Girls For Change is an initiative created, developed and executed by Beirut Film Society, in partnership with UNESCO & Forum ZFD and in collaboration with Youth Animation Platform and Mentor Arabia.
Training more than 200 vulnerable girls coming from affected areas of “The Beirut Blast” on how to use Audio Visual & Film in order to express themselves.
Voices of Children is an initiative created, developed and executed by Beirut Film Society, in partnership with La Guilde and Fondation de France and Agence Francophone de Development
For two seasons in Beirut and Akkar, Beirut my Child and Akkar my Child was able to offer training to more than 400 vulnerable children on animation and puppets, which resulted the creation of the Child Friendly Film Kit about Children Rights.
This Training Program will approach adolescent girls and young women between the age of 16 and 25 years old, students and non-students, coming from the most vulnerable areas, especially the regions surrounding Beirut explosion areas.
Participants may be from different nationalities living in Beirut (Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinians & Iraqis), and aiming to learn the needed techniques, and develop the necessary practical and creative skills, in order to be able to step in the field of Audio Visual and Film.
Cinema for Peace aims to educate young filmmakers from Lebanon and the Arab world, especially in conflict regions, on how to use cinema to promote and advocate for peace.
Film Friendly Lebanon aims to first turn the cities and the villages in Lebanon into film friendly certified communities ready to host international cinema productions, second creates an online marketplace where it connects international cinema industry professionals with skilled community liaisons across the country by offering detailed data and description about film friendly certified locations, talents and crew members, industrial services related to filmmaking industry and many other services and third launch the initiative of Beirut studio city followed by applying the same model in the rural areas.
The Founder and Chair of the Beirut Film Society, Sam Lahoud has been selected to nominate the best short films from the following Middle Eastern and Gulf countries for this year’s HFPA Snow Leopard Short Films Award in Hollywood: Armenia, Bahrain, Cyprus, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
The ceremony will take place at the Asian World Film Festival in Los Angeles in November, as part of an agreement between the festival and the Golden Globes. Awards consist of $5,000 US for the best short film from Asia, as well as an invitation to the Golden Globes.
Lahoud's role is to select 12 short films from these countries which go toward the shortlisting of two films for the final qualifications.