A competition based in Yemen, entitled the Zoom Film Competition, founded by the British Council, called on amateur filmmakers to create 3-5 minute long films revolving on the themes of stories of daily life, the world around you, tradition and culture and Yemen. 20 films were submitted during the competition, and 5 finalists where announced. The winners were then given filmmaking training in Morocco by Broadway Media Center.
After this training, the finalists competed again after returning to Yemen by submitting 10-20 minute long films for the chance to be the grand winners of the Zoom Short Film Competition. The British Council in Yemen and its partners will be organising a private screening for the 5 final films and to announce the grand winner of Zoom. Later on, all of the films will be open to public and screened at the Libyan Center Cinema. Grand winners of the competition will have their film screened on Yemen Shabab TV, and at a special event in November as part of the Nour Festival of Arts in Yemen, in addition to winning a chance to attend the London Short Film Festival in January 2015.
Because such cultural and creative events are still unique and rare in Yemen, the British Council aims to build a cultural bridge between youth in Yemen and youth in the UK. Hoping to give creativity a platform and give opportunities for these young talents to thrive, the competition encouraged the participation of all Yemeni youth. Aiming to shed a positive light on Yemen and its diversity, the festival proved a powerful tool for cultural education and communication. Stay tuned, as we will be sharing some of the Zoom Festival Winners soon!
For more information: Zoom on British Council Yemen, Zoom Competition on YouTube, @BritishCouncil on Twitter