The Zayed University Middle East Film Festival (ZUMEFF), now in its eighth year, has showcased Arab student filmmakers from 17 Middle East countries and more than 50 universities. Based on the research done by and for ZUMEFF, this panel looks at where students are making documentaries, what they are making them about, and how they are being mentored in educational institutions. Using an analysis of the ZUMEFF catalogue and interviews with student filmmakers and educators, this presentation asks the bigger question: Is there proper documentary film education in the Middle East, and in this troubled, multicultural and financially strained region, who has access to it?