The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) and Netflix have announced a new Hardship Fund to support those operating in the region’s film and TV community, who have been most impacted by the pandemic. The fund’s call for applications opened on 9 June and runs until 8 July 2021.

The Fund is open to all Arab nationalities anywhere in the region including Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Lebanese and Lebanon-based workers are not eligible to benefit from the fund.

Applicants can be assistants, coordinators, technicians, and operators from the different departments (production, camera, sound, art direction, make-up, costume, props, post-production, locations and transportation, among others). Priority will be given to below-the-line workers, whose positions are typically more economically precarious.

Applicants must have worked on at least five projects and have been active in the film and/or TV industries for at least the past three years.

"The Fund, valued at USD 500,000, will provide financial support in the form of individual grants (USD 2000 per grant) to below-the-line crew, craftspeople and freelancers who are active in the television and/or film industry in the Arab region, and who are facing economic hardship resulting from the disruption of normal life, halts in productions, and reduced opportunities due to the pandemic," reads AFAC's press release.

To apply for the grant, members of the region’s film community should fill out an online application form and prove supporting documentation.

For more information and how to apply, follow this link.

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