As part of the UAE Entertainment Experience project, Sharjah Media City (Shams) organised a filmmaking workshop at Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in the presence of a number of filmmakers and participants who registered via the UAE Entertainment Experience website.

Director Nahla Al Fahad, member of the UAE Entertainment Experience dream team, led a workshop on the basic principles and techniques of filmmaking. She answered all the questions related to the making of the first ever crowdsourced film in the UAE.

Shihab Al Hammadi, Director of Sharjah Media City (Shams), stressed the importance of workshops organized as part of the UAE Entertainment Experience. He commended the success of the first and second workshops which focused on scriptwriting and filmmaking, respectively. He said: “No doubt that directing a film is a dream for aspiring filmmakers. We know that there are tricks and secrets behind the magic of filmmaking in addition to the other secret which is creativity”.

Before the workshop, MAG Group Holding “UAE Entertainment Experience Gold Sponsor” distributed cameras to the participating teams in the UAE Entertainment Experience, the first of its kind film production project in the Arab World, in the presence of HE Shihab Al Hammadi, Director of Sharjah Media City (Shams), H.E. Moafaq Al Gaddah, Chairman of MAG Group, in addition to local and regional media representatives.

This initiative from MAG Group is aimed at supporting Sharjah Media City’s efforts in developing the film industry infrastructure in all creative and technical areas of film production and in creating a favorable environment for the media and creativity. Such efforts will help enhance the Emirate’s reputation in the media and creative fields by highlighting local content regionally and globally.

Speaking about the initiative, H.E. Moafaq Al Gaddah, Chaiman of MAG Group, said: “There is no doubt that supporting the young generation is a duty of various private sector companies in the UAE and abroad, with the aim to give them the opportunity to express their abilities, unleash their potentials show their creativity and participate in supporting their communities in culture, arts, science, through and all walks of life.”

Mustafa Al Aidaroos, Chief Operating Officer at the UAE Entertainment Experience, emphasized the importance of organizing the filmmaking workshop. He said: “All filmmaking related studies and theories confirm that the Director is the technical leader in filmmaking industry. Director is responsible for turning the script into action on screen. Sometimes, a director is the producer and scriptwriter, or even partner and leader. Despite the varying role of the director from one film to another, the core task of director is to lead.”

Shams is developing the film industry infrastructure in all creative and technical areas of film production, through the UAE Entertainment Experience.

The UAE Entertainment Experience is based on collaboration with the international award winning Entertainment Experience, which was implemented in many countries around the world, including Netherlands, China, South Korea, South Africa and Turkey and received global attention, rapidly maturing and becoming a cornerstone for talent identification and development in motion picture industry in these countries.