Initiative connects participants with Hollywood professionals to provide training in the American style of filmmaking and TV production LOS ANGELES: A media initiative in the US is bringing Arab filmmakers from throughout the Gulf together in Hollywood for a chance to bond, learn and collaborate, sharing their ideas for television projects outside of the competitive Middle Eastern film and TV industry. Hosted at the USA’s best film school, USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, the Middle East Media Initiative connects participants with Hollywood professionals to provide training in the American style of filmmaking and TV production. And according to its director, Hisham Fageeh, says the initiative allows Arab filmmakers to start afresh. “Getting out of the environment that they"re in and sort of like into a new environment where nobody is familiar and then they"re breaking ice and getting to know each other and their projects,” he said. “And that sort of collaborative spirit happens in a new space that is void of any type of baggage or preconceived notions, trauma or any types of negativity really. You just come and you start new. It"s a new slate,” he added. The initiative’s goal is not only to teach the participants and give them the space to connect with each other, but to promote personal creator-driven series highlighting voices of the filmmakers behind them for audiences worldwide. “We teach them the process of writing, of not specifically of how to write, but rather how to convey their own message, how to stay true to their own characters, how to stay true to their stories,” creative development instructor Shereen Maliki told Arab News. And according to Fageeh, the initiative is tailor-made to fit each individual’s goals and ambitions. “We try to pair projects with instructors that would make sense. So, for example, say if I have somebody who has a comedic project, we try to pair them with someone who has a background in a comedy showrunning or creating comedy shows in the United States,” he said. “We"re trying to sort of reel back the idea of overproduced stories and tell stories that are more grounded and specific, yet universal.”