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Screenwriting for Beginners Lab

Screenwriting Lab for Beginners 2024 - Arabic (Online)

Start date:
Sep 03, 2024
Ability Level:
Beginners

Discover the creative process of writing for the screen, all from the comfort of your own home with DFI’s exciting online Screenwriting for Beginners Lab in Arabic. This fascinating lab will include the foundations of screenwriting, with mentors covering the ‘architecture’ of screenplays (storytelling, screenplay guidelines, non-verbal storytelling and characterization) and the ‘formatting’ of a screenplay (visual grammar and Celtx/Final Draft).

Taught remotely, the lab is offered in Arabic, blending online lectures, assignments and group discussions to give participants a comprehensive and well-rounded understanding of screenwriting. As this is a beginner’s lab, the aim is for participants to produce a minimum of one scene for their screenplay. If the participant is based in Qatar, they will also have the opportunity to continue their filmmaking journey with the DFI development team, working towards further education and grants.


Application Deadline: 15 August 2024

Lab Dates: 3 – 7 September 2024

Hours: 5:00 – 7:00 PM

Lab Fee: 300.00 QAR
Group Size: 10 – 15 participants will be selected for each lab.
Level: Beginners
Location: Online
Language: Arabic


Lab schedule

Day 1: Introduction to stories
Day 2: Building your characters
Day 3: Story architecture
Day 4: Visual storytelling
Day 5: Writing for the screen


Submission Requirements:

Applicants should submit an email to training@dohafilminstitute.com with the following:

  • Original short film logline and synopsis
  • Applicant’s CV or short bio
  • Copy of applicant’s ID
  • A short paragraph explaining your interest in this lab

Eligibility
Applicants should be 18 years old or above.


Lab Mentor

Ayman El Amir
Ayman El Amir is an Egyptian filmmaker and script consultant. His recent work includes directing and producing, with Nada Riyadh, the feature documentary, The Brink of Dreams, premiered in Cannes’ Semaine de la Critique and won L’Oeil D’or Prize For best documentary at the Festival de Cannes 2024. He has worked as a script consultant, a mentor and a jury member for many programs, labs, funds and institutes including Torino Film Lab, Cannes’ Short Film Corner, Doha Film Institute, Idfa Bertha Fund, Cairo International Film Festival, Marrakech International Film Festival Atlas Atelier, Full Circle Lab, Hot Docs Documentary Fund, SRMG Saudi Episodic Script writing lab, and DW Academy. He mentors also the Egyptian Dahshur Genre Script Development Residency, the only screenwriting residency in MENA region, that is dedicated for developing genre projects. He works through his Cairo-based production company, Felucca Films, to help filmmakers explore and shape their own personal voices and to produce unique and original fiction and documentary films, with a special focus on fresh and new talents and contemporary social issues.


SELECTED PARTICIPANTS 2024

  • Bahjat Al Mostafa (Syria)
  • Asal Kullap (Palestine)
  • Loura Enezi (Kuwait)
  • Ahmed Ibrahim Yasin (Sudan)
  • Yusra Abbas (Yemen)
  • Ibrahim Albuainain (Qatar)
  • Mohammed Beddazi (Morrocco)
  • Algaddal Hassan (Sudan)
  • Sana Hashem (Jordan)
  • Nermine Helmy (Egypt)
  • Ahmed Eman Zakaria (Egypt)
  • Ahmed Babiker (Sudan)
  • Nader Assal (Egypt)
  • Latifa Aldhafieri (Yemen)
  • Mohammed A. Fakhroo (Qatar)
  • Adel Yahya (Yemen)
  • Aya Elhussieny (Egypt)
  • Nooh Mahmoud Abdelmagid (Sudan)
  • Heba Al-Otaibi (Jordan)
  • Chayma EL-Hkim (Morrocco)
  • Karama Sayadi (Tunisa)
  • Yousef Nasher (Yemen)
  • Rasha Abu Taleb (Turkey)
  • Haneen Saleh (Palestine)
  • Aisha Adli (Palestine)