I have this idea stuck in my head and have been working on it for some time now.  I had so many ideas but the right one just did not come to mind. Thankfully now it has, It will be a long process and I hope to start shooting soon. 

This shoot will be something new for me, so far I only have experience in front of the camera as the actor. With the new idea I will be moving behind it and hope to bring forth a moving piece of artwork I will call my documentary. With this I hope to open peoples eyes to see the world different and treat people the same.

I believe this shoot will be life changing for myself! Lets see what the world brings me!

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What an amazing event it was with over 600 delegates from 30 counties attending the conference.

The conference this year was less Hollywood and more local film industry focused which in my opinion is a good thing. While it is good to be inspired and aware of the way things are done in Hollywood it is better for the Arabic film industry to be mindful of the way other film industries have developed but to adapt and invent a model which is better suited to the region and more effectively handle the challenges associated with local content global film distribution.

The keynote address by Tunisian Producer Tarak Ben Ammar was well presented and highlighted the impressive list of accomplishments that have put Tunisia on the location map for many international film makers and production companies. Mr Tarak placed emphasis on the importance of nurturing and assisting emerging film makers within the region, as the future of regional story telling rest on them.

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Well I thought it was about time to make the frontpage more like the frontpage of a newspaper than the simple one page synopsis of the AFMG. That means adding a few columns and adding content in those columns that will grab the attention of guest as they first enter the site.

Regular members know where things are located on the website and how to navigate the flash main menu but guests might not know how to get to our Social Network Community or Video Gallery. Thus I have made this easier to read and click from the frontpage.

I don't want to clutter up the frontpage by making it a one-stop website page so members will still need to check out the other sections such as news, events, blogs and forums on a regular basis. Having said this I will soon be working on a few ideas of including hot news and event on the frontpage.

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Just got a message from a friend of mine that his cousin is Mauro Fiore who won the Oscar for the Best Cinematography for the movie Avatar.

Here is what I wrote on his facebook wall ..

Mauro - Saluti - Fantastico

When I saw you on the TV receiving your award I had no idea you were related to Nat Talarico. Your acceptance speech was uplifting and supportive of us, the children of immigrant parents.

What a great honor and achievment to not only work with James Cameron on the world's highest grossing and groundbreaking movie but also to receive an Oscar in the process!

It's satisfying to see the children of Italian immigrants excelling in their chosen professions and bring honor and respect to their family name. Our parents have sacrificed much to give us, their children, an opportunity to go forward and reach new heights.

Your efforts and success have realized their belief in the 'great immigrant dream' and make us proud of our Italian heritage.

Grazie Molto

Many Sincere accolades from Mario Nicotra

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Last Night I watched the delayed telecast of the 82nd Annual Oscar Ceremony on the FoxMovie Channel here in Abu Dhabi. What a night..

OK the Red Carpet presenters were really annoying with their plastic performances and air-head questions like "Who are you wearing tonight?" and "What fabulous jewelery you have on, who made it?" It's amazing the Stars put up with it but then again it's a bit of a symbiotic relationshp after all isn't it?

It always a bit startling when you see famous actors and realize how well or how badly they have endured the aging process.  Granted some seek the assistance of the plastic surgeon which can morph them into a younger somebody else and mask the passage of time. Overall it's all a sort of marker to our own mortatlity.

And speaking of mortality it's sad to see the featured "Who died this year" segment and learn about the loss of some very talented people.

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Abu Dhabi - Monday 8th March 2010. 9PM

Tonight I settled down in my comfortable reclining leather lounge chair in front of my 52" Sony widescreen TV and tuned into the FoxMovie satelite channel to  immerse myself into the rescreening of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. Other than the snippet of  the name "Bigelow" that I heard when I tuned into radio 2 that morning, I had managed to avoid newspaper and radio news all day so as not to hear reports of who won what award last night in LA.

Anyway to get to the point of this blog, come midnight the final award for best picture was given to "The Hurt Locker" which was directed by Kathryn Bigelow. During the acceptance speech I realised that two of the 4  producers were in fact  Mark Boal and Greg Shapiro who I had met at the 2008 Dubai International Film Festival!

Greg was key speaker in an industry workshop about producing films in which he introduced Mark Boal and mentioned  a project he was working on that involved Iraq and bomb disposal team. I remember Greg recounting how he got into the movie business. He tried many movie jobs but found out he had no talent so instead he became a producer!!!

After the workshop we had a brief chat and went our own ways.

Now some 15 months later they wins an OSCAR for the Hurt Locker.
 
It's not everyday you meet a future oscar winner!

Congratulations Greg and Mark (and Kathryn)

Mark Boal (Writer/Producer) , Kathryn Bigelow (Director/Producer) and Greg Shapiro (Producer)

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Hello Blog. Well here I am.

Wall suggested that perhaps some of the really long monologues should go here in my blog, so here I am!

Time has been really going so fast this year and there is still so much to do. I am comfortable now with the AFMG website as it has many, many features tucked away under the surface and will provide all the tools our film maker community will be able to use to their advantage. Obviously the modules that create these features are undergoing upgrades and refinements by the programmers so we can expect improvement over time.

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This is my first blog on the AFMG Community Website. I have spent many hours trying to get Jom Comment and My Blog to work correctly. Why does it have to be so time consuming. Never heard of plug and play?

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