Over 1,300 submissions from 77 countries have been received for the Gulf Film Festival (GFF), which takes place in Dubai between April 8-14.
The organisers of the event are attributing the high number of submissions to the Gulf’s efforts to promote independent film-making
“Globally, the film industry derives powerful content for filmmaking from the Arab world. The GCC region has now broken the mould and led by its domestic but world-class film-making competencies creates movies that have the potential to change public opinion and encourage debate,” said Masoud Amralla Al Ali, the GFF director.
“The Gulf Film Festival showcases the best of both cinema making – movies about the region and movies made in the Gulf.”
Al Ali indicated that submissions had been received from as far afield as China, the US and South America, and that states such as Afghanistan and Vietnam had also sent entries.
There are three prizes for the winners of the best feature, shorts and documentary in the main competition, and prizes for best short and documentary in the junior categories.
A special jury prize is also on offer in the main and student categories, together with a separate scripting award from UAE writers.
