• Light, camera, action
The door is wide open for talents looking to make their mark in the media and entertainment industry and Hollywood-style success is much closer than you could ever imagine
Image Nation’s open door policy for talents looking to enter the media & entertainment industry
There are few places in the world that are giving Hollywood – and Bollywood – a run for its money. But with two Academy Awards, a BAFTA and an Emmy under its belt, Abu Dhabi is up there with the best of them and is well and truly under the spotlight!
Based in Abu Dhabi’s twofour54 media hub, Image Nation has – as well as scooping those prestigious awards – screened content at over 400 international film festivals to date, created numerous TV series, documentaries and entertainment programmes for worldwide consumers and is the first UAE company to have multiple productions stream globally on Netflix.
The company is also putting its money where its mouth is in terms of offering opportunities to those talents who are eager to get a foothold on the film industry ladder. “Image Nation is serious about encouraging original thought and curiosity, and providing a platform where inspiration and practical training flourish”, its website proclaims.
The company has an “open door policy”, says, Maitha Khalifa, who joined twofour54 as an intern from Zayed University in 2011. The first job she ever held, today she is the head of twofour54’s Creative Lab.
Undertaking an eight-week internship herself, Maitha is well versed in the mechanics of internships and now manages academic internships at twofour54 and Image Nation. Today, part of her work is to place talents, interns or volunteers on production facilities and to manage the screening and evaluation process. “We try our best to select the best talents, so we can place them in productions whether that be Hollywood, Bollywood or Arab Drama.”
Gehad Darwish, Head of Talent & Outreach Communication at twofour54 and Image Nation, and is also part of Image Nation’s Arab Film Studio (AFS), a robust programme that helps develop talent through practical support. Gehad has been with AFS since the outset. During the eight years, he has watched talents grow from the recruiting stage to the dizzy heights of success.
He explains how AFS is a platform where aspiring filmmakers are nurtured by highlevel instructors who are brought in to deliver programmes on narratives for short films, short documentaries, script writing and storytelling workshops. ”Filmmaking is taught from A-to-Z and more,” he says. “After completing the intensive programmes, attendees are then given a budget of $3,000 to $5,000 to create their own ten-minute film.”
Over 70 short films have been created to date and submitted to international film festivals. The films have been accepted over 460 times at different festivals around the world and 30 of them have scooped awards.
“We placed two Emirati guys on the set of Six Underground; they got to work with the
Director,” says Maitha. The Netflix’s highbudget action flick by Michael Bay, starring Ryan Reynolds, was filmed in 2019 at a number of Abu Dhabi landmarks, including Aldar HQ, Louvre Abu Dhabi and twofour54 among others.
The action continued when Emirati Shahid Mohammed, a volunteer in 2015, diligently attended workshops at Creative Lab in twofour54. “We supported her in developing her talent and she undertook an academic placement in post-production, since that was her major,” says Maitha, who goes on to say how Shahid went on to work on the set of Mission Impossible – Fallout, which had wrapped scenes in Abu Dhabi. “Tom Cruise was on set and had his photograph taken with a group of interns and management. The great thing was that Shehid was mentioned in the credits at the end of the film, which was a great deal for her since she was an intern.”
Emirati filmmaker Majid Al Ansari, Director of Zinzana is another success story. Once an intern at Image Nation, he is now considered as one of the most talented directors in the UAE, with his film screened round the world in places such as the United States and the UK. “UAE Critics called him Quentin Tarantino of the Arab world,” says Gehad. Majid now works in production in other important films, alongside British-Emeriti film maker Ali Mustapha and animator Mohamed Saeed Harb.
It is not just about the men, of course. Take Amna Al Nowais, considered one of AFS’s most successful participants who managed to scoop five awards with her film, Oumia. Then there is the ‘Women in Film’, community within Creative Lab, formed to help increase the number of women taking on technical jobs in filmmaking such as in audio, director of lighting or photography, and so on.
Al Mirath (Inheritance) is a soap opera depicting modern life in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which premiered on 1 March 2020 on MBC1 and is a partnership between Image Nation, twofour54 and MBC. “One intern placed on set and wanted to actually operate and hold the boom microphone,” says Maitha. “She was told that it was too heavy [for a woman], but the intern persisted and has become very successful. It is something we encourage.”
There are plenty of other opportunities for talents to grow at Image Nation or twofour54. CNN Academy is one famous news outlet where interns and talents can get involved. Traditionally, Creative Lab works with those aged 17 years of age and above, but recently it has introduced Summer Camp for those aged nine to 12 years old.
“We want any talent thinking about making a film or being a creative to come to us at Image Nation and twofour54. Our door is open for everyone,” says Gehad. “We’re ready for the next generation of creators, in line with the goals of the leadership of the UAE. It’s our job to nurture these talents.”
To find out how you can be involved, visit imagenationabudhabi.com