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29 March 2024

Gulf Film Festival opens today at Festival City

194 films will be screened at this year's GFF eb file

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By Staff Writer

The third Gulf Film Festival will open today, showcasing 194 contemporary films from 41 countries over the next seven days at the Dubai Festival City.

A celebration of excellence in regional cinema, the festival will open with the Emirati film, City of Life, directed by Emirati filmmaker Ali Mostafa and shot in Dubai with a cast and crew drawn from around the world. An array of Gulf film celebrities will walk the red carpet for the glittering opening ceremony.

Emirati actress Raziqa Al Taresh, renowned Iraqi actor and playwright Khalil Shawki and Kuwaiti actress Hayat Al Fahad will receive the Lifetime Achievement Awards as part of the GFF Honouree Programme at the opening ceremony.

The 194 films, being screened at GFF, include 81 world premieres, 11 international premieres, 33 Middle East premieres, 17 GCC premieres and nine UAE premieres, assuring a novel cinematic experience for filmgoers. Entry to the film festival is free.

In all, GFF 2010 will screen 128 short fiction films, 28 short documentaries, eight features, five feature documentaries and 25 animation films.

Gulf Film Festival Chairman Abdulhamid Juma said the festival has played a key role in elevating the appeal of cinema from the Gulf internationally. "Over the past three years, the festival has achieved two tangible achievements. First, it has set the base for a robust GCC film industry, as is evident in the number of films – 111 – from the region.

Secondly, the festival helped audiences evolve as serious, discerning cinema lovers, which in turn inspires filmmakers to pursue their passion and convert their dreams into reality."