ADFF’s Emirates Film Competition features 53 films

Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF) 2014 has announced the selection for this year’s Emirates Film Competition (EFC).

The upcoming edition of the competition features a total of 53 films, of which 37 films are directed by women, representing a variety of genres. The line up also features films by Emirati filmmakers such as Nasser Al Tamimi’s Female Scream, Nasser Al-Yaqoubi’s Haneen, Hassan Kiyani’s Marwan The Boxer and Ali Mostafa’s musical Rise. In addition, Sarah Al Agroobi’s Super Lochal is among the selected films. Desire by Hala Matar (Bahrain, starring Johnny Knoxville) has been selected for ADFF’s Short Film Competition along with Koshk, directed by Emirati Abdullah Al-Kaabi. These two films will participate in both EFC and the Short Film Competition.

Highly anticipated films from the GCC region include Now Showing directed by Abdullah Al Daihani (Kuwait), Rainbow directed by Mahmood Al-Shaikh (Bahrain), 623 directed by Shaikha Al-Naimi (Qatar).

Saleh Karama, Director of the Emirates Film Competition, said: “At ADFF, one of our main objectives is to allow students to follow their passion for filmmaking and we also aim to connect aspiring directors with film experts from all over the world. Exposure at film festivals like ADFF will help them gain more fundamentals required for contributing to the region’s film industry.”

Ali Al Jabri, Director of ADFF, added: “We have registered an increase in the total number of submissions over the last year. We are particularly delighted with the significant rise in the number of female filmmakers as well as the great diversity of genres within the submissions themselves. Short films are witnessing a renaissance today and we are showcasing a strong body of work from the region.”