Tawahadna is a documentary driven storytelling production house.
Focused on digital media as a resource to shed light on the SWANA (South West Asia & North Africa) region's female artists, Tawahadna also produces short documentaries to highlight and archive the works and words of emerging talent.
Before we called it Tawahadna
We shot Maryam Al Zaabi to graduate university, little did we know that we were starting a passion driven project that had not just our hearts in it, but many creatives in the region that saw it as a platform that celebrated their creative efforts. An enlightenment on what it means to be an artist from the region that juggles a 9 to 5 desk job to support it.
The DIY Screening
Please RSVP
In film school you are encouraged to submit your films to film festivals. If selected to screen, this validated your creative efforts as a filmmaker.
We decided to throw our own private screening to test the waters on what it means to have an audience come critique our work and understand where we fit in.
We sent out an "RSVP" invitation via instagram and had around 50 people respond. Realistically that would have represented 25 guests. Little did we expect 250 people cue outside Showcase Gallery the evening of the screening.
"A special thank you to Showcase Gallery for hosting us and exhibiting Maryam's work around her film. Gulf Photo Plus for lending a projector for the evening. FN Design for sharing 50 chairs. Finally our friends and family that supported and loved us even through creative block tantrums."
Update on the artist: Maryam is currently leading a successful career as an urban designer and architect, working on grand projects such as EXPO2020. She has also expanded her artistic journey with local and international brands. @fixthesky
A new beginning...
Emails received from Sali Elgab, Programs Senior Associate
Mon, 24 Feb 2020 7:42:59 PM
Dear teams, thank you all for your pitches today. It was great meeting you all. On behalf of the Programs team, I would like to congratulate you on making it into the Seed Program for the March 2020 Cohort! Out of 300 applications received, You have made it into the top 6 and we are delighted to work with you over the next 6 weeks.
Thu, 07 May 2020 4:21:45 PM
I wanted to thank you first and foremost for the great work you have done in the program. It's been a pleasure working with you throughout the past few weeks and we can see that hard work paid off in your final pitch. The judge's feedback was positive and highlighted the potential of your business.
After reviewing your progress as well as your performance throughout the sessions and the final pitch, I am happy to inform you that you have been awarded access to the $10,000 seed grant from Sheraa.
The Digital Community
When Tawahadna is not creating another documentary, we create collaborative content between artists and filmmakers to introduce them to a new demographic, giving them opportunities to gain international recognition through audiovisual content.
Dial Up Art // Connection - Is a transcontinental series where we connect a filmmaker with an artist to create a one minute audiovisual journey for social media.
Dial Up Art // Connection Two - Farahzada
We commissioned Dubai based filmmaker Augustine Peredes and introduced his talents to Farahzada and her art, the film above was the result of their beautiful collaboration.
Tawahadna: A personal journey
"We believe that the creativity of the SWANA region is unheard/seen. We want Tawahadna to be the platform that recognizes these artists and give them international opportunities for recognition."
شكراً
www.Tawahadna.com | Talk@Tawahadna.com | @ProjectTawahadna
Credits:
Tawahadna