UAE: Abu Dhabi film festival seeks to boost movie industry

Abu Dhabi launches its first film festival and fund in a bid to grow a movie industry in a Gulf Arab region often seen as a cultural desert and where films are often heavily censored. Running from Oct 14-19, the Middle East International Film Festival aims to encourage home-grown talent and emerging film makers both with cash and the Black Pearl Awards trophies. The festival is the latest in a series of projects Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, hopes will mark it out as the cultural heart of a region better know for its oil than its arts. The festival mainly organised by the Film Financing Circle also aims to nurture relationships between film makers around the world and provide opportunities for financier interested in investing in film. "It's incredible I mean we have all of our VIP's who came for the Film Financing Circle, that are from Hollywood and the bankers from Europe. It amazing, we took them on an incredible retreat yesterday and they're really excited for opening night tonight," said Adrienne Briggs, director of the Film Financing Circle. Unlike Egypt, which celebrates 100 years of Arab cinema this year, the UAE was a desert backwater before the 1970s oil boom. Egyptian actress Dalia Behery said that this is a significant event as it represents the birth of production festivals within the region. "I am very happy with the organisation and the opening ceremony. Everything is good up till this point, it is the birth of a huge festival and I wish them good luck," she said. According to Bollywood actor Irfan Khan this festival might present the possibility of attracting Bollywood to Abu Dhabi and the Emirates. "I think it can bring Bollywood here for the shootings and Bollywood itself is a big industry and they have their own identity and Bollywood film fans are all over the world so they can definitely benefit from this," said Khan before opening with the acclaimed movie 'Atonement' starring starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. The festival will show a range of Hollywood, Bollywood and Arab films, and the Black Pearl Awards will go to fiction, documentary and short films selected by a jury. The festival will showcase Arab film in its Middle East Spotlight section, and includes a section dedicated to Arab female directors. Also on is a retrospective of Gulf films including the region's first feature film, "The Cruel Sea" by Kuwaiti Director Khalid al-Siddiq, made in 1972. To support homegrown talent, the Abu Dhabi Media Company will sponsor a $100,000 cash prize for Emirati film-makers and the festival will give the first ever screening for a UAE feature film; "Jumaa and the Sea" by Hany al-Shaibany.

ITN Source | October 16, 2007

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