A delegation from Al Jazeera Documentary is in attendance at Cannes Docs to search for new projects in which to invest as well as pitch two new works in the Spotlighted Projects section. Additionally Al Jazeera Documentary will hand out the AJD DOC Award, for which the company will board the winning project as a co-producer, with a minimum contribution of $15,000.
Senior producer Mehdi Bekkar describes his relationship with both the festival and its documentary business arm (Cannes Docs) as a “win-win” situation. That said, Bekkar and his colleagues want to underline to docmakers worldwide that the company is here at Cannes and very eager to talk co-pro. “A lot of producers don’t know how to approach Al Jazeera. We are not only a broadcaster, we also produce and co-produce documentary films. So we are here to meet with producers, with creatives that have potential projects they can present to our platform.”
Bekkar stresses that subject matter isn’t the main consideration, rather “creative and strong stories related to human interests.” His division produces series and well as feature-length, 26-minute and 52-minute length docs.
The amount of investment depends on which rights Al Jazeera Documentary would be acquiring (it is mainly for the MENA region) and for how long, but the sums would be, in the main, between $15,000 and $30,000. Projects looking for higher levels of co-production investment would be referred to the London office of Al Jazeera.
In terms of what he has seen so far at the Cannes Docs showcases, Bekkar admits that many of the projects have “very big potential for Al Jazeera to be on board.” These include projects from Europe, Canada and the MENA region.
On Doc Day (May 24), one of the many works-in-progress that have been presented at Cannes Docs will be the guaranteed recipient of the AJD DOC Award co-production deal, valued at a minimum of $15,000.
Additionally in 2022, two of the Cannes Docs Spotlighted Projects are presented by Al Jazeera Documentary. Both are directed by female filmmakers.
My Brother Ali by Paula Palacios tells of the eponymous refugee whom the Spanish filmmaker met in an EU financed detention center in Ukraine in 2011. He fled the war in Somalia at the age of 14. Stuck in an unwelcoming country as a teenager, he tried to cross the EU border but got caught twice…Thanks to the UN, he eventually obtained legal residency in the US. Filmed over 10 years, the film reveals the twists and turns of an unusual friendship.
Currently in post-production, the producers (Paula Palacios – Morada Films, Spain and Christoph Jorg of Pumpernickel Films, France) are looking to raise the remaining 50% of the €700,000 budget. All rights available are worldwide except MENA Region and the teams are looking for festivals, sales and distribution interest, as well as gap financing.
Don’t Let the Sun Go Up on Me is directed by Asmae El Moudir and tells the the story of Habib, a father who discovers his daughter’s illness through a passion for cinema. He is subsequently forced to change his life and adapt to it. The archival images that this father was able to capture with his small video camera are the expression of an intimate life that he spontaneously filmed since the birth of his daughter Fatimazahra, whose features have been completely changed by illness.
The project, produced by the director’s Insight Films and budgeted at €280,900, is at development stage, with an expected release of January 2024. El Moudir is currently looking for gap financing, co-producer and buyers.
Al Jazeera’s Bekkar says he is very happy with his involvement Pierre-Alexis Chevit and his market team in 2022, and that it will only lead to greater collaboration in the future. “Next year I think it’ll be more powerful, and that Al Jazeera Documentary will be even more present at Cannes Docs and in the festival,” he underlines.
