Gulf film festival wraps up second successful edition
Festival Aims to Pave Way for Viable Gulf Film Industry
The Gulf Film Festival (GFF), held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), drew to a close last week, having screened a total of 169 films from 32 countries around the GCC and points beyond in 6 days of free public screenings.
The festival comprised 47 world premieres and 18 international premieres, and screened eight feature narrative films, 27 documentaries, 106 short fiction selections, and 28 animation films. In addition to films from the region, GFF 2009 also showcased films from India, Italy, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, Denmark, Canada, USA, Germany amongst many others.
The week’s screenings saw a steady stream of film enthusiasts flow through the Festival doors, with many films going on standby status and a high occupancy recorded for each screening. Media and industry registrations witnessed an increase of nearly 50 percent from 2008.
Masoud Amralla al Ali, GFF Festival Director, stated: “This year was a great success and we are happy and relieved it was so well attended and that our guests’ feedback has been positive. From an industry perspective, I am glad that we worked hard to fulfill our core mandate of stimulating the Gulf film industry. It will be interesting to see the young generation implementing techniques and ideas they have discovered over the week’s screenings and lectures.”
Behind the scenes, Gulf filmmakers were treated to midnight networking sessions, called ‘Gulf Nights,’ featuring established film professionals participating in themed discussions on topics such as film criticism, the evolution of GCC cinema and the Dubai Film Connection.
Two industry workshops were held: the Screenwriting Workshop invited six writers and directors from the Gulf to be mentored by internationally renowned writers and story editors from the Torino FilmLab, a project ‘incubator’ with an international track record. Producers were coached by representatives from the European Audio Visual Entrepreneurs (EAVE), a renowned organization providing mentorship and training for film professionals.
Among the eclectic offerings was also a panel on Indian short and independent film production, along with screenings of 19 short films from emerging talent.
The week long festivities hosted some of the biggest names in Gulf cinema, such as Ghanem Al Saleh and Hussain Al Mansour from Kuwait, Saudi talent Abdel Mehsin Al Nimer and from Bahrain the director Bassam Al Thawadi and actors Fatima Abdul Rahim, Abdullah Abdulmalik, Mariam Zeman, Shaima Sabt, Anwar Ahmad and Ameena Al Qafas, and from UAE Ahmad Al Jasmi, Ebrahim Salem, Mozah Al Mazrouei and Saeed Salem.
GFF also hosted Lifetime Achievement honourees UAE’s AbdulRahman Al Saleh, Bahraini filmmaker Khalifa Shaheen and Kuwaiti director Khalid Al Siddiq. From abroad, American actor Dennis Haysbert from the popular television programme 24 appeared on the red carpet.
Distinguished jury has adjudicated the Official and Student Competitions, including Abdellatif Abdelhamid, Marei AlHalyan, Abdul Sattar Naji, Bashar Ibrahem and Ziad Al Khuzai. Jury for the Script Competition for Emirati Short Films included Mahmoud Abou al Abbas, Amin Saleh, and Ibrahim Mubarak
The Awards Ceremony that closed the festival saw winning works awarded by His Highness Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum.
Regional representation was led by the UAE with 38 films, followed by Saudi Arabia, with 27. There were also nine films from Bahrain, 15 from Iraqi filmmakers, 16 from Kuwait, 2 from Qatar, 3 from Oman, and one—a feature film—from Yemen.
The GFF was presented by the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), in association with Dubai Studio City.
