Thursday March 28th, 2024
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Netflix & MEMI Support Arab Writers With USD 30,000 Grants

Four Arab writers across the region have been awarded by Netflix and MEMI with a $30,000 grant, bringing regional stories to light.

Cairo Scene

Netflix & MEMI Support Arab Writers With USD 30,000 Grants

To empower Arab voices and bring more diverse stories to light, Netflix Middle East and the Middle East Media Initiative (MEMI) have teamed up to award four Arab writers with a USD 30,000 grant. The winning writers are Ahmed Essam Elsayed from Egypt, Sultan Tamer, Summer Shesha from Saudi Arabia, Karim Ariqat, and Mohammad Ali Al-Nablsea from Jordan.

The four winners have participated in the MEMI summer programme, a five-week workshop that took place in Los Angeles. The grant will allow them to further explore their projects guided by MEMI instructors or a Netflix consultant with a chance to pitch them to Netflix in six months.

MEMI is an exchange programme established in the USC School of Cinematic Arts, which works on nurturing emerging Arab content creators and screenwriters.

The MEMI programme has been part of many current Arab stars’ creative journey, including Egypt’s acclaimed filmmakers Amr Salama and Tamer Mohsen, Saudi actress and creator Sara Taibah, and Egyptian screenwriter Mariam Naoum.