Kitnay Duur Kitnay Paas

(Dubai Film Showcase)

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Event is Ongoing! Enjoy.

About the project

South Asia thrives on its rich tradition of storytelling. Over the past several decades, geographical changes and socio-cultural developments in South Asia have given birth to countless new stories, yet many of these stories remain untold to the billion plus people who call South Asia home. Despite a highly developed film industry in India and an excellent television industry in Pakistan, there has been very little collaboration on an equal footing between Pakistan and India in terms of sharing of skills, techniques and the craft of filmmaking.

Kitnay Duur Kitnay Paas is an attempt for filmmakers from Pakistan and India to come together and make films together while keeping in mind the very fragile collaborative climate between the two countries. Young and emerging filmmakers in both countries have tools of communication available to them and in order for them to tell fresh, riveting stories of their homes, families, communities and their societies, they must come together digitally and make new films together.

It's time to turn our distances into opportunities!

Our Experts

Haya Fatima Iqbal
Expert – Pakistan

Haya Fatima Iqbal is an Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker based in Pakistan. She directs, produces, and shoots films all across Pakistan. She is interested in covering ethnic subcultures across the globe, as well as showcasing human rights issues that affect people across the globe. Haya has worked with CNN, BBC, Channel 4 UK, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Deutsche Welle (DW), Huffington Post, Dawn, and Geo News among other media organizations. Haya also teaches communication, media, and journalism to undergraduate students at Habib University, Karachi. She is a Fulbright alumna who completed her Masters in documentary filmmaking from New York University.

Marcus Goldbas
Expert – U.S.

Seeds of Peace was a launching pad for his career as a filmmaker, cinematographer, photographer and producer. He has directed documentaries in Morocco, Uganda, Iceland, and on several cross country tours in the United States. He has worked on projects with major networks and studios in New York City as well as his own produced and financed projects. In addition to being a part of the Global Leadership Council for Seeds of Peace, he was a camper in 2007 in an Indo-Pak dialogue group. He also served as a counselor in 2011 and 2012. He works at the University of Virginia (UVA) as a multimedia producer. He teaches a course in marketing and negotiation, and he is the co-founder and technical director of his own production company, Nite4Nite Productions also in Virginia.

Sankalp Meshram
Expert – India

Sankalp has been practicing as a Writer, Producer, Director and Editor of films in Mumbai for the last 24 years, completing more than 150 film projects. He has received Five National Awards. Apart from his distinguished professional career, he has been an avid film educator since 2006. He has designed the syllabi and taught at each and every film prestigious film school in India. Laced with wit and humour, his classroom sessions are high voltage, high energy performances brimming with insight and knowledge. He continues to teach film making at all the illustrious film schools of India like FTII (Pune), SRFTII (Kolkata), Whistling Woods International (Mumbai), IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, LBSNAA (Mussoorie) and IIM Ahmedabad. Sankalp has been a member of the academic council of FTII (Pune) & SRFTII (Kolkata). He was also the Dean and Academic Director of the digital academy - The film school (Mumbai) from 2006 to 2017.

Frequently Asked Questions

An opportunity for young emerging filmmakers and digital storytellers to come together and make films with other international filmmakers on culture, traditions and historical narratives.

The films will be made in teams with fellow international filmmakers who will be shortlisted by the same process. Filmmaker participants will collaborate to produce short films under the guidance and mentorship of international film experts.

The groups teams will be formed by film experts keeping various factors in check; this includes, but is not limited to the professional and technical expertise of the participants, and general the diversity of the group.

The recruitment process will consist of two steps, written application form and online interviews. The administration team will sift through the applications and participants will be shortlisted for an online interview with the film experts. Only the filmmakers who will clear both the steps will be selected for this project.

No, the filmmaker participants will not get paid to make films through the platform of this project. However, each team will be given a stipulated budget to produce their film.

This project is not a full-time engagement and can be an on-going parallel project with your other commitments. However, it is mandatory for every participant to attend 3-weeks online sessions and on-ground workshops in Sri Lanka in May/June 2021.

Each team will be given three months for the production and post-production of their film.

This project is a platform for young contemporary filmmakers to work closely with three veteran film experts where they will get the opportunity to enhance their professional and technical skills. The short films which will be produced through this platform will use creative arts to initiate critical thinking and a sense of awareness among the general audience in various countries. After the culmination of the project with a film screening event in Dubai, the films will be made available to the public through social media platforms like YouTube and Vimeo.

Applicants with dual nationality will be low on the priority of selection.

Yes, you can still apply for the project.

Apply here to begin your journey

A call to young contemporary filmmakers to apply for an inspirational journey of professional development. An opportunity to use creative arts to spur critical thinking on regional challenges and highlight the common strand that connects our shared humanity across geographies, cultures and traditions.

Registrations Closed

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Contact Us

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Website by Syed Muneeb Ali