Abu Dhabi Film Festival to integrate Emirates Film Competition

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival has integrated the Emirates Film Competition into the festival’s programme under the new banner Emirates Competition, in a move to heighten support for local filmmakers.

Ali Al-Jabri, who was the secretary general of the EFC since 2001 and will now serve as director of the Emirates Competition, said: “To become part of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival is very exciting for us. It will give our filmmakers the opportunity to present their work to the members of international film community who gather here each October. And that indicates a tangible strengthening of the Festival’s commitment to Emirati and Gulf filmmakers.”

Al Jabri, also an actor and director, will curate the programme of outstanding recent shorts to screen at the ADFF each October.

Peter Scarlet, the ADFF executive director, added: “We intend to build on the pioneering spirit of the original competition, which has been supporting the work of Emirati and Gulf filmmakers for nearly a decade. By becoming part of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, the competition’s participants will be able to make the most of the festival’s considerable array of educational and networking opportunities, and will be able to add their voices to what we hope will be a lively ongoing conversation around cinema in the region.”