Film Festivals Syndicate

• The members of the board are professional film festival makers / creators and influential international filmmakers and artists. 

There are eligibility rules to be member of the MFFS, which is the first  organization to be created for the film festival creators and workers.

Being a member will:

· Protect you, as you will be part of a group of professionals who respect you, appreciate your efforts, and can provide you with advice or support. 

· Give you a seat at the table, where you can share the challenges you face during your work and we can suggest ways to solve them.

· Give you an opportunity to collaborate more and to be part of major events, red carpets and more.

· Give you the right to nominate one of the most influential filmmakers for an honorary award during one of our festivals.

· Give you access to a luxury experience in Cannes and all over the world, where you will be part of the campus, the filmmakers’ villas, PR, and more.

     If you are a professional 

film festival creator / maker:

• Professional film festival makers and creators will be nominated for membership in the club of arts as film festival makers, so the job will be considered as a profession that must be treated equally to the other professions such as producers, directors, writers, etc. 
• We are working on creating a safe, healthy, and friendly environment for all film festival creators; those who will be eligible for our membership will be nominated to the Academy of Arts. Our FFC members will be nominated for membership in the academies if we signed a deal with them regarding this step.

     If you are a beginner FFM / FFC

• We will help you create and improve your festival and reach more professional filmmakers to take part in it as a juror or for workshops and master classes. We will consult on your whole program and plan. 
•  Your festival can take part in our market and in festivals all over the world.
•  Your festivals, your filmmakers and audiences will be able to stay with us in our Magica celebrity filmmaker villas in Cannes, Venice, L.A., Greece, the Caribbean, and more. 
•  Your festival and filmmakers will be able to stay on our campuses in Cannes.
•  You will be able to get VIP tickets to our events, galas, red carpets, premiers, and fashion shows.
• You can nominate one of your filmmakers to be a Magica Promising Artist.
•  You will have priority to collaborate with our Magica film school that provides accommodation in Paris, London, and L.A. for students. Teachers are international filmmakers and members of BAFTA and Emmy and Oscar award winners, and Cannes nominees and winners.
•  You will be able to join us all over the world.
•  You will have marketing campaigns and international PR.
•  Once you become a member, you will be nominated to have a seat at the table during our meetings in the House of Lords. 

1. Applicant must      have created or directed a live film festival for 5 years. 
2. The festival      must be live, and the audience must attend the events and screenings.
3. Applicant must      have graduated from a film school or attended a filmmaking workshop and received      a certificate from a prestigious academy or university.
4. Applicant must      have been in the film / entertainment industry for at least 5 years.
5. Applicant must      have attended international film festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Locarno,      and Berlin at least 3 to 5 times.
6. Must be      nominated by 5 well-known filmmakers who the applicant has worked with      before.
7. Must provide      proof from two teams she/he worked with that she/he was professional,      respected others, and supported diversity.

· The Board of Directors and the jury will make the final decision regarding the applicant’s qualifications. 

· The board will update the rules every year according to changes in the film and entertainment industry.

· An applicant can be nominated by a board member or a juror, but can submit without a nomination, in which case the final decision will be made via voting.

The founder of the platform is Maggie Anwer, an international filmmaker for 15 years and the first woman to own a group of independent film festivals all over the world. She is the first founder of the indie film festivals in the MENA region. She has been a film producer and distributor for over 10 years. 

She was the consultant to the London, Milan, Nice, and Madrid FFI for 4 years and was the first woman to hold this position. She has received international honorary awards for her efforts in the film and entertainment industry all over the world, most recently in France from the former French minister of foreign affairs as the first international filmmaker to receive the medal of art. 

She helped many filmmakers create their own festivals as she believes in the film festival industry; it is one of the major jobs that no one cares about and garners no attention. She decided to create a proper, professional platform with clear rules for professional film festival creators and to support and assist beginners who want to create their own festivals in their countries all over the world. 

Statement from Maggie:

“I would like to let the world see and treat film festival makers and creators as an important profession, as one of the major positions in the film and entertainment industry. These positions open the door for talented new filmmakers and artists to find their places and voices, and support diversity. I have witnessed filmmakers who started their careers at the age of 60 or 70 and 15 years old, which is beautiful, and our festivals encouraged and supported them in starting a new chapter in their lives and making their dreams come true. I do believe it is time that the academies and the industry as a whole start to treat film festival creation as a major, important profession and to give those professionals a seat at the table and the chance to be members in academies such as BAFTA, the Academy, and so on.”