The Role of Mentoring & Incubation

Recently, Jehan Ara posted this on Twitter:

“talent needs to be recognized’ nurtured and leveraged”

This is so true. Every human being has been endowed with talent and certain God-given qualities. Every person has the potential to be someone, to achieve something. Most people seek fulfillment in their lives through personal, social, and professional achievements. Given the right set of conditions, circumstances, and environment, most people are able to realize their full potential. And that’s where the crucial role of mentoring and incubation initiatives, both formal and informal, comes in.

A good case-in-point is the Sundance Institute with their stated mission:

Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences.  Through its programs, the Institute seeks to discover, support, and inspire independent film and theatre artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work.

Alesia Weston, Director of Sundance’s International Program, highlights a recent success story of their Program (via Sundance newsletter):

“… nor was I Arab enough for the Arabs…”

This is how writer/director Cherien Dabis describes her childhood, growing up in rural Ohio, daughter of Palestinian/Jordanian emigres.  Her experience of “never really feeling at home anywhere” sowed the seeds that led to Amreeka, her film that was developed with Sundance’s support in the Middle East Screenwriters Lab, and premiered in the 2009 Festival.

As Associate Director of Sundance’s International Program, I met Cherien in the Jordanian desert during our 2007 Lab.  I was immediately struck by her wit, her intelligence, and her passion for making a film that told the authentic story of her family.  Based loosely on her aunt, who immigrated to the U.S. from Palestine, Cherien’s script is a heartbreaking and heartwarming portrait of a woman trying to start a new life in a climate where the odds are against her.  In Ramallah, Muna dreams of a new life for herself and her teenage son in the promised land of small town Illinois.  After she is reduced to taking a job flipping burgers at White Castle, her vision of America becomes much more complex.

Amreeka was acquired by National Geographic Films and opened the New Directors/New Films series at Lincoln Center this week.  Critics call Amreeka “…a heartfelt triumph,” “…the Middle-East conflict leavened with vibrant energy…” and Stephen Holden in The New York Times wrote it “reaffirms social realism’s validity as humanistic art.” Perhaps more importantly, Cherien’s film which will travel and be screened at festivals and theaters in the Middle East is a rare opportunity for some people to see themselves on screen and relate to the stories they live. Whether the film is uplifting or disheartening, or as in this case, a bittersweet combination of the two, seeing ourselves in these stories can simply make us feel like we are in a conversation with something larger than ourselves and a little more connected.

I like to think this is what Sundance does best: discover a filmmaker with a unique personal vision; nurture that voice in our Labs; and then support the film that comes from those roots from development through distribution.

Sundance gave Cherien a home. I hope you’ll help Sundance offer a home to emerging filmmakers wherever they are.

There are three important points regarding talent:

1. Recognize
2. Nurture
3. Leverage

What Sundance Labs did in the above-mentioned case is an excellent example of a well-executed mentoring and incubation program which successfully recognized, nurtured, and leveraged Cherien’s talent and gave her worldwide recognition.

Takeaway Point: In Pakistan, we need to initiate and sustain similar programs across all sections of society and industry sectors in order to cultivate talent. This will in turn create a long-lasting culture of innovation and enterpreneurship.

If you’ve heard of any successful mentoring and incubation stories, both within and outside Pakistan, please do share them in the comments section.