There are many incredibly talented disabled filmmakers and artists worldwide, from James Lebrecht, who just won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature for his film Crip Camp ahead of the Oscars on Sunday, to actor Kiera Allen, whose incredibly entertaining popcorn thriller Run, from filmmakers Aneesh Chaganty and Sev Ohanian, just launched on Netflix in the region.
A new film project in Abu Dhabi aims to continue that trend of letting people of all abilities shine on the highest level. Filmgate Productions, an independent Abu Dhabi-based company, launched a global casting call today for experienced film directors and executive producers with disabilities for the next phase of a film project they’ve had I the works since last year.
The initiative is being done in partnership with Zayed Higher Organization for People of Determination, a governmental organization which aims to provide opportunities to those with different abilities in the UAE.
The project is aiming to have talent on both sides of the camera be made of people with disabilities, called People of Determination in the UAE, with the stated goal of having the majority of the cast, as well as the writers, filmmakers and producers, all be people with disabilities.
FilmGate’s goal as a company is to provide opportunities for people of all ages, genders, nationalities and abilities to show their creative talents.
At the end of 2020, the first phase which involved selecting writers through a call for submissions on social media was a huge success, with 300 submissions coming in from around the world.
Those signed on for the project are Mohammed Al Azmi from Kuwait, Ahmed bin Salem Al Hajji from Oman, Mouhannad AlAkous from Syria, and Shady Todary from Egypt.
Casting is expected to take place over the next few months after the director and executive producer are in place, as they will have an active hand in selecting the rest of the cast and crew as the writers finalize the scripting process.
The pre-production process is then expected to continue over the next several months, as applications for all roles will be thoroughly considered, and then those who have been shortlisted will be contacted for further interviews and assessments. Filming for the series is set to take place mainly in Abu Dhabi, with a plan to begin in the last quarter of 2021.
Interested applicants can apply here.
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