Batata, a feature documentary project being developed by Toronto’s Six Island Productions, has been selected among the top three pitches at the Dubai International Film Festival’s co-pro market.

The prize, which also went to two fictional projects, was handed out Dec. 16. The accolade comes with a $25,000 cheque attached to it for each project.

Paul Scherzer, a producer with the company, tells Playback the filmmakers are currently raising funds in Canada and the Middle East and is in negotiations with possible German and French production partners.

The doc is directed by Noura Kevorkian. A filmmaker who lives in Canada but is of Armenian-Lebanese background, her previous documentaries are Anjar: Flowers, Goats and Heroes and 23km. Both were produced by Six Island and focus on life in Lebanon.

Batata (which means potato) focuses on the complexities and challenges faced by a Syrian-born farmer and his family who work for a Lebanese landowner. Their seemingly simply lives are ensnared by the social and economic changes overtaking Syria and its adjoining countries.

Six Island’s previous work includes Gate #5, a Canada-Lebanon-United Arab Emirates co-production that included Lebanon’s Abbout Productions and Ginger Beirut Productions and Germany’s mec Film. And last March, it received the support of the IDFA’s Jan Vrijman Fund for its project Zaineb Hates the Snow.

The co-pro market focuses on new projects from throughout the Arab world. The Dubai film festival ran Dec. 6 to 16.