Robert Rodriguez’s Shorts will have a gala screening at this year’s Middle East International Film Festival on Saturday (October 10). It will be the feature’s premiere in the region.

The film, co-produced by Imagenation Abu Dhabi and Warner Brothers, follows a nerdy boy who life changes when he finds a rainbow-coloured rock that grants wishes.

It was released in the US in August and stars William H. Macy, James Spader, Leslie Mann and Jon Cryer.

H.E. Mohamed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, chairman of Imagenation Abu Dhabi, said: “We are proud to present our first feature film, Shorts to our neighbours in Abu Dhabi, the USE and the Middle East as a whole. This unites and furthers our goals of creating global cinema and nurturing the successful film industry in the UAE.”

Peter Scarlet, the executive director of MEIFF, said: “Like Scheherazade in 1001 Nights, Robert Rodriguez tells a story within a story in his delightful new movie, so I’m sure viewers here in the Middle East will be particularly appreciative of Shorts and proud to see it was produced thanks to key support from Imagenation Abu Dhabi.”

The festival, which runs October 8 – 17, marks Scarlet’s first after joining from Tribeca, where he was artistic director, earlier in the year.

Imagenation Abu Dhabi is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Media Company.

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