The fifth edition of the Zayed University Middle East Film Festival (ZUMEFF) will take place on the 6th and 7th of May, 2014 at Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Auditorium at the Convention Center of ZU’s Abu Dhabi Campus.
The festival has this year received 125 submissions from 18 countries, including many from Middle Eastern students studying at universities in Europe and North America.
ZUMEFF was established in 2010 as a graduation project by two students Aisha Al Falasi and Reema Majid to showcase cinematographic works for students and encourage young filmmakers in the region. It now serves as an upper level festival management class in the University’s College of Communication and Media Sciences.
Faisal Salah Salem Alselumi Al Zaabi, the head of the Film Curating Committee said: “The process of sieving through the films and grading them has been overwhelming. There are a lot of talented Arab directors out there, and it is a privilege to shed a light on them.”
Sascha Ritter, assistant professor in the College of Communication and Media Sciences, added: “I am very pleased and happy that we received more than 100 film submissions this year. It makes me especially proud, that we even got some submissions from Arab students in the United States, Germany, Italy, Canada or England. It is good to see, that ZUMEFF is now firmly embedded in the Film Festival Scene.”
