Amman, Jordan 2018

Workshop Photos

PRESS RELEASE: Screen Buzz – Writing for TV workshop concludes in Amman, Jordan amidst positive reviews from Hollywood industry professionals and participants

Last Thursday, the inaugural Screen Buzz workshop, hosted in partnership with The Royal Film Commission (RFC) - Jordan, came to a close in Amman. Screen Buzz is a series of creative workshops, powered by AAM, which offer the rare opportunity for selected local participants from the Arab world to learn firsthand from Hollywood experts in the fields of screenwriting, directing and producing. 

As the workshop concluded, the Hollywood mentors – Lindsay Goffman (Producer, The Good Doctor), Mark Goffman (Writer and Producer, Bull, Sleepy Hollow) and Daniel Knauf (Creator and Writer, Carnivàle, The Black List) - shared their enthusiasm for a terrific week of working alongside the eleven local participants, and commented on how impressed they were with the quality of the projects presented. Knauf, said, "What surprised me the most has been this special lens that all of the filmmakers brought to this [experience], which was a uniquely Arab perspective on the material that they’re working on, whether it’s a family comedy or a science fiction project, its viewed from a slightly different perspective, which makes it amazingly fresh.”  

AAM will continue working with the participants post-workshop to follow up on the development of their projects, in addition to planning for the next workshop which will take place in the region later this fall. One of the workshop participants, Jordanian screenwriter Samya Ayesh, shared, “I love TV. And I love to watch stories on TV.  And, I feel like I come from a part of the world where we have so many stories to tell and so much to talk about.  So that’s why I thought this is a great opportunity for me to try and express what I know about the region we live in.”  

Another participant, Egyptian writer and director Sherif Nakhla: "I came to the workshop to learn from the mentors, gain more writing experience and challenge my ideas and scripts to improve them as best I can. I learned a lot during the workshop and I hoped that it would not end, especially since each one of the mentors not only focused on the script but they took the time to explain the ins and outs of the industry  which was super important and beneficial".

Workshops are held under the supervision of AAM’s Middle East Advisory Council, which includes seven of the most prominent Arab figures in the film and TV industry: H.E. Noura Al Kaabi, UAE Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development (UAE); HRH Princess Rym Ali, Founder of the Jordan Media Institute and Board Member at the Royal Film Commission (Jordan); actress Yousra (Egypt); actress and director Nadine Labaki (Lebanon); actress and producer Saba Mubarak (Jordan); Ali Jaber, Director of MBC Group (UAE); and actress Hend Sabry (Tunisia).

To carry out this initiative in the Arab world, AAM has joined hands with MAD Solutions and partnered with its Arab Cinema Center (ACC). 

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