The Netflix-AFAC Creative Training Program for emerging female talent in the creative filmmaking process has wrapped up this week, with 37 women involved in the filmmaking industry visiting Netflix’s production hub in Tres Cantos, and learning about global best practices from experts in the industry.

The production hub visit follows three-day workshops in each of Cairo, Dubai, and Jeddah that took place in November, and introduced aspiring talents to scriptwriting and the creative process of filmmaking by established female filmmakers from the Arab region. In the final leg, the participants traveled to Madrid, meeting talent that work in the audiovisual ecosystem - learning from their shared experiences, understanding more about cinema in Spain, visiting Netflix’s content hub in Tres Cantos, and widening their network through writing and filmmaking activities, as well as talks with Casa Árabe, the Spanish Film Academy, Spain’s Ministry of Digital Transformation and Public Function, Spain’s Ministry of Industry, the Association of Women in the AV sector (CIMA) and the Madrid Film Office. The participants also had the opportunity to meet with producer Emma Lustres, and showrunner, Gema R. Neira, gaining valuable insights into today’s global filmmaking industry.

“The program was a great experience not only for the quality of information being taught, but also for meeting influential women from different areas in this industry and providing an interactive and fun experience. Seeing the drive and initiative by Netflix and AFAC to provide opportunities for great stories by talented women all over the world is truly inspiring.”, said Maha Hani, one of the participating women from Saudi Arabia.

“As we embark on our 17th year of operations, we continue our active commitment to break stereotypes and champion women’s voices across the Arab region, creating avenues for the production of bold works that spark societal change in the longer-term. In filmmaking more particularly, we are extremely pleased with this renewed partnership with Netflix, through which we can build on this commitment and instill technical capacities in young women talents of the region”, stated Rima Mismar, Executive Director of the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture - AFAC.