WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
Techniques for directing non-actors: Singular Drama

Throughout the two-day practical workshop, participants will learn and experience the technique that Scandar uses during the preparations of his actors and non actors as well as during the shooting.

Participants will get hands-on insight into the process of creating drama in a film using the human capacity to respond emotionally to fictional situations. The Singular Drama method is applicable on professional actors as well as non-actors.

Filmmakers often use the element of surprise to direct actors for certain scenes to get authentic emotional responses.

The directors of AJAMI based their film entirely on this principle.

Unlike other forays into improvisation, AJAMI had a very precise screenplay and a well-constructed plot that demanded specific emotional responses from its actors.
The actors ended up acting out a story, without being aware that they were being directed according to a pre-written script. The film is a work of fiction which shows “real” people acting in situations that are orchestrated by the directors, but very “real” to the performers, resulting in the actors projecting emotions on camera that they actually experienced at the time.
This was achieved over specialized workshops, in which the actors were brought to each character’s emotional and psychological state as written in the script.


Workshop learning objectives:
1. Participants will learn techniques to liberate their non-actors from the fear of the camera.
2. Participants will learn how to prepare their actors/non-actors for filming.
3. Participants will learn and experiment with improvisation techniques.
4. Participants will experience the method as actors in order to get a better understanding of the involved processes.
5. Participants will get insights on pre-production, production and shooting techniques when applying the method.
6. Participants will learn how to direct actors and non-actors using the Singular Drama method. Participants are encouraged to bring scenes they would like to direct.



ABOUT SCANDAR COPTI
Scandar Copti is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker and an acclaimed visual artist. His first full-length feature film 'Ajami' won the Camera d'Or Special Mention at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the 82nd Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Film category. Copti is the only Arab filmmaker ever to receive the prestigious Sutherland Trophy. He is also the recipient of the Human Rights Film Award of the Council of Europe in 2010.

Copti's video art projects were exhibited worldwide at venues such as the Herzliya Museum, Nachum Gutman Museum, NYU gallery at Abu Dhabi, The Israeli Center for Digital Art, b_tour Foothold Festival, Beit Ha'Gefen, and the Oslo Kunstforening Art Gallery, among others.

Copti was on the jury of dozens of film festivals, including the Tribeca film festival, Thessaloniki film festival, FEST, AFAC, ON, and many more. He also served as the President of the Human Rights Award at the Istanbul International film festival 2011.

Copti was part of the team that launched the Doha-Tribeca Film Festival and the Doha Film Institute (DFI), where he headed the DFI's Education department until 2011.

Scandar has been teaching at NYU Abu Dhabi since 2013, where he headed the Film and New Media program from 2014 to 2017. He is currently in production for his next feature film, 'Happy Holidays,' with the support of funds such as Eurimages (the European Council Cultural fund), Doha Film Institute, Aran Fund for Arts, and Culture (AFAC), Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein as well as worldwide presales and distribution deals.

PROFILE OF PARTICIPANT
The workshop is designed to Directors, 1st AD, Producers, Film Students, and filmmakers interested in developing the skill of directing non actors.

16 hours
Duration: 2 days
Dates: 6-7 February 2025
Location: Dubai, UAE
Price: 649USD (449USD until 21st of October)
Maximum number of participants: 25
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