Dubai and Abu Dhabi are set for closer cooperation in the film sector following the demise of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which was brought to close earlier this year, says Dubai International Film Festival chairman Abdulhamid Juma.
Speaking at the launch event for this year’s festival, which runs in Dubai from December 9-16, Juma said: “The responsibility this year has been really tough. Yes, Abu Dhabi, the festival, has gone, but don’t forget they’re putting a lot of effort in with us to help the film industry in the UAE as a whole. We do a lot of work with twofour54 and Image Nation under the DIFF platform. They have every right to decide which ways they want to work with us, but we’ve worked closely with them before and hopefully now we’ll be working even more closely together.”
The first fruits of this new found spirit of cooperation will be in evidence at this year's festival, when the Image Nation-produced Zinzana receives its regional premiere on December 10, while festival sources also tell us that Ali F Mostafa's yet-to-be completed, latest movie The Worthy — also an Image Nation production — will be receiving an early airing in some format at the event.
With ADFF’s passing, DIFF now seems a logical venue for regional, or even global, premieres of Abu Dhabi-produced films which may otherwise have debuted at the erstwhile Abu Dhabi event, which ran from 2007 until last year.
cnewbould@thenational.ae
