São Paulo – Netflix, a global video service company for the streaming of series and movies, announced the creation of a USD 500,000 fund to support television and film professionals from Arab countries that are struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a joint initiative with the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC), as per information released on Saudi news website Arab News.
The fund will provide financial aid in the form of individual USD 2,000 donations to production teams, technicians, and freelancers in the fields of television and cinema who are facing economic hardships caused by the pandemic, such as suspension of daily work, production stoppages, and reduction of job opportunities. In the picture above, merely illustrative, a TV show with an Iraqi singer being recorded in Dubai.
Among the profiles of eligible workers are assistants, coordinators, technicians, and operators in different areas of film or television production, including camera, sound, art, makeup, costume, location, and transportation. The purpose is to aid those who work by the hour or project.
To receive it, the worker needs to apply and provide documentation, including a list of recent projects, references, grants received in the past, and a description of difficulties such as canceled or delayed projects. The information will be available on the AFAC website (link above) until July 8. A similar initiative was made by Netflix in Lebanon when the country experienced the explosion in the Port of Beirut in 2020.
The announcement is an expansion of the emergency aid already provided to the sector by Netflix amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A note released by the company informs that more people from the Arab creative community may be aided. Netflix reports that this is made possible through a partnership and acknowledges the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture. Professionals from all Arab countries can apply, except for the Lebanese, who have already been benefited.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
