About Ramallah Doc
Established in 2009 and organized annually by The A. M. Qattan Foundation, The Consulate General of France in Jerusalem, The Goethe-Institut in Ramallah, and the Filmlab: Palestine. Ramallah Doc is an opportunity for Palestinian documentary filmmakers to pitch their project ideas to a forum of international film producers and TV representatives that included in the past years: Ina Fichman (Intuitives Films), Irit Neidhardt (Mec Films), Aaqil Ahmed (BBC Uk), Ann Julienne (France Télévisions), and Philippe Muller (Arte) and many others. In addition to the awarded prizes, Ramallah Doc. has so far succeeded in matching several Palestinian film makers with international commissioning editors and production companies to develop their film projects one of which is Amer Shomali for his award-winning film “The Wanted 18”, in addition to assisting many Palestinian directors secure pre-buy deals and post production grants.
The participating filmmakers join a series of trainings and workshops conducted by both local and international trainers in order to prepare them for the pitching session that takes place in October each year.
Ramallah Doc 2019
Ramallah Doc 2019 invited Palestinian filmmakers to apply for its 7th edition where the deadline for submissions was on the 3rd of July.
Ramallah Doc provides an exceptional opportunity for selected applicants to meet with international film producers and TV representatives to present their films in a pitching session, followed by one-to one meetings. The pitching will take place in Ramallah in October 2019 during the Palestine Cinema Days Festival.
The selected filmmakers will then be invited to participate in a series of preparatory workshops, including production (August), trailer editing (August–September), and pitching techniques (October).
Eligible applicants are professional directors, or newcomers with a concrete idea for a documentary film project and an action plan for its implementation.
"Out of Sight" Symposium
Ramallah DOC team organised a 3 day public symposium entitled “Out of Sight” which aimed at investigating the conventional ways of seeing in the visual culture of Palestine. The symposium was organised as part of the “Out of Sight” project, curated and facilitated by Adania Shibli, and it took place in Ramallah at A.M Qattan Foundation, between 23-25 March 2019.
The Symposium hosted well-known professionals including the Filmmaker Andrea Luka Zimmerman, Theorist Robert JC Young, and Film Producer and Head of the German Film and Television School-Berlin Ben Gibson, along other Speakers include: Amira Silmi, Lara Khaldi, Amer Shomali, Kamal Aljafaari, who worked closely with the applicants in order to develop their film projects.
Partners
A. M. Qattan Foundation: is an independent, not-for-profit developmental organisation working in the fields of culture and education, with a particular focus on children, teachers and young artists. It seeks to empower free individuals within a dynamic Palestinian and Arab culture, through a long-term, participatory developmental ethos. This is achieved through programmes that foster critical thinking, research, creativity and the production of knowledge, and that aim to provide inspiring models of giving, transparency and excellence.
Filmlab: Palestine: is a non-profit organization founded in 2014, aims to expand and cultivate the existing cinema culture in Palestine by providing the necessary technical and artistic support for emerging Palestinian filmmaking voices through its programs in Palestine and abroad.
Beside the Palestine Cinema Days Festival, organized by Filmlab annually in October, the organization holds, throughout the year, several activities and programs in the field of cinema culture and filmmaking. These activities include training courses on filmmaking, film presentations, panel discussions and round-table, lectures, workshops and many other activities aimed at different age groups and social segments.
Goethe Institut: Acting on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Goethe-Institut promotes various themes of foreign cultural and educational policy. The main objectives of the institute are to promote the study of the German language abroad, to encourage international cultural cooperation and to convey an all-round image of Germany by providing information on its culture, society and politics. Goethe-Institut monitors trends in Germany, encourages intercultural dialogue through educational programmes and enables cultural involvement by organising events and making contributions to various festivals and exhibitions in the fields of film, performing arts, literature and visual art, amongst others. Goethe-Institut Ramallah is involved in the organisation of various film-based events in a local context.
The Consulate General of France in Jerusalem: supports, through its audiovisual sector, the development of the cinema industry in Palestine. Working with several local partners, the French Consulate participate in the organization of different activities like festivals, workshops, and residencies. One of its main mission is to promote the French expertise in the field of cinema and to connect French and Palestinian institutions in order to foster cooperation in diverse topics like preserving films archives, financing film production, training the future Palestinian film technicians and directors... The French Consulate also support the distribution of Palestinian movies in France especially in festivals and carry out actions to encourage co-production between France and Palestine. .
