A 23-year-old Emirati graduate from Sharjah is among 12 people who have been chosen to participate in the 2014 Arab Film Studio competition.
“It means everything to me to be a part of this competition and it’s a great privilege,” says Aisha Mohamed Al Hammadi. “I think it is like being a diamond that needs polishing – I know I have the potential, I just need the chance to prove myself. I’m hoping Arab Film Studio will give me the opportunity to do this.”
This year’s Emirati competitors also include two from Abu Dhabi, Ali Mohamed Al Marzooqi, 37, and Shahad Al Shehhi, 24; and Fakhrah Abdullah, a 34-year-old Emirati mother of seven from Fujairah.
Image Nation revealed the competitors yesterday. Arab Film Studio is run in conjunction with twofour54 and gives aspiring filmmakers, who must be residents of a GCC country, the opportunity to learn the tools of the trade. The training programme starts this week with a three-month multi-disciplinary instruction, giving contestants exclusive access to film professionals.
After a three-month “boot camp”, the contestants and their mentors will produce a short film. The winner gets a Dh50,000 development deal from Image Nation.
* Chris Newbould
cnewbould@thenational.ae
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Juventus v Napoli, Sunday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Match on Bein Sports
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg
Ajax v Real Madrid, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
