Amman, 21st of May 2022

The second edition of the Mosalsalat Screenwriters Lab’s, organized by the Royal Film Commission – Jordan (RFC), wrapped up yesterday. The Lab was held from 16th until 20th of May in Azraq Lodge (Azraq) with five selected TV projects by Arab screenwriters working on developing the scripts for their narrative series projects.

40 projects were initially submitted from the Arab region and were reviewed by a reading committee of professionals in the fields of film and TV.

Five projects were selected: “Lid Jye” by Muhammad Khabour (Jordan); “Jahiliya” by Munir Atalla (Jordan); “Mythos” by Diana Abu Saleh (Syria); “From The Mountain” by Faisal Attrache (Syria); “Am I Home?” by Roua Al-Azzawi (Iraq).

The participating screenwriters had the opportunity to benefit from the experience of four Arab and foreign Creative Advisors: Daniel Habib from Lebanon, a writer and producer who worked as the lead writer for the second season of the critically-acclaimed series "Beirut, I Love You"; Magdy Amin from Egypt, who had his debut writing experience as part of the team of the well-known series “Grand Hotel” in addition to several other series namely “Just Like Yesterday”, “Crystal Clear”, “Why Not?” and “Half Crazies”; the American TV writer, producer and novelist Peter Blauner, who has been a staff writer and co-executive producer for several network TV shows, including “Law & Order: SVU” and “Blue Bloods; and last but not least, Shelby Stone from the United States, an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning film, television and documentary producer.

The screenwriters and the advisors had one-on-one mentoring sessions to strengthen the understanding of story concept, structure and character development with the intention of equipping participating fellows with the tools necessary to launch and enhance their careers as series screenwriters.

Commenting on the Lab, the RFC’s Managing Director, Mohannad Al Bakri, said: “The projects are characterized by creativity, suspense and diversity; there are dramatic plots either set as modern stories, or fantasies or historical, which reflect a rich repertoire of storytelling in our Arab region in an innovative and globally attractive manner.

The Lab offered an inspiring environment for brainstorming and creative thinking, but provided also the participants with practical tools to develop their skills and make their stories more engaging to a wider audience.”

He added: “We are happy that Jordan, and specifically the Azraq area, was a station for such a creative process and we hope that Mosalsalat will contribute to the development of the Arab television scene and what we see on the screen.”

The RFC had launched Mosalsalat Lab for the first time in 2019, as it believed in the necessity of curating a regional workshop specialized in writing for TV.

Applications for the third edition of Mosalsalat Screenwriters Lab will open in July 2022.

For more information, please check the RFC’s social media platforms and the website:
www.film.jo