Time to shine

As the UAE has grown, so too has its flourishing film industry — from a country which 40 years ago screened films on white-washed garage walls to a country which boasts two of the most prominent film festivals on the movie world's global calendar.

Young Emirati filmmakers have been nurtured along the way. As the eighth Dubai International Film Festival draws to its conclusion, tabloid! takes a look at four filmmakers to keep an eye on. The bright lights of Hollywood could soon beckon — if they decide to take that path.

Actor Saoud Al Ka'abi

He made a name for himself with a role in Ali Mustafa's City of Life.

"It all happened very quickly," he recalls. "I was approached and I thought it was a joke. I said ‘I am a television programme presenter' and the casting team said ‘this character would be good for you'."

One of the youngest television presenters in the UAE, Al Ka'abi studied communication at the American University of Sharjah. "I believe the future will bring more and more films for us. I have a film accepted in a competition in Hollywood.

"Things are getting bigger for us. I believe the distribution and the number of movie theatres in the UAE have created more of an incentive. The year 2000 was the first step and after that there was better understanding of what we can achieve. More passion. We have noticed more openness from the media, especially the Arab media. The emergence of two film festivals in the UAE has helped show film is something we should all be focusing on."

Khalid Al Mahmoud

This award-winning Emirati filmmaker is among 10 Arab film personalities named the "most influential in the Arab film community" by Screen International magazine recently.

Abu Dhabi-born and educated in the US, Al Mahmoud is the director of the short film Sabeel, which scooped the first prize at the fourth Gulf Film Festival and was the runner-up at Diff's Muhr Emirati Awards. The film has also won accolades internationally and was chosen for Locarno and Berlin film festivals.

"Before the festivals there were other platforms, but they were modest. There was a festival in Sharjah and Qatar. But they would show films which were not up to much when it came to standards.

"When we, from the Emirates, participated we learnt so much from other countries but we were also learning from each other while we were working."

Nujoom Al Ganem

She is one of the Middle East's most recognised writers and directors. Nujoom came to the attention of moviegoers at Diff last year with her heart-rending documentary Hamama. This year she premiered Amal, about a Syrian woman's feelings of displacement living in the UAE.

Born and raised in the UAE, Nujoom initially started out as a journalist. She studied television production and direction in the US and produced and directed four films. Nujoom feels she owes a lot to the local film festivals. "They [festivals] are very necessary. They are the basis of the continuous development. Without these festivals we would be in the dark about the future of film.

"It was indeed an excellent window for us to emerge. It was also an incentive for official bodies to accept film was on its way. Diff was a dream come true.

"We have seen African and Asian cinema and examples from different industries. Obviously, it was also our time to shine. We didn't have to go to other countries to get acquainted with the films of other countries. Instead we could do it right here. You grow in ways you were not aware you ever could."

Mohammad Hassan Ahmad

Screenwriter, novelist and TV writer Ahmad hit the headlines this year as the writer of Sea Shadow, filmed in Ras Al Khaimah. Ahmad also wrote 30 episodes of the television series Etr Aldar.

"Ten years ago when a filmmaker would go to a theatre here — the only difference was that the film was being screened in a giant dark room. When the beauty of that hits you it becomes an incentive. This big screen was my incentive. I decided that in one year I would come up with a better film, which marries all the intricacies of filmmaking. I tried hard," he said.

"As a filmmaker I will not wait for Diff to support to me. It was an excellent platform but we should not be waiting. The development and stability of the platform has of course helped me to make better films. The filmmaker himself has to continue developing on their own," Ahmad added.