‘I believe it was a wake-up call and had to be done,’ Abdalla candidly admits when asked about the fallout from last year. ‘It seems that a lot of people were sick and tired of watching films that did not make any sense. I totally support the jury’s decision. It’s been seven years, and none of our films have made it to proper, non-Arab film festivals.’
The eighth Emirates Film Competition (EFC) is now upon us, and it remains open to anyone in the UAE. Entries are already beginning to pour in, and this year’s winners will be announced during Abu Dhabi’s Middle East Film Festival (October 10-19), for which, Abdalla tells me, he will be watching around 3,600 films (between four and eight a day). He already sees some improvement in the quality of entries, although cautions that it is still too early to tell.
What he is clearly proud of is the effect he believes that the competition has had. ‘We have grown the industry,’ he says. ‘The competition started the film movement in the region and an awareness of filmmaking in the GCC. Hopefully we will soon be able to send these films out to other film festivals to give the world an idea of who we are.’
The competition is all about building a platform for filmmaking in the area. Other factors, such as Abu Dhabi’s New York Film Academy, the first internationally-accredited film school in the region, are also helping to raise the bar – the EFC has already given out six scholarships. ‘What we need now,’ Abdalla claims, ‘is funds for making feature length films. The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage and the Abu Dhabi Media Company are already working on that, and the Emirates Film Competition is offering grants for feature films that go up to US$100,000 as part of its Emirates Film Grant Scheme.’
The creation of an Emirates Film Council to oversee representation, distribution and marketing is the final step, Abdalla insists, to creating something special. ‘I believe Abu Dhabi is on its way to becoming a capital of filmmaking in the Middle East. I believe that it will become the hub, catering for filmmakers across the globe as well as making its own films.’
However, he tempers this enthusiasm with caution. This can only happen with a concerted UAE effort in educating young talent, Abdalla argues: ‘So far, Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage is the only true player that has laid a plan in educating and nurturing local talent in film, music and the arts. Others in the region only brag about allowing youngsters to express themselves in an artistic fashion.’
More structured competition is what is needed, he tells me. ‘Many would say film festivals are like competitions, but they are not. Film festivals hurt the growth of talent if there is no education or awareness offered before highlighting this talent. A festivity is always the joy of nurturing. You don’t go to a graduation ceremony before you complete your studies and score passing grades…We can’t become major players with that kind of mentality.’
It is a mixture of heavy criticism and hope that Abdalla preaches, but he is hugely positive about the potential to create something important. He praises the ‘willpower and drive’ which he sees in those budding filmmakers around him, but maintains that education is the key to success. Controversial or not, it is a philosophy which is difficult to find fault with.
For details of rules and how to enter the Emirates Film Competition, visit www.efilm.ae. All entries must be received by September 1.
