Dubai Film Connection unveils projects

The line-up includes 11 fiction and five documentary projects from around the Arab world. Fiction projects include Gaza, DC, from Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi (Palestine Stereo) and A Reverence For Spiders from Saudi Arabia’s Faiza Ambah (see full list below).

Now in its seventh year, DFC has so far resulted in 35 films being completed with a further five in various stages of production. Completed projects include Haifaa Al Mansour’s Wadjda, Annemarie Jacir’s When I Saw You and The Repentant by Merzal Allouache.

“This year we have selected the most ambitious project slate to date,” said DIFF managing director Shivani Pandya. “The total number and the overall caliber of entries far exceeded our expectations to the extent that we had to extend the parameters of the award to accommodate an extra selection – bringing the total number of projects to 16.”

DFC offers more than $100,000 in award money, presented by companies and organisations such as France’s CNC, Middle East distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment, Kuwait National Cinema Company, ARTE France – and three DIFF awards of $25,000. DIFF’s tenth edition will take place December 6-14.

Dubai Film Connection 2013:

FICTION:

A Reverence For Spiders, dir: Faiza Ambah (Saudi Arabia)

Bastard, dir: Uda Benyamina (Morocco)

Chedda, dir: Damien Ounouri (Algeria)

Gaza, DC, dir: Rashid Masharawi (Palestine)

God Protect My Daughter, dir: Leyla Bouzid (Tunisia)

Heatwave, dir: Joyce A. Nashawati (Lebanon)

Kharouf, dir: Ahmed Ibrahim (Egypt)

Trees Also Die, dir: Rabih El-Amine (Lebanon)

Until The End Of Time, dir: Yasmine Chouikh (Algeria)

Men In The Sun, dir:  Mahdi Fleifel (Palestine)

The Flag, dir: Firas Khoury (Palestine)

DOCUMENTARY:

Dangerous Profiles, dir: Mark Lotfy (Egypt)

Even To China, dir: Yanis Koussim, Mohamed Hireche (Algeria)

Illusion, dir: Bavi Yassin (Iraq)

The Forgotten, dir: Ghada Terawi (Palestine)

The True Story Behind Me, dir: Maryam S. Jum’a (Jordan)