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ADFF @ The Pavilion Downtown Dubai Marks 10 Years of Emirates Film Competition
Celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Emirates Film
Competition (EFC), ADFF @ The Pavilion Downtown Dubai features ten
short films from EFC's first decade of contributions to film
culture in the Gulf region. EFC's workshops and screenings have
been at the heart of regional cinema since 2001, serving as a
platform for local and regional filmmakers to share both their work
and their experiences. Last year, the EFC became an official
section of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF) and today continues
as a key initiative to provide regional filmmakers with greater
exposure through ADFF's reach into the international film
community. With themes as diverse as revenge and relationships,
this installment of ADFF @ The Pavilion Downtown Dubai features a
collection of intriguing, illuminating, and insightful films that
have made the EFC an important force in advancing cinema in the
Gulf.
A special question & answer session with several
directors whose films are featured in the program will take place
after the screening on August 18.
10 Years of Emirates Film
Competition Screening Schedule
Wednesday, August 17; Thursday, August 18; and
Friday, August 19 @ 9 p.m.
Meet the Directors: Thursday, August 18
All screenings include:
Directed by Abdullah Hassan
2005 | 15 min
For the prayer that ends ritual, for the love of a
cold color, for the cruelty that exists within us... Amen
is the beginning.
Directed by Nawaf Al Janahi
2003 | 5 min
This film asks whether we really do all we
can.
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Directed by Reem Al Hamli
2004 | 4 min
With no face or character of his own, a metal man
seeks to become David Bowie in his glam rock Ziggy Stardust
phase.
Directed by Khalid Al Mahmood
2003 | 7 min
A man goes about his normal life when a problem
surfaces.
Directed by Nada Al Karimi
2005 | 11 min
From birth to premature death, Dying for Fun
follows the hatching, coloring, marketing, and sale of dyed
chicks.
Directed by Salem Faisal Al Qassimi
2003 | 9 min
Under the control of a vengeful man, a girl is forced
to kill someone.
Directed by Waleed Al Shehhi
2004 | 17 min
Do dreams contain reality or vice versa? Aushba's
Well tries to make sense of both possibilities.
Directed by Ali Jamal
2009 | 4 min
A bird struggles to protect its eggs from a piece of
plastic in this simple parable of love and solidarity.
Directed by Lamya Hussain Gargash
2003 | 9 min
An examination of a relationship between a man and a
woman: is it an arranged marriage or an intimate
rendez-vous?
Directed by Yasser Al Neyadi & Hana Al
Shatri
2010 | 8 min
Mirage presents the soul conflicted by human
values and the temptation of money.
NOTE: These screenings will run each
day from Wednesday, August 17, through Friday, August 19,
inclusive. Each screening will begin at 9 p.m. All non-English
language films have English subtitles. Entrance to the screenings
is free of charge but seating is limited and will be available on a
first-come, first-served basis. Screenings start promptly at the
specified time, so please arrive accordingly.
During the holy month of Ramadan, the restaurant at
The Pavilion Downtown Dubai will open at 6 p.m. for Iftar and
remain open through Suhoor to 3 a.m. each day.
About ADFF @ The Pavilion Downtown
Dubai
ADFF @ The Pavilion Downtown Dubai is a four-month
long series of film screenings presented by the Abu Dhabi Film
Festival (ADFF) in collaboration with film producer
Butheina Hamed Kazim and in partnership with The
Pavilion Downtown Dubai. The initiative is a first for ADFF as it
showcases highlights of the capital's festival to the Dubai
community as part of its commitment to a greater selection of
screenings and activities in the UAE throughout the year.
ADFF @ The Pavilion Downtown Dubai aims to facilitate
and encourage the increasingly active conversation among
filmmakers, supporters, patrons and enthusiasts across the UAE, who
are central to the exciting growth of the local film culture.
Hosted at The Pavilion Downtown Dubai, the venue is a unique hub
for a diverse range of arts events, offering a platform to promote
an active cultural community to the public and to support the work
of a rising generation of artists in the region. Along with the
cinema where the films will be hosted, The Pavilion includes two
galleries, a library, a café, and a shisha lounge facing the Burj
Khalifa.
Co-curator Butheina Hamed Kazim and the ADFF
programming team have carefully selected from among highlights of
the past two years to give an overview of several sections that are
presented at the festival each October in Abu Dhabi.
Launched on May 13, ADFF @ The Pavilion Downtown
Dubai began with four films that have received ADFF's SANAD grants
which support Arab cinema. Future installments of the series will
focus on a selection of Emirati short films that have been entered
in the Emirates Film Competition.
About Abu Dhabi Film
Festival
The Abu Dhabi Film Festival (formerly the Middle East
International Film Festival) was established in 2007, with the aim
of helping to create a vibrant film culture throughout the region.
Presented each October by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and
Heritage (ADACH) under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Sultan Bin
Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and
Heritage, the event is committed to curating exceptional programs
to engage and educate the local community, inspire filmmakers and
nurture the growth of the regional film industry.
With its commitment to presenting works by Arab
filmmakers in competition alongside those by major talents of world
cinema, the Festival offers Abu Dhabi's diverse and enthusiastic
audiences a means of engaging with their own and others' cultures
through the art of cinema. At the same time, a strong focus on the
bold new voices of Arab cinema connects with Abu Dhabi's role as a
burgeoning cultural capital in the region and marks the festival as
a place for the world to discover and gauge the pulse of recent
Arab filmmaking.
www.abudhabifilmfestival.ae
About Butheina Hamed Kazim
Kazim is the producer of the independent documentary
film Letters to Palestine, which has screened across
Palestine and premiered at the Dubai International Film Festival
(DIFF) in December 2010. She was a juror for the iEmmys Asia &
Africa competition and a curator for an independent films program
at the Shelter in Dubai and is currently working on a series for Al
Jazeera Documentary Channel.
Kazim represented the UAE at the Berlinale as part of
the Abu Dhabi Film Commission delegation attending the European
Producers Club Forum, a talent workshop, which invites young and
emerging filmmakers from all over the world. Kazim is regular
commentator on issues of media, culture and communication and
co-hosts Dubai Tonight a radio talk show on Dubai Eye 103.8. Kazim
is currently the Strategy & Business Development Manager at
Dubai Media Incorporated, which
operates six pan-Arab TV channels and other media
platforms including print, publishing and radio.
About The Pavilion Downtown
Dubai
The Pavilion is the city's newest dedicated
non-profit contemporary art space providing a place to view,
discuss and participate in works by local and international
artists. Developed by the multidivisional group Cultural
Engineering, The Pavilion is a unique hub for a diverse range of
art events offering a platform to promote an active arts community
to the public and to support the work of a rising generation of
artists in the region.
The Pavilion's programming will reinforce its role as
a place for artistic discourse, research and education. The
building itself reflects a unique interior that supports a dialogue
between art and its audience.
www.pavilion.ae
Media Contacts
For inquiries on Abu Dhabi Film
Festival:
William Royce
Abu Dhabi Film Festival
T +9712 556 4000
press@adff.ae
For inquiries on The Pavilion Downtown
Dubai:
Tarané Ali Khan
t h r e e | Communications & Consulting
T +9714 3411 367
tarane@three-pr.com
Contact thePress Team