Up and coming Emirati directors compete in Muhr Competition

 

A host of emerging UAE directors and their experienced peers will participate in the Dubai International Film Festival’s (DIFF’s) Muhr Emirati Competition, which places the Emirates firmly in the spotlight.

Masoud Amralla Al Ali, DIFF Artistic Director, said: “DIFF has always worked towards fostering the UAE’s film industry, and the Muhr Emirati Awards reflect this by highlighting the ground-breaking works of our local filmmakers. With each year that passes the quality increases and likewise competition escalates. We are proud of the significant works being produced by our Emirati directors, which add weight to the burgeoning film industry here in the UAE and firmly places the Emirates on the world cinematic map. This year is set to be more successful than ever from a local standpoint,” he said.

All of the films in the competition will be enjoying world premiere status when they’re screened this December.

Receiving its world premiere Abood Kandaishan is a comedic take on one simple-minded man’s life. Abood is set to be transferred within the company he’s worked 13 years for, but after he finds out about the transfer he asks his friend Sharabatoh for help to stop it. The two become friends after Abood asks for his help, but an accident puts paid to their friendship. This touching look at life feature film is directed by Fadel Almheiri.

Ali Bin Matar’s world premiere of his compelling short Chances Have Endings is a psychological drama about a young man’s problems that go viral on social networks.

In Suqrat Bin Bisher’s world premiere short documentary Burden, a young Emirati man pays for the crime he’s committed with a life sentence. In a poignant look at life, the film focusses on the shame and despair the man has brought to his family and loved ones.

In TwoFour54 production The Drive another world premiere written and directed by Mariam Al Nuaimi, Ahmed begins the long drive home after work when he starts to encounter strange incidents. As he’s so sleepy, he can’t tell if the odd things he sees are real, paranormal or whether he’s hallucinating. Stopping at a petrol station he decides to drink a cup of coffee to wake himself up, but will it really help put a stop to his nightmare?

The Other Dimension follows the journey of a risk-taking, careless 20-year-old, who spends his time making trouble. After he’s in an accident he realizes his past mistakes and starts to see himself in another dimension. However, he becomes stuck between reality and his imagination and struggles to get back to his real life. But is it all in his imagination? This moral look at life is a world premiere directed by Aisha Alzaabi.

The Confession takes the viewer into the world of street crime and the church. Based in Paris, the film follows a prostitute who’s chased through the streets of the French capital, only to find herself confessing her sins to a Priest while she hides in a church. The Confession directed by Mohammed Swaidan will receive its world premiere.

Shahad Al Shehhi’s Hidden looks at the life of a bored, middle-aged housewife, who decides she wants to have extra-marital encounters to satisfy her sense of adventure. One of these affairs becomes all the more daring, when her paramour finds himself in the flat at the same time as her husband.

 Hidden and The Confession are the result of an intensive five-week course attended by the filmmakers at the Gulf Summer University Programme at La Fémis in Paris held earlier this year and will both enjoy their world premieres at the Festival.

In the world premiere of Love X-Large, a young man, who is obese, chases the mirage of love. Rejected by the cousin he loves, he is engaged to a girl, who loves him despite his weight. He realises that to be loved unconditionally is truly a Love X-Large.  Directed by Khalid Ali, this world premiere film is a heartwarming tale of love, life and loss.