partner, Omidyar Network.

Through its Government Transparency investment area, Omidyar Network invests in organizations that use technology and media platforms to provide access to information and tools necessary for citizens to participate in the governing process and hold governments to account. Over the last two years, the firm has granted over $30M to organizations such as Ushahidi in Kenya, Janaagraha in India and the Sunlight Foundation in the United States.

"Nigeria's general elections in April are very critical to the next 50 years of Nigeria's development and are being described as a tipping point for the country. At EiE Nigeria, we are particularly excited about how this grant enables us to use technology to connect young Nigerians across the country and renew their interest in issues of leadership and governance," said 'Yemi Adamolekun, secretary to the board, EiE Nigeria.

The EiE Nigeria coalition is committed to instituting a culture of good governance and public accountability in Nigeria through advocacy, activism and the mobilization of the youth population as responsible citizens. Approximately 70% of Nigeria's population is under the age of 35, most are disenfranchised and yet disproportionately have access to technology – mobile phones, the internet, radio and television. EiE Nigeria's call to action is promoted through a campaign called Register, Select, Vote and Protect (R.S.V.P). Citizens are urged to register to vote, educate themselves and each other about the candidates, vote, and stay engaged and active in the political process once votes are cast. For more information, please visit: www.eienigeria.org

About Omidyar Network

Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, the organization invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to catalyze economic and social change. To date, Omidyar Network has committed more than $383 million to for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations that foster economic advancement and encourage individual participation across multiple investment areas, including microfinance, entrepreneurship, property rights, consumer Internet, mobile technology and government transparency. To learn more about Omidyar Network, please visit www.omidyar.com.

SOURCE Omidyar Network

CONTACT: Greg Pershall of Omidyar Network, +1-360-607-8901, gpershall@omidyar.com

Web Site: http://www.eienigeria.org

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