Diff 2015: Layla Kaylif wins $100,000

Emirati filmmaker Layla Kaylif has won this year’s IWC Filmmaker Award with her film-in-the-making, The Letter Writer.

Layla gets $100,000 (Dh376,000) towards the making of her film as well as the prestige attached to the award, which is in its fourth year.

She was one of three candidates shortlisted for the award, along with Qatari director Khalifa Al Muraikhi for his project Sahaab and Saudi director Shahad Ameen for her feature Scales.

The jury was headed by Oscar winning Palestinian director Hany Abu Assad and Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, and included Georges Kern, CEO of the Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen, Diff chairman Abdulhamid Juma and Diff artistic director Masoud Amralla Al Ali.

“This year, yet again, we have received numerous applications for great films that have immensely impressed us. We are proud to see the talents of the region take such great steps forward, and we look forward to further supporting and contributing to the art of filmmaking in the region as a whole,” said Kern in a statement.

The award was presented by IWC brand ambassador Dev Patel at gala at the One&Only Royal Mirage in Dubai on Thursday night.