Mirage.Net is featured in the Official Gulf Competition Shorts The short film Mirage.Net, follows the true story of a 16 year-old Emirati girl who was raped and beaten by six men, then dumped in a ditch. Emirati director Mansoor Al Dhaheri, tells us why he took on such a daring project. Starring an all Emirati-cast, the main objective behind Mirage.Net is to “lift the lid on these types of unfortunate cases” says Al Dhaheri. The young girl, had tried to escape a forced marriage and while attempting to find real love through social networks unwittingly falls victim to an online predator. Al Dhaheri, obtained the real case documents from the Ministry of Interior. The film is selected in the Official Competition Gulf Shorts and will screen tonight at 5:45pm Grand Cinema 9 “In real life, the events of what happened are worse than what we showed. It is a very taboo subject - some people get into filmmaking because they ‘want’ to but I feel like I ‘have’ to so that we touch on subjects that matter,” he says. “Through Mirage.Net, I want girls to be aware of certain dangers - which of course are not just specific to the UAE, it is international, and if we can help save even just one girl. These predators, luring young women often pretend to be someone they are not.” A still from the movie. "These predators, luring young women often pretend to be someone they are not,” says filmmaker Mansoor Al Dhaheri The hardest scene to film, was the rape scene. “It was carefully approached. Our cast was all Emirati, even the girl and we told them we are presenting a real life case and that we had a responsibility to show this strong message in a daring way,” says Al Dhaheri. “What I don’t understand is when people are very well educated and they are still committing such crimes, I just don’t get it. We are a very modern city but just like anywhere else, there are issues we should address,” he says. The film first screened at Dubai International Film Festival and has since roused many emotions. Many women, he says, have thanked them for tackling the subject. “We also want to say to guys - be true friends to your sisters because they need to know they can count on you for advice in life,” he says. Emirati filmmaker Mansoor Al Dhaheri Al Dhaheri, will next screen Mirage.Net at the Cannes Film Festival and the Hollywood Film Festival this year. Both the Ministry of Interior and Dubai Police, he says, have expressed interest in screening the film to continue raising awareness on the issue. His short film A Falcon Will Not Breed a Dove - about the late Sheikh Zayed told through the eyes of a family friend, won first prize in the Short Documentary Competition at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2011
