Star-studded end to Tropfest Arabia

TropFest Arabia kicks off in the capital Film starts and finalists land in the capital ahead of TropFest Arabia 2012 Stars of film and music ready to party in the capital Thousands flock to Abu Dhabi for TropFest Arabia

More than 4,000 film enthusiasts attended a night filled with movies, musical performances, and live entertainment as TropFest Arabia, the Middle East version of the world’s largest short film festival, kicked off the Abu Dhabi Corniche on Friday.

Organised as part of Yasalam series building up to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the event also featured a live musical performance by the Lebanese star Carole Samaha.

Sixteen shortlisted films from across the Middle East and North Africa were screened for the first time in front of celebrity judges, including Tunisian actress Hind Sabry, and the audience. Egyptian filmmaker Mohammad Hussen Anwar’s five-minute film ‘Undamageable’, based around the Arab Spring’, was adjudged the winner by the panel which included John Polsen, founder of the festival; Mohammad Saeed Hareb, the Emirati animator; Amr Al Zuheir, Kuwaiti film producer and director; Seba Mubarak, Jordanian actress and producer and Amr Salama, Egyptian writer and director.