Eight new and established UAE directors are in the running for the Dubai International Film Festival’s Muhr Emirati Competition. They are:
• The feature film Abood Kandaishan, a touching comedy about friendship, directed by Fadel Almheiri.
• Ali Bin Matar's Chances Have Endings, a short psychological drama about a young man, whose problems go viral on social networks.
• Burden, a short documentary by director Suqrat Bin Bisher about a young Emirati man jailed for life and the effect this has on his family and friends.
• The Drive, written and directed by Mariam Al Nuaimi, tells the story of a man who encounters paranormal incidents during his drive home from work, but because he is so tired, he can't tell if they are real or not.
• Aisha Alzaabi's The Other Dimension is about a young troublemaker who becomes stuck between reality and fantasy after an accident, and struggles to get back to his real life.
• The Confession, directed by Mohammed Swaidan, is a drama about the worlds of crime and religion in Paris.
• Shahad Al Shehhi's Hidden is the story of a bored housewife, who decides she wants extramarital encounters to satisfy her sense of adventure.
• Finally, Khalid Ali's Love X-Large, is the story of an obese young man chasing the mirage of love.
Hidden and The Confession were the results of a five-week course the filmmakers attended at the Gulf Summer University Programme at La Fémis in Paris this year.
• The winners will be announced at the closing ceremony of DIFF’s 11th edition, which runs from December 10 to 17
artslife@thenational.ae
