The UAE is having its star turn. Our cities and deserts have featured as locations in a range of big movies, including Star Trek Beyond, which opened this week. The hit television drama of Ramadan this year, Khiyanat Watan Min Riwayat Ritaj, was conceived and filmed here. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, a three-week course sponsored by Image Nation and New York University Abu Dhabi is helping to train the filmmakers of tomorrow.
Taken together these things augur well as the UAE continues to build a sustainable film and television production industry. The ultimate goal should be to create a situation in which, instead of relying on fly-in, fly-out expertise, there are jobs here all year round for Emirati and resident directors, actors, writers and crew who are all trained to the highest global standards. With television networks and production companies on board, we will see not only global blockbusters but a range of locally resonant films, television shows and web series made here in the UAE and broadcast to the world.
