DIFF Film Night
Celebrating home-grown film talent
Maraya Art Centre and the Dubai International Film Festival once again team up to celebrate the talents of the UAE’s growing young filmmaker community.
On the 6th of April, Maraya and DIFF will be holding a screening night showcasing the work of five young up and coming Emirati filmmakers.The five short films that have been selected range in topics from fashion to politicswith emotions and storylines that really resonate with the local audience. All of the films were also previously shown at the prestigious Gulf Film Festival and were very well received by both regional and international audiences.
Line-up:
Al Kandorah
Directed by Lamya Al Mualla and Maitha Al Haddad, this documentary takes a fresh look at the UAE’s traditional men’s attire – the kandorah–examining new styles and trends and contrasting the attitudes of the different generations about this symbol of national identity and pride.
Second Wife
In this 14-minute documentary Moza al Sharif takes a look at Emirati men’s obsession with their cars. Through a series of comments from young Emirati men and women, whose humorous tone does not mask the seriousness of the message,Al Sharif examines a modern paradigm that sees young men ready to spend more on what they drive than on their weddings.
Ana Arabi (I am Arab)
Exploring the status of Arabic as a language among today’s Arab youth, this short documentary is both a tale of caution and a search for solutions to prevent the increasing dilution of the Arabic language and culture by foreign influences and is co-directed by AhlamAlbannai and Jumana al Ghanem.
Cats
The people of the Emirates are no strangers to exotic pets, with a large number of UAE citizens keeping up to three wild animals as domestic pets,and in this short film we get a unique glimpse into this part of Emirati culture. Taking the camera into villas and farms across the UAE, Marwan Alhammadi captures proud owners talking about their prized possessions, as the majestic cats lounge around them.
The Gamboo3a Revolution
When the traditional ‘sheila’ and ‘abaya’ were reinvented to launch the ‘gamboo3a’ trend – the bee-hive hair or ‘camel hump’ that has become the signature look for many Emirate ladies –it caused quite the societal divide over it. In ‘The Gamboo3a Revolution’ director Abdulrahman Al Madani has a closer look at the many opinions that have held and continue to hold sway, exploring the age-old debate of fashion vs. modesty.
The evening, which will start with an intimate reception at 7pm, is sure to be a red letter event and is definitely not to be missed.
Date: 6th April, 2013
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Venue: Masrah Al Qasba – Theatre, Al Qasba
Block (B), Second Floor
