Vacation Real Estate News
2nd Annual Middle East Film Festival Boosts Abu Dhabi As Region's Cultural Capital
(ABU DHABI, UAE) - The second-annual Middle East International Film Festival (Oct.10-19) opens here next week bringing together 35 films, including top recent releases from Hollywood as well as regional short films, documentaries, winners at other film festivals and films about the environment.
According to the organizers, the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, the Festival will feature a special tribute to Jane Fonda who will be accompanied by Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve. They will be joined by film stars and directors from Bollywood, the Indian Hollywood based in Mumbai, and the Arab World.
"Abu Dhabi's cultural project...would not be completed without a strong presence of cinema which constitutes one of the major themes of contemporary culture. The Middle East International Film Festival, since its launch in October last year, constitutes the first crucial step on that long road," said Mohamed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Vice Chairman of the Festival and Director-General of ADACH.
What Al Mazrouei calls the "cultural project" is the decision by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to focus on attracting high net worth investors and visitors through the arts and becoming the cultural capital of the Middle East. Neighbor Dubai 90 minutes away targets its business and real estate investment opportunities and tourism more broadly.
Screened at the self-styled six-star Emirates Palace Hotel and two multiplexes, the films feature Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Spike Lee's Miracle at St. Anna, and Ridley Scott's Body of Lies. Films from the Middle East include Fawzia: A Special Blend and On a Day Like Today from Egypt; Haseeba from Syria; Beirut Open City from Lebanon; Time of Comrades from Morocco; and Henna from the UAE.
More than $1 million in prizes is available to filmmakers who earn Black Pearl awards for best feature film, documentary, short film, and student film. In addition, for the first time three prizes of $25,000 will be given for advertising in the categories Best Essential Objects, Best Luxurious Objects, and Best Television, Cinema, and Digital Techniques.
