http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/ OpenACS News OpenACS 5.0 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:10:36 GMT http://creativecontent.unesco.org/rss-support/images/openacs_logo_rss.gif http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/ 126 48 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=97391 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=97391 Organized by the Alliance of Civilizations in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration the Plural + Festival is a youth video initiative aimed to exploring themes related to migration and diversity. PLURAL+ has as main goal involving youth in addressing the key issues in their community related to migrant integration, inclusiveness, identity, diversity, human rights and social cohesiveness. The practical contributions of young people ? whether they are migrants, second-generation immigrants or non-migrants ? can come not just by identifying constraints but also through promoting a climate of respect and appreciation for each other, helping to point the way towards a more enlightened world. 35 videos have been received from all over the world and during the next weeks an international jury will vote the selected ones. On 18 December, 2009, coinciding with The International Migrants Day, a prestigious international jury will announce and screen the winning videos during an award ceremony at the Paley Center for Media in New York City. The winning videos will be presented at festivals, conferences and events throughout 2010. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:10:36 GMT http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=93580 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=93580 A Summit of Western African Directors held in Nairobi and supported by UNESCO Communication Development Division has been the event in which the UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform has been presented. Broadcasters from countries like Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya have attended the presentation of the Audiovisual E-Platform showing their interest to the project, a useful tool to promote their productions and to establish connections among audiovisual professionals worldwide. The UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform was presented in Nairobi by Rut Gomez Sobrino, Head of the Audiovisual Department at UNESCOCat, based in Barcelona, Spain and one of the partners of the project together with the UNESCO Association of Igualada. The presentation was followed by a round table conducted by Rut Gomez Sobrino and the film director Fina Sensada about the obstacles and challenges of independent production in which a debate about new digital technologies took place. The attendees had the opportunity to exchange their views and to know more about the last innovations in digital cameras, which highly assist the independent production work. Gomez Sobrino and Sensada were also responsible for conducting two workshops on Journalism and on Audiovisual Production for African youth between 10 and 18 years old. In these seminars the participants have had the opportunity to produce articles, interviews and even a documentary which will be release soon. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:00:06 GMT http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=95347 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=95347 Mediterranean audiovisual professionals have had the opportunity to know more about the UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform in the 2009 edition of the MEDIMED, held in Sitges, Barcelona, last weekend. MEDIMED Festival aims at fostering the Euro-Mediterranean independent documentaries while giving an opportunity for networking to audio-visual professionals and broadcasters. Rut Gómez Sobrino, Head of the Audiovisual Department at UNESCOCat, and presenter of the UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform declared that the MEDIMED "is a very relevant initiative to improve content exchange between the 39 Euro-Mediterranean countries -12 from the MEDA region and 27 from the Northern shore- as well as to foster promotion and distribution of those audiovisual products". MEDIMED, part of the Institute of the Mediterranean, Head of the Spanish Network of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation, launchs also the Ahmed Attia's Award for the Dialogue of Cultures which will be given to one of the documentaries entered this year in the dedicated section "MEDIMED Ready Made Projects". Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:56:40 GMT http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=93581 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=93581 A Summit of Western African Directors held in Nairobi and supported by UNESCO Communication Development Division has been the event in which the UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform has been presented. Broadcasters from countries like Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya have attended the presentation of the Audiovisual E-Platform showing their interest to the project, a useful tool to promote their productions and to establish connections among audiovisual professionals worldwide. The UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform was presented in Nairobi by Rut Gomez Sobrino, Head of the Audiovisual Department at UNESCOCat, based in Barcelona, Spain and one of the partners of the project together with the UNESCO Association of Igualada. The presentation was followed by a round table conducted by Rut Gomez Sobrino and the film director Fina Sensada about the obstacles and challenges of independent production in which a debate about new digital technologies took place. The attendees had the opportunity to exchange their views and to know more about the last innovations in digital cameras, which highly assist the independent production work. Gomez Sobrino and Sensada were also responsible for conducting two workshops on Journalism and on Audiovisual Production for African youth between 10 and 18 years old. In these seminars the participants have had the opportunity to produce articles, interviews and even a documentary which will be release soon. Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:58:57 GMT http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=89820 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=89820 The development of the Nigerian film industry has developed so much in the last years that is becoming closer to the amount of productions done in India, the global leader in movie production. The advances of the Nigerian film sector have been underlined by a UNESCO report. This study published by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), states that Bollywood ?popular name of the Mumbai-based film industry ? produced 1,091 films in 2006, compared to the 872 productions created by Nollywood ?Nigerian film industry. The United States? number of production reaches 485 films in the same year. 56 per cent of Nollywood films are made in local languages, but English remains a strong language, which may contribute to Nigeria?s success in exporting its film industry. Development of video techniques has provoked a reduction of production costs and this has make possible the explosion of new film industries around the world, particularly in developing countries. Other big industries are represented by Japan ?417 films-, China ?330-, France ?203-, Germany ?174-, Spain ?150-, Italy ?116-, South Korea ?110- and the United Kingdom -104-. According to UNESCO Director-General Koďchiro Matsuura, ?Film and video production are shining examples of how cultural industries, as vehicles of identity, values and meanings, can open the door to dialogue and understanding between peoples, but also to economic growth and development.? Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:54:28 GMT http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=89870 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=89870 After a long process of restructuring, the UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform has started a new era represented by constant contact with Festivals and independent audiovisual professionals. In this sense, the project has been presented at ?CINE POSIBLE? (www.cineposible.es) and ?Festival Residus Millor en Curt? (www. residusmillorencurt.net) and just a few days ago in ?Cines del Sur? (www.cinesdelsur.com), an international event taking place in Granada, Southern Spain. At the Festival Cine Posible the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia contributed offering a presentation of the UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform, in which the DVD 'Public Service Broadcasting' was commented by Rut G. Sobrino, Head of the Audiovisual Department at the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia and the attendees. Later on, at the Festival "Residues, Better in Short", Rut G. Sobrino participated in a round table together with the organizers -Fundacion La Caixa, FEICAT and the Agency of Residues of Catalonia among them- to discuss the importance of involving the audiovisual message in sustainable development best practices. Finally, and with the occasion of the Festival Cinemas from the South, the Audiovisual E-Platform was presented in a round table together with Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, where the obstacles faced by the audiovisual sector in the Arab region were debated. Rut Gomez Sobrino, as well as Mohammed Krichen, presenter of Al Jazeera and Montaser Marai, director of Al Jazeera channel, participated in this round table, where the strong connection between UNESCO and Al Jazeera was underlined. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:53:06 GMT http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=89811 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=89811 Apart from increasing the catalogues with new productions ?see new catalogues from PRATEC, the International Federation of Cineclubs, Canal Documental TV, Arab Digital Expression Foundation, Pandorga Comunicación and IBISA TV among others-. Currently the UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform has surpassed the 600 productions from all around the world. UN agencies such as IFAD will be posting as well their audiovisual works increasing the quality and the richness of the service. The UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform aims at being the audiovisual centre of the UN family. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:49:16 GMT http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=89863 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=89863 The UNESCO Centre of Catalonia, partner and manager of the UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform, has participated in the last days in a round table with Al Jazeera Documentary Channel in the framework of the Festival Cines del Sur -Cinemas from the South-. "Documentaries face some difficulties in the Arab region since they are not that popular", commented in his introduction Montaser Marai, Head of the Al Jazeera Documentary Channel. "Therefore, the Al Jazeera Documentary Channel tries to give a platform to the Arab documentaries and to promote this product among the audience and viewers", he explained. Responsibility is something that Al Jazeera emphasizes often and in that regard, and questioned about the importance of the share and audience figures in the programming, Marai commented that "we know that documentaries are hardly lucrative but we have a responsibility as communicators and with this regard, we should know that there will be some products which will be more succesful than others among viewers". In this line, Rut G. Sobrino, Head of the Audiovisual Department at the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia, said that "it is precisely this responsibility and not the commercial gains what links the UNESCO philosophy with the social, educative and cultural goals of Al Jazeera, so needed in the Arab region". These needs covered by Al Jazeera, in various fields, but especially in that referred to freedom of information and expression, have shown the importance of Al Jazeera as a phenomenon in the cultural, educative, economic and social spheres. Nearly 90 films have been presented in the Cines del Sur Festival, one of the most exciting and prestigious festivals in the field of social cinema. The first award of the Festival, the Golden Alhambra, which consisted of 50,000 Euro, was conceded to the movie "The Other Bank" (Georgia/Kazajstán, 2009) by the Director George Ovashvili. This movie will be available in the UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform in the coming days. The second award, the Silvered Alhambra, with 30,000 Euro, was given to the movie "Before the Burial" (Iran, 2008) by the Iranian director Behnam Behzadi. Finally, the Bronzed Alhambra, with 15.000 Euro, was awarded to "Jalainur" (China, 2008) by the director Zhao Ye. Apart from the awards, there were other type of activities such as training, seminars and conferences of prestigious international filmmakers. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:40:47 GMT http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=89827 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=89827 15 productions have been uploaded so far into the UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform. ?IFAD in Yemen?, ?Breaking Down Borders?, ?Sweet Success?, ?Qashing In?, ?Nerica in Benin?, ?Sending Money Home?, ?Villages in the Front Line?, ?Three Sisters?, ?Liquid Gold?, ?Gas, gas, gas?, ?Howa?s Chance?, ?Fuel for thought?, ?Cash Flow Fever?, ?In the wake of war? and ?Seeds of Hope? are the videos which have been included in the UNESCO catalogue. By tackling issues such as agricultural production in Haiti, war and poverty in Burundi, migration in El Salvador and women in the development process among other topics, the IFAD catalogue offers a rich source of audiovisual content. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:38:35 GMT http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=89836 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=89836 15 productions have been uploaded so far into the UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform. ?IFAD in Yemen?, ?Breaking Down Borders?, ?Sweet Success?, ?Qashing In?, ?Nerica in Benin?, ?Sending Money Home?, ?Villages in the Front Line?, ?Three Sisters?, ?Liquid Gold?, ?Gas, gas, gas?, ?Howa?s Chance?, ?Fuel for thought?, ?Cash Flow Fever?, ?In the wake of war? and ?Seeds of Hope? are the videos which have been included in the UNESCO catalogue. By tackling issues such as agricultural production in Haiti, war and poverty in Burundi, migration in El Salvador and women in the development process among other topics, the IFAD catalogue offers a rich source of audiovisual content. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:33:52 GMT http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=90970 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=90970 With nearly 500 users registered until July 2009, the number of registrations have reached an optimum figure if we compare with the 733 users registered in the whole year 2008. The increase in the number of users is due to the new functionalities added to the website and the networking activities done by the management team of the UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform. One of the new functionalities has been the categorization of nearly 600 productions in different themes: Culture and intercultural dialogue, Education, Environment, global warming and water, HIV/Aids and Health, Human Rights, tolerance and peace, Sustainable Development and poverty reduction, Minorities and indigenous people, Children, Women, Multilingualism and Communication, Technology and media. This facilitates the identification of audiovisual content by country and by thematic category. The users consulted by the management of the UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform have also confirmed that one of the sections they like most was the "authors part", where detailed information about the authors has been uploaded together with their photos in many cases. In the coming months new functionalities will be added, increasing the value of the UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform and improving the service offered by this project. One of the activities will be to include a database of international festivals listed by country as well as an international list of educational centers dedicated to audiovisual training. [1] [1] /media-library/?search_p=1&sw_cat_id=83821 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:32:11 GMT http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=90412 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=90412 Starting on the 10th of November 2009 until the 14th, another annual celebration of Arabic and International short cinema will mark the 5th session of the Jordan Short Film Festival (JSFF) and the beginning of a series of events such as filmmaking workshops, discussion panels, meetings of indie filmmakers, and of course the cornerstone event of the JSFF, the Arab and International film competitions. For each competition, the award is $3000 USD. Special Merits shall be awarded for the categories of Cinematography, Acting, Script, and Editing. The jury for 2009 will be composed of Arab and International film scene notables including Niclas Gillberg, Director of Academy-certified Uppsala Film Festival, Sweden; and Montserrat Guiu, board of directors member and competition programmer for the Academy-certified Huesca Film Festival, Spain. The JSFF'09 is proud to celebrate its 5th year under the management of the Amman Filmmakers Cooperative. Our partners for 2009 are the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, the Spanish Agency for Cultural Cooperation. The list of sponsors includes the Abdulhameed Shoman Foundation, Zikra Initiative, and Mohtaraf Remaal. We call on all filmmaking talents to participate in this intercultural dialogue to help enrich the experience of festival audiences and to promote the dialog of the civilizations. Festival website and entry form: http://JordanFilmFestival.com Deadline for film submission: Sep 15, 2009 Deadline for film delivery: Oct 1, 2009 Contact: Director: Hazim Bitar Phone: +962.776.400.434 Email: JordanianFilms@gmail.com Web: http://JordanFilmFestival.com About the Festival: The Jordan Short Film Festival (JSFF) is Jordan's only independent competitive international short film festival, established in 2004 to promote artistic freedom of expression and intercultural understanding. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:29:51 GMT http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=90120 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=90120 The Scene by Scene production team is gathering stories about talented filmmakers of Asia-Pacific for broadcast through CNN?s global network in the lead up to the third annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards. You can join the production unit in Kazakhstan through SCENE BY SCENE ON THE ROAD, an exclusive behind- the-scenes glimpse at their latest instalment of interviews. From the stunt horses of the Almaty circus to the stark beauty of the steppe through to an intriguing new animation project based on Kazakhstani fairytales and folklore, SCENE BY SCENE ON THE ROAD blogs the production team?s experiences as they explore the emerging powerhouse of film that is Asia-Pacific. SCENE BY SCENE ON THE ROAD is in the Multimedia section of the APSA website which also features a video portal where segments from Scene by Scene 2008 are available to view online. The 2008 clips feature interviews and exclusive on set access with acclaimed filmmakers from the region including royal filmmaker HRH Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol (Thailand), Eran Riklis (Israel), Ashutosh Gowariker (India) and 2008 Jury President Bruce Beresford (Australia). Scene by Scene is screened by CNN International to more than 249 million households and hotel rooms in more than 200 countries and territories, providing Asia-Pacific filmmakers with unprecedented global television coverage. SCENE BY SCENE 2009 BROADCAST DATES: Episode 1: October 3?5, 2009 Episode 2: October 10?12, 2009 Episode 3: October 17?19, 2009 Episode 4: October 31?November 2, 2009 *Dates subject to change without notice To receive bite-sized APSA updates you can follow us on Twitter or join us on Facebook at: Asia Pacific Screen Awards / CNN Scene by Scene Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:41:39 GMT http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=83480 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=83480 Under the theme ?Cinema Africain: Tourisme et Patrimoines Cultures?, the event tries to bring African professionals to use their art, to promote and value the tourist and patrimonial wealth of the African continent. In that sense, African cinema could be a control lever for tourism development based on the rich cultural patrimony of the continent. The image of FESPACO as the melting pot of the African film work and the African Diaspora confirmed from edition to edition on one hand by an influx noticed by professionals and by cinema enthusiasts and on the other, by an increasing number of participating countries. Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:42:06 GMT http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=84379 http://creativecontent.unesco.org/news/item?item%5fid=84379 Nominated for Best Animation are LITTLE KNOWLEDGE IS DANGEROUS by Adede Hawi, Samora Michelle and Karama Ogova (2007); MANANI OGRES by Joseph Hongo, Marcus Joseph, Norrick Joseph and Samuel Musembi(2007); and CHEPRONO (2008). Whereas LITTLE KNOWLEDGE IS DANGEROUS and MANANI OGRES were made under the guidance of Finnish tutor Maiki Kantola with the support of the Danish Film Institute, the latter was made under the facilitation of Egyptian Dr Eid Abdel Latif with the support of Africalia of Belgium. Also nominated for Best Documentary (Short Subject) is SANTOS THE SURVIVOR, a film on how an orphaned child survives in Nairobi made by Rupinder Jagdev in 2008 during a Lola Kenya Screen film production workshop?Children and Docs?facilitated by Dutch documentary filmmaker Duco Tellegen with the support of the Jan Vrijman Fund/IDFA of The Netherlands. Lola Kenya Screen founder and director Ogova Ondego, who is attending the 21st Pan African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), was elated with the nomination that was announced on March 3, 2009 by AMAA CEO Peace Anyiam Fiberesima. ''This nomination affirms that Lola Kenya Screen is on the right track. Though our films are made by children over a four-day period on zero-budget, yet they are able to successfully stand alongside those made by adult professionals. This nomination has emboldened us and given us more confidence to trudge on deeper into the jungle that is African filmmaking,'' Ondego, who produces Lola Kenya Screen productions, said in a statement. ''I thank our partners spread across the world for the support they accord us. We shall forever be grateful to ComMattersKenya of Kenya, Goethe-Institut in Kenya, The Danish Film Institute of Denmark, Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development and Jan Vrijman Fund of Holland and Africalia of Belgium.'' Lola Kenya Screen films have been shown on all continents and won awards along the way. More information about the Lola Kenya Screen audiovisual media initiative for children and youth in eastern Africa is available at www.lolakenyascreen.org and www.artmatters.info Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:09:41 GMT