Emirati filmmaker Nujoom Alghanem leads the Meta Film Fest jury. Jaime Puebla / The National
Emirati filmmaker Nujoom Alghanem leads the Meta Film Fest jury. Jaime Puebla / The National
Emirati filmmaker Nujoom Alghanem leads the Meta Film Fest jury. Jaime Puebla / The National
Emirati filmmaker Nujoom Alghanem leads the Meta Film Fest jury. Jaime Puebla / The National

Culture

Film

Dubai is getting a new film festival in October

Screenings during Meta Film Fest will take place in the UAE and seven other countries across the Mena region

Saeed Saeed
Saeed Saeed

August 05, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

A new celebration of cinema is launching in Dubai later this year.

Meta Film Fest, to be held between October 27 and 29 at Vox Cinemas, Nakheel Mall, comes with an expansive programme including screenings, red carpet premieres and a glittering awards ceremony.

"Due to its location, the festival guarantees one of the most diversified audiences present at any festival, with the legendary glitz and glamour of Dubai to accompany," reads the official website.

Here is what you need to know about Meta Film Fest.

The Films

Co-organised by the Meta Cinema Forum, one of the largest conferences on the regional music industry, the festival aims to present a diverse slate of content from independent regional and UAE productions to Hollywood blockbusters.

Expect a number of actors and actresses to be on hand with select releases featuring red carpet premieres and after parties.

While all festival films will be shown at Vox Cinema in Nakheel Mall, certain titles will also be screened during the festival in seven countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and Lebanon.

The competition

Titles screened at Meta Film Fest will be in contention for a range of awards handed out during an official ceremony on October 29.

The festival will honour films across seven categories including Best Arabic Feature Film Award, Best International (Any language) Feature Film Award, Best Animation Film, Award Best Documentary Film Award, Best Short Film Award and Best Student/Youth Film Award.

The Film Development Fund category will invite regional directors to submit ideas for a full length feature and documentary. The winning entry from each genre will have its production costs covered and the completed works screened at future Meta Film Fest editions.

Making those decisions will be a jury headed by Emirati filmmaker and poet Nujoom Alghanem.

How to submit your film?

Meta Film Fest is currently accepting film submissions on its website, with a selection committee deciding which titles make the final cut.

Terms and conditions include feature films being up to 120 minutes long, short films capped at 50 minutes and documentaries up to 10 minutes.

All submitted films must have been completed within 12-months of the festival date.

More information is available at metafilmfestival.me

Films screening at Toronto International Film Festival 2022 — in pictures

Moroccan film 'The Blue Caftan', directed by Maryam Touzani. Photo: Les Films du Nouveau Monde; Ali n’ Productions; Velvet Films; Snowglobe
Moroccan film 'The Blue Caftan', directed by Maryam Touzani. Photo: Les Films du Nouveau Monde; Ali n’ Productions; Velvet Films; Snowglobe
'The Swimmers', directed by Sally El Hosaini, will open the Toronto International Film Festival 2022. Photo: Laura Radford / Netflix
'The Swimmers', directed by Sally El Hosaini, will open the Toronto International Film Festival 2022. Photo: Laura Radford / Netflix
A scene from 'Holy Spider' directed by Ali Abbasi. Photo: Wild Bunch
A scene from 'Holy Spider' directed by Ali Abbasi. Photo: Wild Bunch
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'What's Love Got To Do with It?', directed by Shekhar Kapur. Photo: StudioCanal
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'Hunt' by Lee Jung-jae. Photo: Megabox Plus M
'Broker' by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Photo: CJ E&M
'Broker' by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Photo: CJ E&M
'Decision to Leave' by Park Chan-wook. Photo: CJ ENM, Moho Film
'Decision to Leave' by Park Chan-wook. Photo: CJ ENM, Moho Film
'My Policeman', the Amazon Prime film starring Harry Styles, right. Photo: Parisa Taghizadeh / Amazon Content Services
'My Policeman', the Amazon Prime film starring Harry Styles, right. Photo: Parisa Taghizadeh / Amazon Content Services
Nanisca, played by Viola Davis, in TriStar Pictures' 'The Woman King'. Photo: Sony Pictures
Nanisca, played by Viola Davis, in TriStar Pictures' 'The Woman King'. Photo: Sony Pictures
Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy in 'The Menu'. Photo: Searchlight Pictures / 20th Century Studios
Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy in 'The Menu'. Photo: Searchlight Pictures / 20th Century Studios
'The Good Nurse', starring, from left, Devyn McDowell as Maya Loughren, Jessica Chastain as Amy Loughren, and Alix West Lefler as Alex Loughren. Photo: Cr JoJo Whilden / Netflix
'The Good Nurse', starring, from left, Devyn McDowell as Maya Loughren, Jessica Chastain as Amy Loughren, and Alix West Lefler as Alex Loughren. Photo: Cr JoJo Whilden / Netflix
Michael Ward and Olivia Coleman in the film 'Empire of Light' by Sam Mendes. Photo: Searchlight Pictures / 20th Century Studios
Michael Ward and Olivia Coleman in the film 'Empire of Light' by Sam Mendes. Photo: Searchlight Pictures / 20th Century Studios
'A Jazzman's Blues', starring, from left, Solea Pfeiffer as Leanne and Joshua Boone as Bayou. Photo: Cr Jace Downs / 2022 Netflix
'A Jazzman's Blues', starring, from left, Solea Pfeiffer as Leanne and Joshua Boone as Bayou. Photo: Cr Jace Downs / 2022 Netflix
Colin Farrell in the film 'The Banshees of Inisherin'. Photo: Searchlight Pictures / 20th Century Studios
Colin Farrell in the film 'The Banshees of Inisherin'. Photo: Searchlight Pictures / 20th Century Studios
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

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Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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