UAE's Film Industry Showcased At Cannes

Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF), Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), and the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), held the reception at the UAE Pavilion in Cannes. The three organisations have worked together to make the UAE an attractive country to showcase films and promote regional and local talent alongside international film professionals.

“Upon the instructions of Lieutenant General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, the Ministry of Interior launched a set of cinematic awards said Lt. Col. Faisal Al Shamari. This reflects His Highness’ vision of the film industry’s valuable role in tackling societal issues and its ability to deliver awareness messages on both social and security issues, with a view to engaging the public in dealing with these issues. This helps to achieve the UAE government’s strategy to be “one of the best countries in the world in terms of safety and security”.

“We have successfully worked together to promote the UAE as a global film hub that attracts filmmakers and talent from all over the world,” said Ali Al Jabri, the director of ADFF. “Cannes is an excellent platform to raise international awareness of the UAE’s film festivals and also highlight the Ministry of Interior’s child protection award for filmmakers. ADFF's program is the only one in the region to put Arabic films in competition with international cinema and continues to give the platform for filmmakers to go on to be showcased at festivals worldwide. We look forward to putting on another strong program for the UAE public to enjoy.”

Every year, ADFF and DIFF show the brightest prospects in international cinema along with productions made by local talent at two of the region’s foremost cultural events. They continue to grow in significance and international prestige.

Dubai International Film Festival Chairman, Abdulhamid Juma said: "Hosting events for Arab filmmakers, global film players and industry representatives at such an important festival as the Cannes International Film Festival are imperative to driving the outreach of the festival, the UAE as a filming destination and showcasing our established and emerging talent from the region to the world. Over the last 10 years we have highlighted the works of numerous Arab filmmakers at DIFF who have gone onto receive huge international acclaim and we look forward to presenting another slate of incredible films to audiences at the 11th edition of DIFF this December."

Emirate:  Abu Dhabi

Date: May 20, 2014

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