Heritage Film Fest to open on Feb 22 in Abu Dhabi

 

The dialogue between generations in different cultures will be the focus of the 2012 Heritage Film Festival, opening on February 22 at the Heritage Village in Abu Dhabi.

The cultural event, initiated in 2011 and organised by the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region together with the German Embassy and the Swiss Embassy in Abu Dhabi, is the first open-air film festival in the UAE.

A selection of Emirati, German and Swiss films, centered on the theme “The Young & the Old” will be screened this year for the second edition of the festival. The Heritage Film Festival, which features a rich four-day programme, aims at engaging students, experts and film enthusiasts in the UAE with different aspects of intercultural dialogue.

“We designated the Heritage Village as location for the first open-air film festival in the UAE because this is a unique place in Abu Dhabi, standing for preservation and appreciation of traditions. It is surrounded by the sea and offers a spectacular view on the Abu Dhabi skyline,” explained Susanne Sporrer, Director of the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region.

“The topic of this year’s festival ‘The Young & the Old’ captures this idea. The chosen films reflect the relationships between generations, combine present with the past and illuminate differences as well as common aspects,” she remarked.

The high-profile partners supporting the organisation of the festival include Abu Dhabi Film Festival, the Emirates Heritage Club, Abu Dhabi Film Commission, the Higher Colleges of Technology, the Zayed University Abu Dhabi and Sayidaty magazine. This year’s selection of short and feature films had as curators the German expert, Philip Bräuer for the German and Swiss films, and Ali Al Jabri (Abu Dhabi Film Festival) for the Emirati films.

“The Heritage Film Festival continues to be an essential collaboration in Abu Dhabi that brings together our diverse communities around common themes,” said Ali Al Jabri.

“In making the selection for the festival, I looked for films with an original voice that would encourage our audiences to engage with the theme of the festival and that exemplify the fresh perspectives in the work of some of our excellent local filmmakers,” he continued.

Although gathering a remarkable rank of national and international experts among its guests, the Heritage Film Festival also gives students and the audience the opportunity to engage actively in the festival. After each screening, film directors and experts on film will engage in a discussion and answer questions from the audience.

As in 2011, the discussions with experts will be moderated by the students who will also accompany the audience throughout the evenings.This year, students from different media and communication programmes of the Higher Colleges of Technology and the Zayed University in Abu Dhabi will be participating in the event. A four-day workshop with German expert Till Brockmann from Zurich University will prepare them for this task and the best student group will be awarded by a jury at the end of the festival.

Nevertheless, as absolute innovation of this year, the second edition of the festival will feature for the first time, the Heritage Film Festival Mobile Phone Video Competition. The new initiative, sponsored by Twofour54, allows everyone to become part of the festival through videos, shot with regular mobile phones. The short video clips must reflect the thematic focus of this year and can be uploaded on the website of the Heritage Film Festival 2012 from 15 January to 21 February 2012.

All website visitors can watch the uploaded clips, write comments and vote for their favourite video. The best videos will be screened during the festival and then the audience will choose the winner of the competition.

 This press release was issued by the Heritage Film Festival organisers.