Audience:
Access and
Accessibility
Masahat AFLAMUNA
Pan-Arab network of Community Cinemas (non-commercial screening spaces).
A new model of truly independent, inclusive, and decentralized film distribution
to bring Arab cinema back to Arab audiences.
Masahat AFLAMUNA aims to transform spaces of all kinds across the Arab region into vibrant, accessible, and inclusive Community Cinemas. Through mapping, training, and funding, the initiative empowers cultural organizers to bring independent cinema and culture to their communities. The project also provides independent filmmakers with an infrastructure to self-distribute their films and reach new audiences as easily as possible.
(Simply, we want to encourage and support film clubs in the Arab region, help them become more organized and equipped, and connect them to independent Arab filmmakers.)
Masahat AFLAMUNA is made up of a series of complementary initiatives:
- Open-Access Directory – we are mapping out non-commercial screening spaces. These are all the spaces that are not cinemas and able and willing to host screenings, from town halls to school theaters to community centers and anything in between. This map information will be available publicly to anyone interested in hosting screenings in these spaces.
- Training – we are training aspiring Community Cinema Makers, whether they represent a space or can invest a space in their community. They will be equipped with all the knowledge and skills needed to run their very own Community Cinemas.
- Micro-funding – small unrestricted grants will be available to selected spaces so they can equip themselves and host screenings.
- Film Catalogue – a catalog of independent Arab films will be compiled by AFLAMUNA and made available to all of the eligible spaces to screen for their community free of charge. Filmmakers from across the Arab region will have the opportunity to contribute their films to this catalog through an open call.
In every country, we will work with local partner institutions to implement the program and adapt it to the specificities of the local context. We will start with Lebanon, Palestine (with Filmlab Palestine), and Tunisia (with Shashat). We hope to expand to several Arab countries year by year. The program will be adapted to the needs of each country. For example, in Tunisia, we are starting with the Open-Access Directory and Film Catalogue only, to contribute to the already existing and dynamic infrastructure of film clubs there.
Masahat AFLAMUNA is
Complementary and Non-Competitive – this program does not intend to compete with or replace traditional distribution. On the contrary, we aim to extend the life of Arab films after they have exhausted the existing distribution channels to reach new audiences that aren’t accessible through any of the existing avenues. We also want to learn from and complement the many inspiring existing initiatives with similar aims.
Collaborative – we want to involve as many interested actors as possible, with as little friction as possible. To bring this dream to life, we will need the cooperation of community spaces, local community organizers, independent filmmakers, rightsholders, etc. We will also do our best to communicate and disseminate what we do and what we learn every step of the way, so this can become an “open-source” program that could be replicated by cultural organizers everywhere.
Bottoms Up and Participatory – our approach is based on the full awareness that those best placed to bring independent culture to underserved communities and those who know how best to do it are the actors from these very communities. Masahat AFLAMUNA only aims to provide them with the platform and resources they need to do so.
Inclusive – we want to imagine, design, and implement this project with an ambitious approach to accessibility and inclusion, including decentralized communities in the decentralization of culture, including filmmakers in alternative film distribution, and including people with disabilities in the making of more accessible screening spaces.
This project aims to transgress obstacles related to the occupation, geography, rurality, and the digital divide, and to reach and empower historically underserved communities. MASAHAT wants to make independent cinema radically more accessible to Arab audiences and to reconnect Arab filmmakers to their community.
The launch of this new program is part of the initiatives of “25 Years of AFLAMUNA: The Time is Now”.
