It’s time to celebrate Emirati filmmaking. Cinema Emirati, a two-day series of film screenings at The Space in TwoFour54 in Abu Dhabi will showcase films made by Emiratis and give attendees a chance to interact with the directors. The event, part of the Abu Dhabi Festival, will be held on March 18 and 19.
The first day will see the screening of Sundress by Saeed Salmeen Al Murry at 5pm. Set in Damascus and Ras Al Khaimah, the film is about a woman who fights social prejudice due to a disability. It won Al Murry the Best Emirati Filmmaker award at the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) in 2008.
At 7pm the same day, the documentary eco-friendly film Origins will be screened. A co-production between the Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the documentary looks at the beginnings of species and our existence.
The next day, on March 19, at 5pm, award-winning director Nujoom Al Ganem will bring her heart-warming story about a Syrian actress who emigrates to Abu Dhabi only to be faced with daunting challenges. Amal won the Muhr Award at Diff in 2011.
At 7pm, documentary filmmaker Amal Al Agroobi’s Diff 2013 People’s Choice Award winning film The Brain That Sings will screen. Centred around autism, it follows six-year-old Khalifa and 18-year-old Mohammad as they are put through music therapy. Al Agroobi also won the 2014 Al Jazeera Documentary Channel Award.
Entry to the screenings is free, but registration is necessary. Email community@admaf.org. For more on the Abu Dhabi Festival, go to abudhabifestival.ae.
