The Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) has announced the first line-up for its Muhr Competition in the Short Films category, which showcases films from or of the Arab World. The winning short film will automatically qualify for consideration in the 2017 Academy Awards.
Some of the entrants this year include the highly acclaimed animated short film Waves ’98 directed by Lebanese Ely Dagher, which won the Palme d’Or for Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. The film explores the filmmaker’s relationship with his homeland, disillusioned with his life in the suburbs of segregated Beirut.
The Wheel, directed by Egyptian Menna Ekram, depicts the daily lives of a struggling couple working in a circus. Theatre, film and television actress, Ibtissem Guerda, returns to Diff with the world premiere of her short, The Veil of Jealousy, which follows Amine, a young and devout Muslim, whose relationship with his wife Enora changes after she makes a new friend. Egyptian director Shady Al Hamus’ Fairuz centres around Yousuf, played by Mohammad Bakri, a man in his mid-60s, who flees the wedding of his only child and undergoes an introspective journey through a series of unexpected events.
The world premiere of The Right Path, from Lebanese directors Fouad Alaywan and Ovidio Al Hout, follows Zacharia, a proud Lebanese Muslim, who prides himself on defending his country from extremists. But with his family’s safety at risk he must choose the right path to take in order to keep his family safe and defend his country.
Director Alaeddin Abou Taleb brings Diaspora, a story that depicts the life of a wheelchair-bound man who spends many years wasting away in his apartment in downtown Tunisia, subsisting via social media, until one day everything changes. Kaleidoscope is a biopic by Syrian artist and filmmaker Ammar Al Beik, which plays out a night in his life as a professional photojournalist covering the ongoing war that rages in Aleppo.
“Short films present a unique challenge to directors because they are produced with a limited availability of time and resources. It is for this reason the Muhr Short Competition provides an experiential kiln from which independent filmmakers can demonstrate their skill in this daring and powerful medium,” said Diff’s artistic director, Masoud Amralla Al Ali. “At Diff, we are committed to supporting the film industry in the region and are proud to provide a platform by which Arab filmmakers are brought to the forefront.”
“Every year Diff welcomes up-and-coming directors from across the region for the Muhr Short Competition and every year we are astonished by the growing participation and quality of productions,” said programmer Salah Sermini. “The Festival presents the greatest opportunity for breakthrough directors to make themselves known and it is for this reason that the competition continues to attract a wealth of Arab talent.”
The 12th edition of the Diff will run from December 9-16. Go to dubaifilmfest.com.
