Dubai's dreams of being the region's version of Hollywood took a step closer as the city's first feature film, City of Life, finishes shooting this week.
The trials and triumphs of life in Dubai are put in the spotlight in the UAE's first home-grown film directed by 27-year-old Emirati filmmaker Ali Mustafa.
Mustafa secured funding for the film after successfully presenting his graduation film Under the Sun at the 2007 Dubai International Film Festival.
"We are attempting to do something that has never been done before. Many of us working on the sets have spent our lives working on TV commercials.
"But now we are attempting to make a movie which meets global standards. The scale is truly international and it's made from start to finish in Dubai," says Mustafa.
Helping him in his quest to create an export-quality film is an eclectic cast from the Arabic, Hollywood and Bollywood film industries. Gulf News was given exclusive access to the shoot to capture the action that has gone into making this historic film.
Watching a movie being made can be an exciting and an excruciating affair.
tabloid! goes behind the scenes of City Of Life - Dubai's first homegrown film - and taps into the action charged moments.
Guess who is smitten on Dubai: Alexandra Maria Lara. Essentially the prospect of shooting in UAE's commercial capital lured her to City of Life.
Jo Barlow is the Second Assistant Director. In a movie production, there are some invisible wheels that drive the project forward. Jo Barlow is one example.
After having assisted in the smooth running of Hollywood movies such as Quantum of Solace and Dred, Barlow ensures the shooting proceeds with no hassles. With a walkie talkie strapped to him, he is all business.
From managing the base camp, where vanity vans are lined up, to deciding on the movement of cast and crew it is safe to deduct Barlow is the man Friday.
