Dubai: Tunisian director Leyla Bouzid was the big winner as her daring film, As I Open My Eyes, walked away with Dh200,000, earning the Best Muhr Fiction Feature accolade at the Dubai International Film Festival here on Wednesday.
“Thank you, thank you. I didn’t expect this. Whoa,” said a shaky Bouzid. “Long live Arabic cinema.”
Her film, which previously went to Toronto International Film Festival, followed the story of a young Tunisian woman, Farah, and her overprotective mother, as well as the journey of Farah’s underground band.
Presenting the award, jury member Deepa Metha, said she is impressed with the honesty, content and female directors represented at the festival.
“We’d like to thank the institutions who dared to show their work, which of course, is Dubai International Film Festival,” she said.
Meanwhile, Sayema Wasi walked away with the 2015 Young Journalist Award, winning an internship with Gulf News tabloid!.
The annual YJA award, supported by Gulf News, sends eight shortlisted hopefuls to report on the happenings of the film festival. The most promising individual is chosen at the end for a month-long internship.
Mohammed Al Mezel, Managing Editor of Gulf News, presented Wasi with the award on Wednesday.
The second biggest prize, Dh100,000, went to Mahmood Soliman, who won the Best Muhr Non-Fiction Feature with We Have Never Been Kids. It depicts a struggling Egyptian family and how the past decade of the “Mubarak era” impacted them. It was his second win of the night, after being named Best Director of a Muhr Feature.
“If I knew there would be a second prize, I would have split the speech,” he joked.
“I believe in this time where terror is becoming prominent, people are investing in the arts and in knowledge, because that’s the strongest weapon against terror,” he said.
Salem Brahimi, who won the Special Jury Prize (Dh50,000) for Let Them Come, said though he’s delighted by his win, he couldn’t dismiss what his film is about -- terrorism.
“We should take a few seconds of silence for the 200,000 victims of terrorism in Algeria, and those in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and beyond the Arab world,” he said, quieting the theatre for a more emotional moment.
Dh50,000 was also awarded to Amna Nowais, for her non-fiction Muhr Emirati Short, Omnina, about female circumcision. The same amount was won by Rizgar Husen for the Muhr Gulf Short, The Boss.
Ave Maria, directed by Basil Khalil, won the Dh50,000 prize for Best Muhr Short. As per the competition’s rules, it now automatically qualifies for consideration for the 2016 Academy Awards (The Oscars).
Emirati director Naser Al Dhaheri won Best Director of Muhr Emirati (Dh20,000) for A Tale Of Water, Palm Trees, and Family. He brought his young daughter, Arwa, on stage with him.
“Before the festival, Arwa told me, ‘Baba, hard luck.’ After winning this award, it might be a difficult task to teach her the difference between ‘hard luck’ and ‘good luck’,” he said.
Fellow Emirati director, Saeed Salmeen Al Murry, won the Dh75,000 prize for Best Muhr Emirati Feature with Going To Heaven.
“I thank the audience and I thank the Ministry of Interior, without whom none of this would be possible. God willing, my next movie will be even better than Going to Heaven,” he said.
Hind Al Fahhad, who directed Peddiers, and Faiza Ambah, who directed Mariam, were the winners of the Special Jury Prizes for Muhr Gulf Short and Muhr Short. They walked away with Dh25,000 each.
At Dh10,000 each, Menna Shalabi won best actress for her role in Nawara while Lotfi Abdelli won best actor for his role in Borders of Heaven.