Six of the best... Emirati filmmakers UAE director Khalid Al Mahmood's 'Sabeel', about two boys in Ras Al Khaimah who sell vegetables to buy medicines for their grandmother, was first screened at the Locarno film festival this year and Al Mahmood, like everyone else here, is definitely a director to watch out for (MUSTAFA KASMI) Paris-based Abdulla Al Kaabi, 24, has scored a casting coup of sorts, by getting French acting legend Jean Reno to star in his debut film, 'The Philosopher', about a bon vivant who gives up all his material possessions for a life of aesthetic contemplation. The movie is the Emirati gala at the Dubai International Film Festival on Thursday, representing a wealth of new Emirati talent (FILE PHOTO/ Text by KEITH J FERNANDEZ) Works by 15 Emirati filmmakers are in this year's festival, selected from about 30 entries. It is the first time there are enough films to consider running an award, Masoud Amralla Al Ali, Artistic Director, Dubai International Film Festival, told Emirates24|7 (FILE) From her first film, 'Unveiling Dubai' Nayla Al Khaja has become the poster child for Emirati cinema. Her latest movie, 'Malal' (Bored), puts the spotlight on an Emirati couple in an arranged marriage (MUSTAFA KASMI) Rashid Al Marri spent the summer getting UAE nationals and other Arab expatriates unable to travel to Palestine to write the Palestinians letters. People in Gaza and the West Bank believe they have been forgotten by their Arab brothers, whose feelings are explored in the 37-minute 'Letters to Palestine'. There's shame, there's fear, there's love -- but there's never any ambivalence (MUSTAFA KASMI) Award-winning Noujoum Al Ghanem, 38, is the country's leading documentary maker. Her 63-minute film, 'Hamama', is a look at how life in the Emirates has changed in recent decades, as viewed through the eyes of a 90-year-old traditional healer. It makes its world premiere at this year's festival (MUSTAFA KASMI) Ahmed Al Zain's movie, 'Etmah' (Darkness), is a vignette about an ageing postman in the UAE who must come to terms with his mortality. (MUSTAFA KASMI) Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Whats App Pin Interest