Features by Emirati directors are getting major play locally, beginning with Ali F Mostafa's opening turn at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival in October with From A to B, followed by Waleed Al Shehhi's Gala Premiere for Dolphins Friday night at the Dubai International Film Festivals.
Judging by the chat on the opening night, this looks set to continue with some new, though familiar faces set for big things in the next year or so. Director Mostafa Abbas, never one to be predictable, having already released films dealing with depression, murder and revenge has, we hear, a new feature length “mob film”, set right here in the UAE, ready to go into production next year.
Meanwhile, Amal Al Agroobi, director of the multi award-winning autism documentary The Brain That Sings, is crowd funding at Indiegogo for her first fiction endeavour, Under the Hat, an intriguing-sounding tale of a mu'athen who loses his voice and has to find a replacement at short notice.
cnewbould@thenational.ae
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
