Abu Dhabi: Movie lovers who wish to experience Arab Gulf cinema will have the chance to do so this week as Abu Dhabi hosts the third GCC Film Festival for the first time, with the festival showcasing some of the region’s best films.

Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, inaugurated the Festival in Abu Dhabi. The festival was earlier launched and hosted in Qatar in 2012, followed by Kuwait in 2013. More than 150 artists from Gulf countries are participating in the festival.

The film festival runs until Thursday and will feature a total of 27 movies that will be screened at Novo Cinemas in Abu Dhabi.

Among the 27 films to be screened are four Emirati narrative movies, including Going to paradise and Close to the skies, and one short movie The Road by Emirati director Abdullah Al Junaibi.

All the film screenings will be followed by talks given by the directors on their movies and the creative process behind them.

“I hope in this festival to first celebrate our achievements in this area by enjoying displayed movies, and then pay attention to the various elements in this wonderful art, including arts of photography, novels, acting and audio-visual tools, in addition to paying attention to emotional communication with the audience and assuring within this context the availability of best international practices in our region, in order to achieve the desired success of this art in the GCC countries,” said Shaikh Nahyan.

Shaikh Nahyan also encouraged the audience of artists to continue to develop and build the Gulf film industry, which he said would allow the region to express both its heritage and culture.

“I am delighted to welcome you to your second country, the United Arab Emirates, which is witnessing a remarkable cultural and artistic renaissance in light of our wise leadership, represented by His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State.

“His Highness [Shaikh Khalifa] sees that culture and arts positively changes human life for the better within the process of enriching the whole community. It also supports all the bonds of communication and coexistence between the country’s people and extends to support communication between all nations,” he added.

 

 

Third Gulf Film Festival

Where: Novo Cinemas

When: October 17- October 20, daily from 4pm