ADFP

Crossroads

Express

AFAC's Documentary Program

In parallel with general open call for proposals, which ensures equal access for applicants and provides a continuous barometer for the state of arts and culture in the region, AFAC utilizes its accumulated experience in the region to design programs that can address geographic, thematic and demographically peripheral areas in need of support in the Arab world. AFAC has identified interventions that are critical, visible and meaningful to the region, which require sustained multi-year programs to be addressed. These programs will garner visibility both locally and internationally, and persuade local patrons that a thriving homegrown cultural scene demands support.

The Arab Documentary Film Program, ADFP, launched in partnership with the Sundance Documentary Institute in 2009, provided an excellent model for such programs where by AFAC has played a significant role in supporting creative documentary filmmakers from the Arab world. Building on the success of ADFP, and in response to the political and social turmoil the Arab world has experienced, AFAC has launched two additional special programs on the 15th of September 2011:

AFAC Express provided support to artists and small institutions that are actively engaged within their artistic communities and aspire to expand their activities in response to new realities across the region with financial support for projects and operational expenses. It is founded on a quick-response process using a rolling deadline to funnel emergency financial aid to artists-in-need and institutions and organizations whose resources are being stretched due to the dramatic events taking place in the Arab region.

Crossroads targets independent Arab filmmakers exploring the frontiers of new possibilities offered by the current social and political turmoil in the region by offering both financial and professional support for film projects in development phases directed by emerging filmmakers who are discovering fertile grounds for innovation, creativity and experimentation amidst the upheaval engulfing the region.