Emirati film makers must learn to compete with the very best in the world if the local industry is to progress, Freej creator Mohammed Saeed Harib said at the launch of a new short film competition at DIFF on Saturday.
Challenged from the floor as to why the competition will not demand a degree of Emirati culture and tradition from entrants, Harib said: “If you limit this to Emiratis only they will never learn and get better. We need to rub shoulders with the best and see if we deserve to be a winner.
“We have more than 200 nationalities here in Dubai, and we are one of those nationalities. All of us love to join hands with other nationalities, work with them, learn from them and exchange knowledge.
“I totally understand [demands for Emirati-only competitions] but I would love to keep this as open as possible.”
Harib was speaking at the pre-launch of The Reel Competition, which is being organised in collaboration with the #MyDubai initiative, and is supported by DIFF, Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, and corporate sponsor Samsung, who will supply the successful entrants with Galaxy Note 4s with which to film.
Harib was joined on the launch panel by fellow film makers Nayla Al Khaja and Ali F Mostafa, who alongside Harib will mentor the competition’s six finalists. Their completed films will be screened in March, with the best film and filmmaker winning a trip to the 2015 Cannes festival to screen their film at Short Film Corner.
Entrants will initially be required to submit a short synopsis of their film, and the best six will be selected for the final stage, with each of the filmmakers on the panel mentoring two finalists.
The competition will officially launch on December 25, so watch this space for website and further submission details.
cnewbould@thenational.ae
