Celebrating cinema

Treat yourself to a six-day film fiesta that will showcase GCC filmmakers.

After its debut last year, the Gulf Film Festival (GFF) is back to showcase feature films by filmmakers from across the GCC. The six-day event, held under the patronage of Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture, will begin on April 9.

The select films from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen, cover a range of themes like morality, religion and fear. From the eight films, five will compete in the official competition and three will be screened at the special 'Lights' event. We give you a glimpse of what's in store:

Petro World

Kuwaiti filmmaker Tarek Rashed's animated film is set in Petro World, a kingdom similar to Disneyland, where King Carbon and Queen Hadrooja live with their kids Nafout and Nafouta. But they are under attack by a dragon and now it's up to the kids to fight back and unveil the secret of their land.

The Revenge

In Waleed Osman and Fawaz Gadri's Saudi feature, four brothers are dragged into a gang war after one of them finds a gang leader's bag.

L'Aube Du Monde

Iraqi director Abbas Fahdel's film follows cousins Mastour and Zahra, who are married in a joyous wedding. But then they are forced apart by the Gulf War, and their lives change forever.

Sound Of Life

Established Iranian-Emirati filmmaker Ali Shah Hatami's feature follows a young Harry Potter fan who lives in Ras Al Khaimah and works at a mosque. One day, he is torn between the idea of watching a Harry Potter film in Dubai or announcing the Azan in the mosque.

The Fifth Chamber Ouija

UAE filmmaker Maher Al Khaja narrates the tale of the Abu Fares family discovering haunting secrets in their new house. The family's fears increase when the daughter discovers a secret chamber with games and exorcism tools.

Loser Bet

Yemeni filmmaker Fadhel Al Olafii's film addresses the issue of the extremism that terrorist groups have imported to Yemen.

Henna

UAE writer-director Saleh Karama directs his first feature that portrays how a fatherless Henna has to find a way to relate to her new father figure.

Al Dayra

UAE filmmaker-actor Nawaf Al Janahi, follows Ebrahim, a journalist who discovers that he is suffering from a fatal disease, but whose life changes after he meets thief Shahab.