On the 19th and 20th of February 2020, partner CSOs from the MedFilm project from seven countries; Lebanon, Algeria, Jordan, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya, participated in the regional workshop that addressed the unjust relation between gender and the film making industry. The workshop was organized by Fe-Male and Dawaer Foundation in partnership with UNESCO and the EU under the MedFilm Project and gathered 16 women representing script writers, directors, TV producers, film makers, human right activists, CSOs and females working in the film industry.
The workshop that went on for two days, was led by several experts and trainers coming from different countries in the MENA region and working in the humanitarian and filmmaking fields of which were: Dr. Azza Kamel, Egyptian novelist, writer and activist, Hayat Mirshad, Lebanese feminist and human rights activist and journalist, Dima Al Jundi, Lebanese director and producer for television and of films, Diana Moukalled, one of the leading Lebanese female war correspondents in the Arab world and an expert in documentary filmmaking, and Najwa Kundakji, a Jordanian Academician and director of films.
The different sessions of the workshop concentrated on the status of female professionals in the film sector, the obstacles they face, and their success stories. During the workshop, participants were introduced to advocacy tools and techniques, shared their experiences, came up with a set of recommendations that create an understanding between the civil society actors and female makers to move forward with enhancing women’s image in the film industry, and by the end of it, they were able to develop a regional advocacy action plan that shall be implemented in each of the partner countries and which aims at challenging existing stereotypes related to the image and role of females in the film making industry.