Abidi and Zaky want to support filmmakers in navigating deals as well as give them insight into the art of negotiation and equip them with knowledge on contracts, co-production agreements and distribution deals.
They met with a selection of projects participating in the Red Sea project market before deciding which ones to support. Abidi hopes the award will encourage emerging filmmakers to seek out business and legal affairs support earlier on in their careers. Abidi is a serial entrepreneur who launched Freshly Ground Sounds in out of a desire to create the infrastructure to enable independent artists to perform in the UAE.
It morphed into a major platform for the territory, bringing together more that 1, artists and 48 venues. In connection to this, she also set up the The Freshly Collective, bringing together independent creatives, artists, writers, designers, lawyers, founders, former studio executives, publicists and organisations.
Zaky is one of the few entertainment lawyers and business and legal affairs consultants working in in the MENA region. She cut her teeth in the career in the entertainment industry as the head of the legal department and film finance arm of the Dubai International Film Festival, from , where she served for seven years. She also has growing a growing roster of international clients from outside the region, recently advising Skydance Media and Paramount in their respective productions in Egypt in Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter.
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