In Leipzig, the filmmakers presented the the work-in-progress documentary to international programmers, TVs and sales agents.

Goury’s first long documentary film Made in Egypt won the Gold Muhr Award for Best Feature Documentary at the Dubai International Film Festival 2007.

The forum will present 9 other African fiction and documentary projects to Spanish producers and other co-production and television programming directors including representatives of Al-Jazeera Documentary Channel.

NEXT MUSIC STATION: KUWAIT & BAHRAIN features Bahraini artists Khaled El-Sheikh, Ali Bahar and Sliman Zeyman along with the Al-Umayri Sea Band, contemporary oud player Fawzi Al-Lengawi and award-winning film composer Dr. Amer Jaafar in Kuwait. Produced by Talka Records in Spain in collaboration with Talal Al-Muhanna (Linked Productions/Kuwait), the project received support from the Spanish Embassy in Kuwait and the Foreign Media Dept. at Kuwait Ministry of Information.

Broadcast times on Al Jazeera English/World are:

May 17 @ 20:00GMT; May 18 @ 12:00GMT; May 19 @ 01:00GMT; May 20 @ 06:00GMT; May 21 @ 20:00GMT; May 22 @ 12:00GMT; May 23 @ 1:00GMT; May 24 @ 06:00GMT.

Doha Film Institute is Qatar’s first international organisation dedicated to film financing, production, education and the annual Doha Tribeca Film Festival.  DFI is dedicated to film appreciation, education, and building a dynamic film industry in Qatar that focuses on nurturing regional storytellers while being entirely global in its scope. With culture, community, education and entertainment at its foundation, DFI serves as an all-encompassing film hub in Doha, as well as a resource for the region and the rest of the world.

Talal Al-Muhanna is a Kuwait based film & TV producer who has specialized in producing documentaries about arts, culture and social issues.  Recently, he has produced programmes in Kuwait and Bahrain for Al Jazeera Documentary Channel and TV5 Monde and his films have been shown in film festivals in the Middle East, Europe, the United States, South America and Africa.  While at the Cannes film festival Al-Muhanna will present concepts for cinema projects to international producers interested in cooperating with filmmakers on Arab language cinema projects.

The pan-African film and television festival FESPACO (February 26 to March 5) is commonly referred to as “Africa’s Oscars” and is the largest film festival in Africa. The highly anticipated event takes place every two years in the capital of Burkina Faso and since its inception in 1969 the festival’s goal has been to contribute to the expansion and development of African cinema as a means of expression, education and awareness-raising. It is the largest cultural event on the African continent and focuses primarily on African film and filmmakers.

The invited film is a portrait of two Egyptian women born of entirely different social and cultural circumstances within Egypt: including the filmmaker herself (who left Cairo to live and work in Berlin) and Selema Gabaly, a Bedouin social entrepreneur confined to remote regions of a militarized Sinai Peninsula.  The film – which received a Jury Special Mention following its World Premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival in December - was supported by the Embassy of France in Kuwait for presentation during the Producer’s Network of the Cannes Film Festival in May 2010.  The upcoming screening at FESPACO marks the film’s official ‘International Premiere’.

Acting as the local producer for the French-based TV and film production company Froggies Media , Talal Al-Muhanna/Linked Productions supported the filming of the project in Kuwait over 5 consecutive days with Dr. Fayzah Al-Kharafi - one of 5 Laureates worldwide selected by the “For Women in Science” Foundation for a $100,000 award in recognition of her contributions in the field of corrosion science.

The completed film of 52 mins. (dirs. Veronique Durruty & Patrick Guedj) will be broadcast on Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, TV 5 Monde (France) and exhibited, in part, at the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris.

Filmed in the central Sinai Peninsula - and co-produced by Talal Al-Muhanna and Dubai Entertainment and Media Organisation/Enjaaz - the film tells the story of Bedouin social entrepreneur Selema Gabaly, a pioneer for women’s rights in the region.

DIrected by renowned Basque musician and filmmaker Fermin Muguruza (dir. Checkpoint Rock), the documentary captured interviews and recordings of notable Gulf musical artists such as Khaled El-Sheikh, Ali Bahar and Sliman Zayman (from Bahrain) as well as singer-actress Maram, Oud player Fawzi Al-Lenghawi and the traditional sea band Al-Umayri Group (from Kuwait).

The series is scheduled to air beginning March 2011 on Al Jazeera Documentary Channel.