The Nadine Shams Foundation issued an open call 1 August for submissions to its third screenwriting contest.

The foundation provides three cash awards — the first prize winner receives EGP20,000, the first runner-up EGP10,000 and the second runner-up EGP5,000.

The contest will provide three screenwriters the opportunity to develop their scripts under the artistic supervision of the screenwriters on board.  

Applicants should send a script for a short film no longer than 20 minutes.

The Nadine Shams Award was introduced in 2014 in honour of the late Shams and in support of budding screenwriters. It offers training workshops as as well as financial awards to young talents. 

Every year, the awards are announced at the closing ceremony of the Cairo International Film Festival, which this year will run between 15 and 24 November.

Last year, the first place award went to Mohamed Abdelreheem for his film El-Nahar Dah W Kol Youm, the second place award went to Ahmed Essam El-Shamaa for his film Nehar Kharegi, while the third film award went to Mahmoud El-Saghir and Emad Mabrouk for their film El-Motamem Le Shahr Ramadan.

Seif Allah Hani received the Encouragement Award for his film Fi Intizar Judo, while screenwriter Menna Taher received a special award for her film Ping Pong.

The jury also gave grants to five film projects including Geziret El-Toot, Al-Arawah El-Mounira, Qout El-Quloub and Dafa.

Scriptwriter Nadine Shams died 22 March 2014 after a routine operation in what her family said was a case of medical negligence.

Shams was a graduate of the High Cinema Institute. She wrote several short stories and was also a scriptwriter. She wrote several films including Ehna Etkabelna Abl Kida (We've Met Before), a 2008 film starring Egyptian actress Nelly Kareem.

She also worked on many TV programmes, including the popular drama series Moga Harra (Heat Wave), which she co-wrote with Egyptian scriptwriter Mariam Naoum.

The deadline for applications for the Nadine Shams Award is 30 August 2016.

Check the foundation’s official Facebook page for the competition's rules and regulations.

Email to: [email protected]

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