MUMBAI: The Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF) has a new name Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF).

Festival authorities have launched Sanad, a film fund to support outstanding productions from the Arab region through grants totaling $500,000 every year.

The fund will provide grants in two categories - development and post-production for feature-length films and documentaries by filmmakers from the Arab world. Development grants will be up to US $20,000 while those for post-production will be up to US $60,000.

The selection committee will comprise of members of the Festival‘s programming and management teams along with highly qualified professionals from the film industry. With the aim of encouraging artistic innovation, the selection committee will seek out bold and remarkable projects from both new and established filmmakers.

As the first fund to be launched by a film festival with the specific aim of supporting filmmakers from across the Arab world, Sanad also aims to build stronger networks within the region‘s film industry.

"Sanad is a concrete way in which the festival can support the region‘s filmmakers in developing their own voices and taking their place in the international film community. There‘s an amazing amount of untapped and unrecognized creative potential in the Arab world and these grants are an important building block in the creation of a vibrant and viable cinema here, especially since they come with the kind of international opportunities and support we can offer," said Peter Scarlet, the Festival‘s Executive Director.

Applications for the fund are now open until July 15 this year.