Dubai, April 08: The finest filmmakers from the region and beyond will descend on Festival City today for the third annual Gulf Film Festival (GFF).
The event, which kicked off on Wednesday with the acclaimed Emirati drama, ‘City of Life’, aims to offer a kaleidoscope of perspectives into contemporary life across the globe, while retaining a focus on the Gulf.
A total of 195 films from 41 countries will screen during the festival, which will conclude with an awards ceremony on Wednesday, April 14, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
The film competition is split into three sections — features, documentaries and shorts — while the script competition aims to find the brightest cinematic minds among UAE Nationals.
Among the films vying to land the Best Feature Award are City of Life, the UAE’s first major feature film, Ras Al Khaimah-set horror flick The Curse of the Devil by 25-year-old Emirati Maher Al Khaja, and Tangled Up in Blue, which looks at a Londoner’s knotted Iraqi heritage.
Meanwhile the documentary section features no fewer six than films hailing from Iraq — including Hameed Haddad’s 80-82, about the former regime’s methods of deportation and their present-day effects, and Hady Mahoud’s Collapse, about the looting of Iraqi government institutions in 2003, and the invasion’s heavy toll on Iraq’s rich cultural heritage.
Student films will cover a rich array of topics close to their makers’ hearts — with Moaza Al Sharif’s Second Wife investigating the love affair between Emirati men and their cars, and Shaikha Awad Al Ayali’s Heat The Beat 2 perusing hip-hop in the UAE.
In total, Dhs485,000 will be awarded in prizes to both professional and student filmmakers — with the judging panel including legendary Moroccan filmmaker Jillali Ferhati, whos has won plaudits during his three-decade career for films such as Brèche dans le Mu (A Breach in the Wall), and Mémoire en Detention (Memory in Detention).
Also on the panel are Yemen’s first woman filmmaker, documentary specialist Khadija Al Salami, and Emirati actor-director Ibrahim Salem, who helped establish the Modern Theatre and the Theatre Union in Sharjah.
“The success of GFF in encouraging regional talent to break the mould and accomplish global success has been underscored with the past two editions,” said festival director Masoud Amralla Al Ali.
“The festival provides filmmakers with an opportunity to receive recognition for outstanding work, and encourage production of films in the region.”
The GFF is held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority.
–Agencies