Summary

FairPlay Media, the creative arm of Strategic Assessments, connects the personal to the political by developing and delivering sophisticated entertainment content to a variety of US based media platforms. With the primary mission of transforming U.S. popular conception of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while asserting the cultural identity and fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, FairPlay Media leverages the most effective forms of communication in the marketplace.

Fairplay Media also provides consulting services to projects and organizations that seek to enhance Arab cultural identity both within and outside the region. Specifically, FPM supports projects that have the ability to positively impact public discourse on critical Middle East issues. This sharpens our focus on projects that have distribution reach, artistic sophistication, entertainment value and political resonance.

Rationale

Regardless of the eventual territorial agreement Israelis and Palestinians make, it is imperative that a focused and collaborative program be established to systematically share the Palestinian story with a US audience. The development and marketing of film, theater, literature, music, and media are all powerful methods of conveying the unparalleled history and present day experience of the Palestinian people, living in the region and in the Diaspora.

Supporting truthful representations of the Palestinian reality in the US will open the door to more of these emerging projects; which will broaden the discussion and strengthen the “conventional wisdom” push for a lasting resolution.

Methodology

Over the past two years, FPM has strategically positioned itself to weave illuminating narrative content into the US Pop Culture conversation in order to deepen people’s understanding of and identification with the emotional, material, and political issues facing the Palestinians in their quest for freedom.

In order to best address the US audience, FPM blends traditional marketing and pr strategies with fine-tuned entertainment content, delivering unprecedented and highly marketable material to movie theaters, tv screens, stage and cross-platform news media.

I.    Marketing and PR Solutions (Messaging):

Too often, creative projects that travel from Palestine to the US are not afforded the marketing and PR support necessary to effectively draw an audience and demonstrate financial viability to US distributors and producers. FairPlay Media ensures that all bases are covered by providing consulting services to projects of all sizes that have the shared desire and ability to educate a US audience. FPM provides positioning strategies, marketing, and grassroots outreach across the United States .

A door has opened for the Palestinian narrative and, in order to keep it open, a healthy economy must be cultivated around these emerging projects.

II.  Content Development and Distribution:

Film and theater are the most powerful forms of storytelling in our possession. Complex social issues and confounding historical narratives, once dramatized, become exciting and accessible vehicles with which to entertain and inform; and transform public perceptions. With the recent success of Elia Suleiman’s Divine Intervention and Hany Abu Assad’s Paradise Now, the opportunity to produce and distribute original and historically accurate content has arrived. With FairPlay Media leading the charge, high profile figures from the entertainment community have a one-stop source for turning their creative concepts into authentic visual realities.

III. Analytical and Logistical Support:

As interest in the dramatic stories behind the conflict increases, the need for qualified analytical and logistical support is growing. FairPlay Media is establishing itself as a leader in this area, providing third party projects with up-to-the-minute political analysis, access to relevant players in the region and on the ground travel facilitation. This turn-key approach creates confidence with all of our clients who are often overwhelmed by the prospect of fully embracing the issue.

Projects

I. Marketing and PR Solutions: Local and Regional Projects

• My Name is Rachel Corrie: In Q4 2006, FPM was retained by James Hammerstein Productions to develop a series of talk-back panel discussions for this illuminating and controversial play. Organizations such as the Combatants for Peace and political figures such as Afif Safieh, Head of the PLO Mission, and Daniel Levy, Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation were assembled to help educate audiences on the realities facing Palestinians and Israelis as a result of the conflict. Grassroots marketing was also provided by a) leveraging strategic partnerships with relevant organizations such as the Arab American Institute, the American Task Force on Palestine, American Friends of Neve Shalom – Wahat Al Salam, etc, b) canvassing relevant locations in NYC, c) deploying email-alerts to a cross-section of peace groups, student organizations, professors, political entities and pop-culture sites.
  
  
• The Arab Fund For Arts and Culture:  In Q3 2006, Nadia Saah of FairPlay Media was tapped by The Open Society Institute to provide consulting services to AFAC, an new organization in the Middle East led by a consortium of Arab Arts Administrators, Academicians, and Philanthropists. AFAC’s mission is to stimulate and supporting creativity, critical thinking and freedom of expression in the Arab World through the development of a robust, independent Arab cultural identity which reflects the social and political realities of the region.
  
  
• Iraq In Fragments: Feature film from James Longley and Typecast Releasing. FPM provided grassroots marketing services (as described above).
  
  
• Encounter Point: Through 2006, FPM provided general consulting services to this unprecedented documentary film – which achieved critical acclaim in the press and the film festival circuit. 
  
  
• Rachel’s Words: In March 2006, FPM provided PR and logistical support for a 2K person event at NYC historc Riverside Church . This organization is devoted to preserving memory of Rachel Corrie.
  
  
• Paradise Now: In Q4 2005, FPM was retained by Warner Independent Pictures to provide traditional and grassroots marketing support for the theatrical release of Paradise Now, Golden Globe winner and 2006 Oscar nominee for best Foreign Film.
  
  
• ANERA/ESNCM: In October 2005, FPM partnered with ANERA and the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music to support the development and promotion of a series of 2006 NYC benefit events for the Palestine Youth Orchestra. Secured Richard Gere for the Gala committee of the Lincoln Center event on Feb. 21st, 2006 and delivering press support.
  
  
• Film Workshop: In November 2005, FPM supported and participated in the Royal Film Commission of Jordan’s Sundance Screenwriting Lab in Wadi Feynan Nature Preserve. The program serves to hone the technical skills of Middle Eastern screenwriters while connecting them to key players within the Hollywood community. Secured Producer Tracey Alexander for the Screenwriters Lab.

II. Content Development: US Media Platforms

• Television: In October 2005, FPM launched a research and development project, in collaboration with executive producers Richard Gere and Tracey Alexander, to support the creation of a dramatic TV mini-series on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. 4 Generations’primary goal is to humanize the people behind the stereotypes while addressing the complex realities of the conflict. Subsequent political developments in 2006 have placed this project on-hold due to Network concern over regional instability.
  
  
• Think Tanks: FPM co-sponsored and produced three content development Think Tanks with Israeli and Palestinian historians, authors, and filmmakers.
  
  
• Tel Aviv University: Tom Segev, Sami Michael, Salman Natour, Salem Jubran, Nurit Gertz, Dafna Golan, Eli Amir, Freddie Rokem, Dan Rabinowitz, Dorit Rabinyan
  
  
• Alkasaba Theater: Ramallah: Raja Shehadeh, George Ibrahim, Salim Tamari, Sobhi Al Zobaidi, George Khleifeh
  
  
• Theater: Willa Shalit, acclaimed producer of the Vagina Monologues and co-founder of V-Day, and Nadia Saah of FairPlay Media launched a collaborative effort entitled “Post Semitic Stress Disorder” – tragic-comedy paralleling the realities of growing up Palestinian American and Jewish American. – This effort evolved into the merging of Semitic identities in “Baba Can You Hear Me?” which is currently under development.

III. Analytical and Logistical Support: Entertainment Community

• Third Party Projects: Throughout 2005, FPM provided analytical and logistical support to a variety of major media and entertainment figures: Actors Richard Gere and Ben Kingsley, Producers Jake Eberts and Tracey Alexander, Participant Productions’ head and Ebay co-founder Jeff Skoll (Gandhi Project), and novelist Richard Patterson. Trips to the region included political and creative advisement and the facilitation of meetings with a range of local leaders; from grassroots activists, media moguls and artists to heads of government. 

Past Donors

• Louise T. Blouin Foundation
• Healing The Divide Foundation / Richard Gere
• The Alan B. Slifka Foundation
• Hummingbird Foundation
• Imad Khalidi
• Zahi Khouri