TOPLINE March 2019 #3

Dina Nasser, who has directed for the first time a feature-length documentary Tiny
Souls for which she has received a post-production grant, shares her thoughts: “My
journey was very long, shooting for four years and then going into post-production
for two years. It has been a journey of ups and downs, especially on the financial
level; I applied to each fund more than once. Not having a national fund at that time,
I needed European co-producers to be eligible to access foreign funds. I applied to
the JFF and it was great that I got it! You can shoot and produce a documentary by
yourself, but for post-production, you need a highly experienced technical team. I
found a sound engineer in France who improved the quality of the sound in the film
that would not have been possible otherwise.”
All grantees encourage fellow filmmakers, especially the emerging ones, to apply
to the JFF. Nora AlSharif, whose short film Ismail competed at the Palm Springs
International Shortfest and at Cannes Short Film Corner amongst many others, says
that “the notes and advice she got from the JFF team and that come along with the
funding were invaluable. Sometimes, we get stuck in our own heads and think that
the story is not good enough or requires more work; but then we realize it was all
there and we just needed help seeing it.”
It is worth mentioning that the JFF’s fourth cycle’s call for application is currently open
and submissions can be made until 21st April 2019. Filmmakers are invited to apply and
to check JFF guidelines, application material available via the RFC website. For further
inquiries, please contact JFF team at apply@film.jo or
call: +962 6 4642266 ext. 13.
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