Budding filmmakers will be happy to know that Australia’s largest short film festival and competition is coming to Abu Dhabi this November. Tropfest Arabia is the perfect opportunity for filmmakers to show what they are made of. Filmmakers in the Middle East and North Africa can submit short films of no longer than seven minutes. Along with the kudos of being a part of this event there are cool cash prizes of Dhs18,500 to Dhs55,000 up for grabs and several other opportunities. Emirati filmmaker, Nayla Al Khaja who will be representing the UAE on this year’s judging panel, is the first female film producer from the UAE and the CEO of D-SEVEN Motion Pictures. Angela Beitz caught up with her to see what’s in store for film lovers.
Tell us about Tropfest?
Tropfest was started by one individual in Australia many years ago and what started in a little café is now the world’s largest short film festival. It’s quite staggering that the one person who started this has made such a massive impact and now there are Tropfest branches all over the world. It is so exciting that Abu Dhabi will host the first Tropfest Arabia. It really is amazing that all budding filmmakers have been able to take part. It shows that one person’s movement can make ripples all over the world. That is what Tropfest Australia has done and now we have a branch here.
What is the main aim of Tropfest?
Tropfest is a platform for people wanting to get into filmmaking. It’s also a way to discover talent and encourage filmmaking. Other festivals are so hard to get into, there are thousands of films so the selection made doesn’t necessarily reflect how good the film or filmmaker is. What Tropfest does is basically the opposite of this, anyone can take part and we will be reviewing so many films. The really cool part is that the concept just needs to be super creative – that’s what we are looking for, something that will catch your attention. People have a much better chance of being discovered at Tropfest.
You are a very well known Emirati film maker, what does it mean to you to be sitting on this panel?
To be sitting on a panel is really an honour because I’ll be working with celebrities and well-known people who are very experienced and have done this before so I think to be a part of this network is amazing and who knows something might even come of it. The whole learning experience will be really interesting because I have judged on panels before at different festivals where you get to watch the film in the cinema and then you go away and have time to critique and review it and all that sort of thing. With Tropfest, it is live and outdoors and you literally give the result in the same day so it will be different to what I am used to. I am really looking forward to being on the panel with the real heavyweight judges, I am really humbled and I will be able to learn so much from this experience.
Who is joining you on the judging panel?
There are a number of actors, filmmakers and directors from across the Middle East that will be judging. Saudi film maker and actress Ahd Kamel, director Mamdouh Salem, Lebanese film maker and actress, Nadine Labaki, co-founder and director of Lebanese web series Shankaboot, Amin Dora, Egyptian producer and scriptwriter, Mohammed Hefzy and Tropfest Australia 2011 winner, Damon Gameau. People of such a high calibre which is great.
Why is it important for Tropfest to be here in the UAE?
It’s really important to me because there is really nothing else like it here in the Middle East, again it’s not your typical film festival. Tropfest is something that really encourages talent and energy and will give Arab filmmakers more exposure and help them to be recognized. This is especially important at the moment with the current Arab uprising. In Australia, Tropfest is a huge deal and they have 30,000 people show up in a massive concert style event. We need this here in the UAE at the moment. It is a great time to get into film making in the UAE at the moment, there are a lot of grants and initiatives as well as a lot of film festivals. This is this time when people can really make it here.
How did you get into making films?
Ten years ago a friend of mine and I made a documentary and I really fell in love with the whole process. I went back to university and studied film production and film finance ever since then I have been making films and I can’t imagine doing anything else.
What advice would you give to aspiring filmmakers?
The best advice I can give is to be patient because it usually takes forever to finish a film. You need really intense passion otherwise it won’t last. It’s 95 per cent really hard work and 5 per cent glamour on the red carpet which only really happens twice a year. You really do work like mad the other 95 per cent of the time. If you make it big though you really make it big time – it’s like a lottery. It’s a very hard industry to break into but once you break it is worth it. If you enter the business with the right intentions it will pay off in the end.
