The next deadline for AFCOOP's bi-yearly OPEN GRANT is MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8th, 5PM.

This is an ongoing grant that was established decades ago. Its purpose is to support the production of independent films by AFCOOP members. There are only two deadlines per year now so make sure you get your application in.

AFCOOP FILMMAKER IN RESIDENCE TO SHARE HIS FILM WITH HALIFAX

The Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative (AFCOOP) is pleased to present Tarek Abouamin as AFCOOP’s first Filmmaker in Residence.

Mr. Abouamin will be giving the first in a series of free public works in progress talks on THURSDAY, JANUARY 28th, at 7 PM in the CBC Radio Room, South park st. entrance of the CBC Radio Building, 5600 Sackville st. In this open talk, entitled “Gawabawat: an archive of family”, Mr. Abouamin will share his creative approach, thoughts and experiences during the envisioning and recent shooting of his documentary short film Gawab. He will also be screening a selection of raw footage from the film.

Mr. Abouamin will follow this talk with two more public presentations in March as he edits and works on Gawab. He will also hold Open Studio sessions for those interested during the month of March.  As a whole, this residency will provide an excellent opportunity for filmmakers and those interested in film to gain valuable insight into the creation of a documentary as it is being made.

AFCOOP in co-operation with NSCAD University and DOC-Atlantic, the Documentary Organization of Canada, are pleased to present "DOCULA: Driving a Stake Through the Heart of Documentary", a two-day symposium and screenings that will bring together experienced and emerging filmmakers to stake claims, watch, argue, discuss, form alliances, plot the revolution, and resist the industrial compartmentalization of documentary.

AFCOOP members are welcome to attend this two-day event in late January, which will consist of a filmmaker symposium and roundtable (2-4PM at NSCAD's Academy Building's Film School) chaired by NSCAD's Canada Research Chair in Contemporary Film and Media Studies, Professor Darrell Varga. Varga is completing a new book on filmmaking in Atlantic Canada and is beginning another manuscript on contemporary documentary filmmaking. According to Varga: "documentary production is in a state of crisis, with funding streams disappearing, changing technological conditions, and market pressures that limit opportunities for more challenging filmmaking. We need to bring filmmakers together to think about and discuss the problems and possibilities of filmmaking today".