You are currently viewing US Filmmakers Interact with Pak Visual Storytellers (VIDEO AND TEXT)
PANEL DISCUSSION

US Filmmakers Interact with Pak Visual Storytellers (VIDEO AND TEXT)

KARACHI: Consulate General of USA and Arts Council of Pakistan joined hands  to organize a panel discussion in order to ponder over the challenges in film industry here and best practices in the US to assist with its growth.

AHMED SHAHPresident Arts Council Ahmed Shah welcomed the panelists. 

JASON GREENUS Consulate’s Public Affairs Officer moderated the session.

US FILM PRODUCER MARIA RAQUEL
Speaking on the occasion American Film Producer Maria Raquel Bozzi told how her organization was presently focusing on augmenting its scope: “Right now I’m here in Pakistan to learn a lot more about the industry and the filmmaking practice here because we are starting to broaden the scope of the program to include South Asia and we are beginning to learn more about what is going on here in Pakistan because we want to serve mid-career filmmakers with this program, global media makers.”
“Global Media Makers (GMM) is an innovative mentoring initiative and cultural exchange program designed to build a bridge and foster relationships between American filmmakers and industry professionals with international filmmakers from diverse regions of the world.
“Launched in 2016, GMM is supported through a partnership between Film Independent and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. We have partnered for the last three years connecting visual storytellers from around the world with leading U.S. entertainment professionals through specially tailored mentorships, workshops and master classes.
“Over 200 U.S. Mentors from the entertainment industry have participated in the program to offer project support, networking opportunities and creative connections for participating international filmmakers. Past Creative Advisers and Mentors include Len Amato (President, HBO Films), Effie Brown (Dear White People), Alix Madigan (Winter Bone), Robin Swicord (Memoirs of a Geisha) and Ron Years (Little Miss Sunshine).
“Since 2016, 46 Fellows have been served through GMM residencies, leading to eight produced projects, including Egyptian Fellow Amr Salama’s Sheikh Jackson. Egypt’s official submission to the Academy Award’s Best Foreign Language Film category.
“From 2016-18, the program has operated in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey including Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates in 2019. GMM will broaden its scope to South Asia to include Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka while continuing to build on the strong foundation established in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey.”
LA Residency Program Overview
“Up to 18 Fellows from participating countries are selected for a year-long Fellowship that begins with a six-week LA Residency.
Fellow participate in filmmaking labs focused on screenwriting, directing, creative producing and documentary filmmaking where they develop their current projects with a team of U.S. Mentors. The program provides master classes, industry sessions, field trips cultural engagement activities and access to individual Mentors for project support and networking. Fellows also participate in hands-on production during the residency that provides exposure to the latest tools and technology to make film, television and new media.
Mentorship continues remotely through the remainder of the year via video call sessions. Fellows are expected to foster a culture of mentorship in the region. They are strongly encouraged to share their experiences and knowledge gleaned during their stay in LA with their local filmmaking communities.
In addition to the LA Residency, GMM travels to the region to better understand the media landscape and organize in-depth workshops in the various program countries. Workshop focus on a specific area of film or television and are led by prominent filmmakers and industry leaders from the U.S. to date, these workshops have served over 750 participants in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey.

{Maria Raquel Bozzi is the Senior Director of Film Education & International Initiatives at Film Independent. In this capacity, she is responsible for conceptualizing, planning, and implementing all of Film Independent’s education curriculum to serve the needs of filmmakers. Under her leadership, the Film Education Department produces over 150 events a year, bringing together over 250 guest speakers representing the best professionals in the independent film community. On the International front, Bozzi has spearheaded several international initiatives for Film Independent (Mexico, France, China, Saudi Arabia, Australia), and is currently leading Global Media Makers, an innovative mentoring program that connects visual storytellers from around the world with leading U.S. entertainment professionals; and Film Arabia, an online film education series to serve aspiring filmmakers in the Arab region.

As an independent filmmaker, her filmography includes the short Instructions for Crying: the documentary Palenque: Un Canto, acclaimed internationally at numerous international film festivals; and The Colombia We Never Left, a television documentary sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of Colombia, broadcast on HB O Latino. In addition to producing, directing, and editing her own projects, she has also worked as an associate producer for public television documentaries, and as a writer of educational films for Glencoe/McGraw Hill and Houghton Mifflin Publishing companies. Ms. Bozzi has an extensive background in film education. For seven years, she taught film and video production in colleges and universities throughout the Los Angeles area including UCLA, Loyola Marymount University and the University of California, Irvine. She holds an MFA in Film and Television Production from UCLA.}

AIIX MADIGAN US FILM MAKER
Alix Madigan told about her association with GMM and her role as a Mentor. She serves on the board of Film Independent and is a member of the Academy,,.”I’ve mentored incoming people who have visited Los Angeles for the fellowship and led workshops in terms of independent producing and I’ve focused on that…”

{Alix has most recently produced VeenaSud’s THE LIE for BLUMHOUSE as well as 1982, an Arabic language film written and directed by Oualid Mouaness, and starring Nadine Labaki. Before that, she produced IT HAPPENED IN L.A., written, starring and directed by Michelle Morgan, which appeared at the Sundance Film Festival in the NEXT section in 2017. She also produced LAGGIES, starring Keira Knightley, Sam Rockwell and Chloe Moretz, which was directed by Lynn Shelton, WHITEBIRD IN A BLIZZARD, starring Shailene Woodley and directed by Gregg Araki, and MAY IN THE SUMMER, all of which premiered at The Sundance Film Festival.

Alix produced WINTER’S BONE, directed by Debra Granik and starring Jennifer Lawrence, which was the winner of the Grand Jury Prize for best dramatic feature at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010. The film also received four Academy Award nominations including best picture, and won the Gotham Award for Bes Picture and two Independent Spirit Awards.

She has served in various producing capacities on films such as the cult comedy SMILEY FACE, directed by Gregg Araki and starring Anna Faris, MARRIED LIFE, directed by Ira Sachs, Neil LaBute’s YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS starring Ben Stiller and GIRL MOST LIKELY starring Kristen Wiig and Annette Bening and directed by Shari Berman and Bob Pulcini. Alix’s first produced movie was SUNDAY, directed by Jonathan Nossiter, which won the Grand Jury Prize for best dramatic feature and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. She worked at Anonymous Content since its inception and is currently an independent producer. }

BADAR IKRAM
Badar Ikram lamented about the lack of cinemas: “The problem with making films in Pakistan is two-fold, one is on the craft side and one is on the trade side. The problem starts with we don’t have enough cinemas, we don’t have enough screens for a population of our size. The good thing is that people who watch movies are watching Pakistani movies at an increasing rate.”
FIZZA ALI MEERZA
Fizza Ali Meerza opined that all stake-holders should join hands to support the film industry of Pakistan: ” If you go on with one channel and the other channels, which they are many of them would not promote your film because you’re with a channel. You know, films right now are in a way where I don’t think we have to actually bring in personal enmity or for that matter competition or business as it is going to damage the larger good. We gotta see film as a whole, as a progressing industry where we have to put in our own efforts. All of us together.”
NADEEM MANDVIWALLA
Nadeem Mandviwalla said that there instead of going for music rights etc  the Pakistani film was stuck to cinema only: “Many films in the world today are not dependent on theater. They are more dependent on music rights, television rights. Satellite, Digital, all these streams are available all over the world. None of these streams are available in Pakistan which is in my opinion the biggest problem of the producer that he is 100% dependent on cinema.”
Sultana Siddiqui
Sultana Siddiqui opined that it was time Government acknowledged film making as an industry: “This is the time where the government should accept this industry”

__________________________________________________________

USA FILM MAKERS 10

At PACC’s Lincoln Corner a round table conference was held. Betterment of Pakistan’s film industry was the theme discussed by Maria and Alix with leading Pakistani filmmakers.

__________________________________________________________

Talking exclusively to NewsPakistan.TV Maria told about her organization and fellowships offered by it: 

AMERICAN FILM MAKER SPEAKS TO NPTV
KARACHI: Maria Raquel Bozzi, Senior Director of Film Education & International Initiatives at Film Independent, while talking to NPTV here today spoke about the organisation she works for and how it operates. 
“I work for an organization in Los Angeles called Film Independent which is a Non-Profit Organization which supports independent filmmakers through education, artist development and exhibition of their works and celebration of their work through an award show called the Independent Spirit Awards.

“Three years ago our organization was provided with a grant from the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Education & Cultural Affairs to provide the same type of support we’re offering American filmmakers to international filmmakers.

“So we started a program called Global Media Makers three years ago and began serving mid-career filmmakers in the Middle-East. And now we are expanding the program to serve filmmakers in South Asia including Pakistan.’

Who are eligible?  “The first requirement for the program is that you have to be a mid-career filmmaker – not a student, not an emerging filmmaker. You have to be someone that has made some work already so that the residency provided to you which is provided in Los Angeles is very intensive and a little bit advanced so you’re going to be meeting professional filmmakers there.

“There are very interactive sessions and mostly dialogues where they get to share ideas and hear from esteemed filmmakers working in the independent industry in the United States. They also get to work with creative developers to develop their projects.

“They need to go with a screenplay that they are developing so that’s another requirement. They have to have a project that they are developing at the moment and the project has to be at the script level, not at the treatment level, not at the idea level, you need to have a script to come.

“They go for 6 weeks and when they return they continue their mentorship through virtual means like Skype and they get to meet with their mentors to get more feedback on their screenplays and get some support on other aspects like pitching or like launching a film in an international festival so we do support them in any way that we can with experts in North America.

“I’ve only been here (in Pakistan) for a week, I have met a lot of filmmakers, distributors and producers. It sounds to me like Pakistan is in a very exciting moment where there’s a resurgence of film-making and that a lot of Pakistani films are being embraced by the Pakistani audiences so for me that is promising.

“You know, to be honest with you. I didn’t have a set image of what Pakistan was. It is a country that I never thought I would visit. I have embraced the opportunity to come here and see the country for myself and most importantly to meet the people of Pakistan who are so friendly, so warm and so engaging.”

USA FILM MAKERS 1 Copy

M M Alam

M. M. Alam is a Pakistan-based working journalist since 1981. Karachi University faculty gold medalist Alam began his career four decades ago by writing for Dawn, Pakistan’s highest circulating English daily. He has worked for region’s leading publications, global aviation periodicals including Rotors (of USA) and vetted New York Times as permanent employee of daily Express Tribune. Alam regularly covers international aviation and defense-related events including Salon Du Bourget (France), Farnborough (United Kingdom), Dubai (UAE). Alam has reported thousands of events and interviewed hundreds of people in Pakistan, UAE, EU, UK and USA. Being Francophone Alam also coordinates with a number of French publications.