DUBAI – The Gulf Film Festival (GFF) announced today that a collection of films from the GCC, UAE and Iraq will showcase the diversity and vibrancy of the Gulf film industry at the Malmo Arab Film Festival (MAFF) in Sweden, set to run from September 28 – October 5, 2012. This year marks the second time that GFF-supported films have been showcased at MAFF, with 25 of the 37 films screening from the region endorsed by the GFF, an increase from 15 films last year. The selected films, which range from shorts to features and documentaries, will take audiences at this year's edition of MAFF on a journey of enthralling cinematic discoveries, celebrating the vast strides filmmakers from the Gulf have made in creating a vibrant and inspiring regional film scene. Of the 37 films participating in MAFF this year, which are produced or co-produced in the UAE, the rest of the GCC and Iraq, five co-produced Emirati films and 10 films produced by the UAE and the Gulf region including Iraq, will participate in various categories, seven films will be showcased at the “Emirates Films” program outside MAFF film competition and fifteen films will be presented in the program “Cherries of Kiarostami” outside the competition as well. GFF Director Masoud Amralla Al Ali commented: “The GFF is delighted to continue its collaboration with the MAFF. One of GFF's founding objectives is to cultivate opportunities for the region's filmmakers to showcase their films internationally, and our partnership with MAFF enables us to realise this vision.” “We are screening twenty-five GFF supported films at MAFF this year, compared with fifteen films last year, which is a testament to the growing list of locally produced films and the large pool of talented up-and-coming filmmakers in the region. We hope that visitors of MAFF enjoy the inspirational line-up from the Gulf,” he added. MAFF Director Mohamad Kablawi said: “MAFF is thrilled to screen an even bigger line-up of films from the Gulf this year. Our aim is to educate, inspire and entertain audiences with films from the Arab world and we are excited to showcase the incredible creativity from Gulf filmmakers and discover the next gems in Arab film”. The list of guests of honor for this year's MAFF includes the Emirati directors Nujoom Alghanem and Nayla Al Khaja, in addition to a number of directors, producers and actors who are shapping the industry of the region. Films in the GFF showcase include Nujoom Alghanem's “Amal”, winner of the Official Gulf Competition and Mariam Al Sarkal's “London in a Headscarf”. Mariam Al Sarkal's “The Figure” will also be screened as part of The Cherries of Kiarostami program, which consists of 15 films in total. It will showcase films produced and directed in the UAE such as Cyril Eberle's “Runman”, Sebastian Funke's “Do Not Disturb” and Nujoom Alghanem's “Salma's Dinner” to name a few. A number of Emirati co-productions will also be screened throughout the Festival, include “Studio” — co-produced with Sudan, “Lonliness” and “After All” both co-produced with Iraq, Iranian co-productions “The Hole” and “While Marguerite” and Bahraini collaborations “Under The Sky” and “Game”. “Home Sweet Home” and “The Waves Will Carry Us” are Emirati co-productions with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait respectively. Emirati director Nayla Al Khaja is a member of the short and documentary films committee alongside theater professor Majdoline Al-Alami from Morocco and Iraqi director Samir Zaidan. – SG
