Netflix is launching an incubator to help foster female screenwriters in Egypt.
The American streaming giant has has partnered with Sard, a center dedicated to screenwriters from the Arab world on a writing program entitled Because she created.
Its stated goal is to train twenty women from outside Cairo and “expose untapped talent to the creative tools and industry knowledge needed to advance their creative and professional development,” Netflix said in a statement.
The program is funded by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity.
Sard was founded by award-winning writer Mariam Naoum in 2016 as a space for aspiring screenwriters to improve their writing skills and unleash their creative potential.
Naoum is a prominent Egyptian screenwriter and social activist whose credits include Kamla Abou Zekry’s Cairo ensemble film “One/Zero”; and the TV series “A Girl Named Zat”, “Heat Wave” and “The Women’s Prison”, a scathing exploration of the Egyptian prison system, among other popular and groundbreaking shows.
“The Arab world, including Egypt, is full of talent. What they need is concerted effort and professional support to fuel their growth,” Naoum said in a statement.
“Women in the region, in particular, need this kind of incubation and technical support to access opportunities that advance their professional growth in a sector where their presence is still limited,” she added. .
The five-day program will take place in Cairo. It will include storytelling lessons, creative expression sessions and lectures by entertainment professionals.
Ahmed Sharkawi, Director, Arabic Series, Netflix said, “Through our partnership with Sard, we are unlocking untapped potential in Egypt, an integral component of the MENA creative community, and introducing storytelling as a viable career option. for the next generation. Egyptian women.
The Egyptian original series from Netflix includes ‘Finding Ola’ which stars Cairo-based Tunisian star Hend Sabry (pictured above) as a happy divorcee who embarks on a journey of self-discovery after her divorce.
The streamer released a ‘Because She Created’ collection of films in July featuring works by Arab filmmakers who made up the doc’Let’s Talk” by the Egyptian Marianne Khoury on the life of her uncle, the late great Egyptian director Youssef Chahine; “Stateless” by Nariss Nejjar which looks at the history of North Africa from a female point of view; and “A Story of Love and Desire” by Leyla Bouzid, the story of a young Arab man living in Paris, his first love and his first sexual experience, told from a female point of view.