Six finalists for Arab Short Film Competition

Image Nation Abu Dhabi, in partnership with twofour54 tadreeb, announced the six finalists of the first annual Arab Film Studio's Short Film Competition.

The finalists will now participate in a three-month film training program and series of challenges which will culminate with one winner being awarded Dh50,000 to develop a feature screenplay for Image Nation Abu Dhabi.

Image Nation Abu Dhabi launched Arab Film Studio in the fall as part of its mission to identify, train and foster budding Emirati filmmakers and provide them with the discipline and training needed for successful careers in the film industry. The call for entries was announced in early November with contestants asked to submit a brief three-minute video. The entries were then reviewed and contestants interviewed, with six finalists selected.

Mohammed Al Otaiba, Head of Image Nation Abu Dhabi, commented: "We were thrilled with the level of talent we witnessed in the entries for our first annual Short Film Competition. The submissions show there is great potential and promise for filmmaking in the UAE. We are proud to provide an outlet to develop this talent and continue our mission of building a world-class film industry in the UAE."

The six finalists, who are all UAE Nationals, include Eisa Al Sabousi, Fatima Al Dhaheri, Khalid Al Abdulla, Mariam Khanji, Omar Butti and Sarah Al Ameri.

They will create teams with members representing any nationality.Teams will then participate in a three-month intensive film training program to learn all elements of film making from development through production and marketing. Courses will be delivered by film professionals from twofour54 in partnership with the BBC Academy and SAE Institute Dubai.

Throughout the program, teams will participate in activities including script writing, make up and sound design with the final task being a short film produced by each team. The short films will be reviewed by a distinguished panel of international judges with one film selected as the overall winner.

Wayne Borg, Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer, twofour54 commented: "twofour54 is committed to the development of the Arab world's media and entertainment industry and we are always looking to support initiatives such as Arab Film Studio. The number and quality of entries clearly demonstrates the growing interest that young UAE Nationals have in developing films that tell 'their story' and reflect them culturally. twofour54 tadreeb will now provide the finalists with world-class training to further develop the skills they need to succeed in the media industry."

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