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An exciting programme of free creative workshops, powered by twofour54, a Media Zone Authority – Abu Dhabi company, will be staged at the new ‘Creative Campus’ at this year’s Middle East FILM & COMIC CON, the first and largest popular culture festival in the region.  Open to all, the twofour54 ‘Creative Campus’ is central to this year’s event, offering engaging and interactive sessions to help aspiring young animators, game developers and movie-makers meet international experts and learn practical new skills. The Middle East Film & COMIC CON 2013 will be held from the 5th to 6th April, Dubai International Marine Club – Mina Seyahi in Dubai, UAE.

Themes of the sessions include animation, gaming, cinematography and special effects for movie-makers, and are jointly delivered by: the SAE Institute, Dubai,  the region’s leading media education institute; the Cartoon Network Animation Academy; twofour54 Gaming Academy in partnership with Ubisoft; and twofour54 creative lab, an initiative to identify, nurture and guide young Arab creatives who are looking to jumpstart their media career.

Commenting on twofour54’s participation in the Middle East Film & COMIC CON, Noura Al Kaabi, Chief Executive of the Media Zone Authority – Abu Dhabi and twofour54, said:  “ The fast growing creative industries in the region, including the animation and gaming industries, offer exciting opportunities for talented creatives.  Combined with passion and determination, a mindset for continued learning will be vital for creative talents to develop their competitive edge.  The workshops offered at the twofour54 creative campus are a great way to get inspired for an exciting, dynamic and creative career in the media industry.”

Highlights at the Creative Campus include SAE Institute’s ‘3D Games Development’ workshop teaching young game developers the basics on how to create their own games for tablets and consoles, as well as introducing career opportunities in the gaming industry.  In another session on ‘World Heroes’, a Senior Lead Artist from Ubisoft Abu Dhabi Studio will explore how some famous characters such as Batman, Harry Potter and Naruto succeed in having such global appeal, crossing cultural boundaries.

Aspiring animators will be keen to join the workshop by Dino Athanassiou, Director of Animation at Stardust Pictures, who has just finished directing the CG Animation on Lionsgate’s new live action adventure film “The Hunger Games”. Separately, a session hosted by two Cartoon Network Arabia artists, ‘It’s great to ANIMATE’, will give attendees an introduction to 2D animation production with some hands-on examples and demos.

twofour54 partner Ubisoft will also launch the Arabic version of the Smurfs Facebook game available at http://apps.facebook.com/thesmurfsco.  On twofour54’s stand, visitors will have the opportunity to experience the game first hand and find out for themselves if the evil wizard Gargamel will invade the peaceful Smurf village. The Smurfs Facebook game was originally developed by Ubisoft in China, and was shared with Ubisoft Abu Dhabi to localise its content for the UAE and Arabic market.

Also at the Creative Campus, twofour54 creative lab will be offering a ‘Pitch-a-thon’;  an opportunity for young Arabic creatives to pitch ideas in animation, gaming or publishing to a jury including well-known gaming expert Ahmad Maki and award winning Arabic manga Emirati author Qais Sidki. In return, the best ideas will receive support to bring their artistic and creative talents to life. Pre-registration for this event is required.

FILM & COMIC CON Middle East enjoyed a busy inaugural year in 2012 with 15,000 visitors from around the world, and plans are in place for a bigger and better festival in 2013.  During the event, advice on jumpstarting a media career can be found at the twofour54 stand, with past and present students and lecturers from, SAE Institute, twofour54’s Cartoon Network Animation Academy and Gaming Academy, twofour54 creative lab attending all weekend to share their experiences and help new talent take their first steps.

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