CAIRO - Tropfest Arabia, the new Arabic version of the world's largest short film festival, has recently announced that Egyptian superstar Ahmed Helmy will support Tropfest founder, John Polson, as co-director, and leading Egyptian producer and scriptwriter Mohamed Hefzy will represent Egypt on the judging panel. The announcement comes with less than two months remaining for Arab filmmakers to submit a film to the inaugural Tropfest Arabia film festival, which will be staged in front of a live audience in Abu Dhabi on 4th November. Joining Ahmed Helmy and Mohamed Hefzy on the judging panel are a number of celebrated actors, filmmakers and directors from across the Middle East. They include Saudi filmmaker and actress, Ahd Kamel; director Mamdouh Salem; Jordanian actor Eyad Nassar; Lebanese filmmaker and actress, Nadine Labaki; co-founder and director of Lebanese web series Shankaboot, Amin Dora; UAE director and producer, Nayla Al-Khaja; and Tropfest Australia 2011 winner, Damon Gameau. “I couldn't be more excited about the fantastic line-up for the inaugural Tropfest Arabia. Judging the festival will be some of the most famous and inspirational actors, directors and short filmmakers from across the region. “Tropfest Arabia's aim is to offer aspiring filmmakers a platform to showcase their films and this is why it is essential that we have the credibility of a team that completely understands the region's film industry,” John Polson, founder of Tropfest, said. Ahmed Helmy, who is best known for his fast-paced wit and comedic acting, has been a major player in the Egyptian mainstream media since 1999, starring in films like Omar 2000, Galteny Mogremen, Keda Reda, Asef Ala el-Ezaag and Assal Eswed. His leading role in Egyptian cinema and popularity across the Middle East makes him the ideal co-director to support John Polson in the first-ever Tropfest Arabia. Mohamed Hefzy began scriptwriting in the late 1990s; his first career breakthrough was the feature film El-Sellem wil Teaban, which was released in 2001 and became a huge hit in Egyptian cinema. He then struck artistic gold with the film Tito, released in 2004. Hefzy has a great interest in independent filmmaking and in supporting new talent, and his production company, Film Clinic, has established a special prize at Dubai's Film Festival. “Tropfest Arabia aims to become one of the most influential and popular short film events on the region's film circuit; helping to nurture the region's growing filmmaking community by taking a grassroots approach and supporting talent that might otherwise feel excluded from the region's more established film festivals,” said the founder. The shortlisted films will be screened publicly in Abu Dhabi and will be available for online viewing, providing an excellent opportunity for the region's talent to present their short films to the whole region. One important element that the jury will be looking for in each of the submitted films is the Tropfest Signature Item (TSI), which for this year is ‘STAR'. The TSI was introduced to test the creativity of filmmakers by challenging them to reference it in their film, encouraging creativity and also ensuring that films are created specifically for Tropfest Arabia. Aspiring filmmakers across the region have until 22nd September to submit their entries to Tropfest Arabia. Judging will start on 1st October, with the 12 shortlisted finalist films, picked by a specialist jury, announced on 16th October. These shortlisted films will then be premiered and screened at the Tropfest Arabia festival in Abu Dhabi. Further information on Tropfest Arabia, including details on how to submit a film, can be found at: www.tropfestarabia.com
