Middle East film festival to showcase films on environment

Abu Dhabi: A number of films on environmental issues will be screened as part of a special programme dedicated to protecting the environment at the Middle East International Film Festival, organisers of the event said.

The festival aims to utilise the role of the cinema to help protect the environment and biodiversity of the planet, by attracting the participation of film-makers and environmentalists from around the world, said Mohammad Khalaf Al Mazroui, Director-General of Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage and president of the festival, in a press statement.

Al Mazroui stressed that Abu Dhabi is keen to raise environmental awareness and spread the values of nature preservation.

Al Mazroui warned that UN reports confirm the planet is currently facing its most serious wave of plant and animal life extinction, and that there is one kind of species being totally extinct approximately every 20 minutes, which means that current extinction rates are 100 to 1,000 times the normal rate.

Awards

The festival gives awards for all types of films - feature, documentary and animation - and for long, short and student films.

The monetary values of the Black Pearl prizes are equally shared between the producer and director. There are also awards for best actor and best actress, as well as awards for best artistic contribution, that exclude directing and acting.