Residency MENA | Application Reports
Selection Committees
2017 Fall Cycle Report
- applications were received from from 2 Arab countries as follows: Egypt (4), Libya (1)
- All applications were received in English. No applications were in Arabic, Tamazight, Kurdish, or German
- 38% of the applicants are between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine, 37% between the ages of forty and forty-nine, and 25% of the applicants were above the age of fifty.
- 85% of applicants are directors with previous experience and 25% of applicants are first-time directors
- All applications were submitted by the directors of the projects
- Gender split was 37% female applicants and 63% males.
- 60% of the applications were made for feature length documentaries, while 20% were made for mid-length documentaries and 20% were made for a short film.
- 80% of the projects have a producer or a co-producer, or both, attached
- 20% projects have secured funding prior to applying
- Average length of audiovisual material submitted per project is 90 minutes
- 80% of applicants consisted of teams with 2 (either a director and editor or 2 co-directors). While 20% of applicants were a director requesting to be appointed with an editor by DOX BOX
- Subjects addressed themes such as: self expression; political symbolism; and exile.
- All projects were eligible and were forwarded to the Selection Committee
2017 Summer Cycle Report
- 8 applications were received from from 4 Arab countries as follows: Egypt (4), Morocco (1), Syria (1), Tunis (1), Lebanon (1)
- 38% of the applications were submitted in Arabic and 62% in English. No applications were in Tamazight, Kurdish, or German
- 17% of the applicants are between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine, 73% between the ages of thirty and thirty-nine, none of the applicants were above the age of forty
- 67% of applicants are directors with previous experience and 33% of applicants are first-time directors
- All applications were submitted by the directors of the projects
- Gender split was 34% female applicants and 66% males.
- 12% of the applications were made for feature length documentaries, while 88% were made for mid-length documentaries
- 63% of the projects have a producer or a co-producer, or both, attached
- 63% projects have secured funding prior to applying
- Average length of audiovisual material submitted per project is 70 minutes
- 25% of applicants consisted of teams with 2 (either a director and editor or 2 co-directors). While 75% of applicants were a director requesting to be appointed with an editor by DOX BOX
- Subjects addressed themes such as: Identity in a changing political landscape; self expression and activism.
- Six projects were eligible and were forwarded to the Selection Committee
2017 Spring Cycle Report
- 5 applications were received from from 3 Arab countries as follows: Egypt (2), Morocco (2), Syria (1).
- 40% of the applications were submitted in Arabic and 60% in English. No applications were in Tamazight, Kurdish, or German.
- 50% of the applicants were between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine, 50% between the ages of thirty and thirty-nine, none of the applicants were above the age of forty.
- 50% of applicants were first-time directors.
- All applications were submitted by the directors of the projects.
- Gender split was 1 female applicant and 5 males.
- Applications were made for 2 short films and 3 mid-length documentaries. 40% of the projects had a producer or a co-producer, or both.
- 40% projects had secured funding prior to applying.
- Average length of audiovisual material submitted per project was 40 minutes 20% of applicants consisted of teams with 1 director and either a co-director or an editor.
- 80% of applicants requested to be appointed with an editor by DOX BOX.
- Subjects address themes such as: Video activism and documentation, identity, space and cultural representation.
- None of the applied projects was eligible for the Residency. Thus, no project has been granted.
2016 Fall Cycle Report
- Initial assessment: 4 applications were received from from 5 Arab countries as follows: Algeria (1), Egypt (1), Morocco (1), Syria (2).
- All applications were submitted in the last 7 days of the open call
- 50% of the applications were submitted in Arabic and 50% in English.
- No applications were in Tamazight, Kurdish, or German.
- 14% of the applicants were between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine, 86% between the ages of thirty and thirty-nine, none of the applicants were above the age of forty.
- 25% of applicants are first-time directors.
- All applications were submitted by the directors of the projects.
- Gender split was 43% females and 57% males.
- Applications were made for 1 feature-length, 1 short, and 2 mid-length documentaries.
- 25% of the projects had a producer or a co-producer, or both, attached.
- 75% of projects had secured funding prior to applying.
- Average length of audiovisual material submitted per project was 45 minutes.
- 50% of applicants consisted of teams with 1 director and either a co-director or an editor.
- 50% of applicants requested to be appointed with an editor by DOX BOX.
- Subjects address themes such as: Video activism and documentation; urban development, displacement and the right to land; women’s rights and their political and social representation; and the portrait of political turmoil.
2016 Summer Cycle Report
- 3 applications were submitted: from Jordan (1), Iraq (1) and Sudan (1).
- All applications were made in the last 5 days before the deadline.
- 2 applications were submitted in Arabic and 1 in English. No applications were in Tamazight, Kurdish, or German.
- Two of the applicants were between the ages of thirty and thirty-nine, and one applicant was between the ages of forty and forty-nine.
- All applicants were first-time and second-time filmmakers, both from cinematic and journalistic approaches.
- All applications were submitted by the directors of the projects.
- 2 applications were made by female and 1 by a male applicant.
- Applications were made for 2 short documentaries, and 1 mid-length documentary.
- None of the projects had a producer or a co-producer attached.
- 1 project had secured funding prior to applying to The RESIDENCY.
- All applicants applied without an editor.
- Subjects addressed themes such as: education, political and social change, women’s rights.
All three applications submitted failed to fully comply with the basic eligibility criteria set out for this Residency program (published on website), either in terms of the development stage of their rough cut or the basic criteria of using archival and third-party material as integral part of the narrative. As a result, no project was selected to participate in this Residency cycle.
2016 Spring Cycle Report
- 8 applications were submitted: Egypt (2), Morocco (3), Syria (1), Tunisia (1) and 1 from outside the Arab Countries.
- Except for 1 application, all applications were made in the last 5 days before the deadline.
- 50% of the applications were submitted in Arabic and 50% in English. No applications were in Tamazight, Kurdish, or German.
- 36% of the applicants were between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine, 18% between the ages of thirty and thirty-nine, and 9% between the ages of forty and forty-nine, and 9% above fifty.
- 63% of applicants were first-time directors.
- All applications were submitted by the directors of the projects.
- An increase in female applicants: gender split was 36% females and 64% males.
- Applications were made for 3 feature-length documentaries, 3 short documentaries, and 2 mid-length documentaries.
- 50% of the projects had a producer or a co-producer, or both attached.
- 50% of the projects had secured funding prior to applying to The RESIDENCY.
- Average length of audiovisual material submitted per project was 60 minutes.
- 38% of the applications consisted of filmmaking teams with a director, co-director, and/or editor. The rest of applicants requested the appointment of an editor by DOX BOX.
- Subjects addressed themes such as: ethnicities, immigration, women’s rights, political reconciliation, cultural heritage, and believes.
- Final assessment of applications: 6 eligible projects were forwarded to the Selection Committee, while 2 were notified as being not eligible within 6 weeks of the deadline.
2015 Fall Cycle Report (II)
- 13 applications were submitted from 7 different Arab countries. The breakdown by country is as follows: Egypt (3), Morocco (2), Sudan (1), Jordan (1), Syria (3), Palestine (2), Iraq (1).
- 54% of the applications were submitted within the final two days before the deadline.
- 69% of the applications were submitted in Arabic while 31% were submitted in English. No applications were in Tamazight, Kurdish, or German.
- 61% of the applicants were between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine, 30% between the ages of thirty and thirty-nine, and 9% between the ages of forty and forty-nine.
- 35% of applicants were first-time directors.
- Except for two applications submitted by the producers, all applications were submitted by the directors of the projects.
- The gender split of applicants was 23% females and 77% males.
- Applications were made for 5 feature-length documentaries, 4 short documentaries, and 4 mid-length documentaries. 15% of the projects have a producer or a co-producer, or both attached.
- 38% projects had secured funding prior to applying to The RESIDENCY.
- Average length of audiovisual material submitted per project was 40 minutes.
- 15% of the applications consisted of filmmaking teams with a director, co-director, and/or editor. 85% of the applications requested the appointment of an editor by DOX BOX.
- Subjects addressed themes such as: education systems, ethnicities, immigration, exile and refugees, privacy and smear campaigning, revolution and resistance, war and conflict, and believes.
- Final assessment of applications: 8 eligible projects were forwarded to the Selection Committee, while 5 were notified as being not eligible within 6 weeks of the deadline.
2015 Fall Cycle Report (I)
- 40 applications were submitted from 10 different Arab countries, as well as the Arab diaspora. The breakdown by country is as follows: Algeria (1), Egypt (10), Jordan (1), Iraq (5), Morocco (3), Lebanon (2), Palestine (2) Syria (2), Tunis (7), Yemen (1), Other (6).
- 27 out of 40 applications were submitted within the final five days before the deadline.
- 25 applications were submitted in Arabic, 15 in English. No applications were in Tamazight, Kurdish, or German.
- 20 applicants were between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine, 14 between the ages of thirty and thirty-nine, 5 between the ages of forty and forty-nine, with 3 applicants over the age of fifty.
- 35% of applicants were first-time directors. Except for one application submitted by the producer, all applications were submitted by the directors of the projects.
- The gender split of applicants was 3 females and 37 males.
- There were 17 feature-length documentaries, 13 short documentaries, and 10 mid-length documentaries.
- 8 projects had a producer, a co-producer, or both.
- 4 projects had secured funding prior to applying to The RESIDENCY.
- Average length of audiovisual material submitted per project is 40 minutes. 7 applications consisted of filmmaking teams with a director, co-director, and/or editor. 33 of the applications requested the appointment of an editor by DOX BOX.
- Subjects addressed themes such as: child welfare, cultural heritage, ethnicities, gender equality, justice and jurisdiction, immigration and refugees, revolution and resistance, war and conflict, and workers’ rights.
- Final assessment of applications: 29 applicants were notified as being not eligible within 6 weeks of the deadline. 11 eligible applications were forwarded to the Selection Committee for review.
Fall 2017
- Director Anders Østergaard from Denmark
- Producer Rula Nasser from Jordan
- Director Jihan Tahri from Egypt
Summer 2017
- Visual artist and founder of Creative Documentary Platform Reem Bader from Jordan/Palestine
- Producer Orwa Nyrabia from Syria/Germany
- Director Sara Ishaq from Yemen/Scotland
Winter 2016
- producer Ayman Elamir from Egypt
- Film Curator and Co-founder of ALFILM Berlin Claudia Jubeh from Germany
- Filmmaker and Sound Engineer Moncef Taleb from Tunisia.
Fall 2016
- Director Anders Ostergaard from Denmark
- filmmaker and Head of Grants at the Doha Film Institute Khalil Benkirane from Morocco
- Deputy Director and Films Program Manager at the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture – AFAC Rima Mismar from Lebanon
Summer 2016
…
Spring 2016
- Director Anders Ostergaard from Denmark
- Filmmaker Ali Safi from Morocco
Fall 2015 (II)
- Film producer Hind Saieh from Tunisia
- Filmmaker and writer Mohamed Soueid from Lebanon
- Filmmaker Mohamed Al Daradji from Iraq
Fall 2015 (I)
- Filmmaker and Producer Hala Gala from Egypt
- Film programmer, curator and writer Rasha Salti from Lebanon
- Film critic Dr. Ikbal Zalila from Tunisia
Awarded Projects & Grantees
2015
- Fish Killed Twice | Fall Cycle
Egypt | 70 min | Feature Length Documentary
by Ahmed Fawzi Saleh & Mostafa Noor - My Head Is Not A Graveyard | Fall Cycle
Syria & UK | 45 min | Short Documentary
by Zaher Omareen - Happily Ever After | Winter Cycle
Egypt |40 min | Short Documentary
by Nada Riyadh and Ayman El Amir
2016
- Bread & Angels | Spring Cycle
Morocco and France | 70 min | Feature length Documentary
by Rachid Biyi and Laurent Lombart - Rude Refugees Diaries | Spring Cycle
Syria | 56 min | Mid length Documentary
by Juma Hamdu - Black Stones | Spring Cycle
Syria | 45 min | Short Documentary
by Usama Ghanoum - The Vote | Summer Cycle
Egypt – UK | 100 min | Feature-Length Documentary
by Hanan Abdalla and Cressida Trew - Landless Moroccans | Fall Cycle
Morocco & Algeria | 60 min | Mid Length Documentary
by Soraya El Kahlaoui and Intissar Jbeiha
2017
- Amal | Fall Cycle
Egypt | 90 min | Feature-length Documentary
by Mohamed Siam - The Normal Way | Summer Cycle
Tunisia, France | 70 min | Feature Length Documentary
by Erige Sehiri and Hafedh Laaridhi
- The Colonel Stray Dogs | Fall Cycle
Libya, South Africa & UK | 90 min | Feature Length Documentary
by Khalid Shamis
- Where did Ramsis Go | Summer Cycle
Egypt | 60 minutes | Mid-length Documentary
Amr Bayoumi and Doaa Fathy - Tiny Souls | Fall Cycle
Jordan & Tunisia | 75 minutes | Feature-length Documentary
Dina Nasser and Najwa Khcheimi