DIFF Young Journalist Award
DIFF recognises the key role that the media plays within the film industry and in order to encourage journalism and media students to explore this as a possible career, in 2008 the festival launched the DIFF Young Journalist Award (DIFF YJA).
The DIFF YJA consists of a series of open workshops as well as a mentoring prgramme for 10 selected UAE-based students
On the 9th, 10th and 11th of December, 2009 we will host film journalism workshops and discussions which are open to all students in the UAE who are currently enrolled in journalism, film studies, PR or mass media and communications courses at university level. The topics covered will include film review and criticism, film business writing, new technologies like blogging and film event coverage.
The second aspect of the programme which incorporates the competition section will provide a small group of UAE-based students with the opportunity to participate in a mentorship scheme within the context of a film festival. This group will be selected by university referrals only. During the festival, they will be required to attend the open workshops each morning. Following these, they will be split into 2 groups, each with a mentor that will provide more specific and in-depth training. The main goal is to provide the participants experience in working as part of an editorial team with feedback and tutoring from professional film critics and journalists. Although the workshop is organized in cooperation with the film festival, the output from the participants will remain journalistically independent.
The teams will have to cover events and screenings and operate as a news team covering an event. The mentors will assign topics and articles and the participants will have to work towards a deadline to put out material in time for publication in the DIFF Daily the following day. The participants will have to produce work for the Daily on the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th of December. On deadline days, the 2 groups will hold editorial meetings in the morning and in the afternoon the participants write their articles, with the possibility of discussing them with their mentors who will also act as an editor-in-chief. The mentors for this are:
Scott MaCauley – Filmmaker Magazine and Producer
Colin Brown – Formerly at Screen International and Freelance Film Consultant
The DIFF YJA is conducted in association with the MBC Group.
