Large selection of international films from many European countries will be screened.
The countdown to the opening of the Al Ain Film Festival has begun in its 3rd Edition, which will be held at Al Jahili Fort in Al Ain, from 23rd to 27th of January 2021, under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Member of Abu Dhabi Executive Council.
The Festival under its slogan “Future Cinema” carries a lot of surprises for fans of the 7th Art, the most important of which is the agreement held by the Festival with the European Union Delegation to the UAE, and among its most important terms is the screening of 8 films from Ireland, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Latvia, Malta and Poland.
This year’s edition of the Al Ain Film Festival is characterized by the screening of a large selection of international films from many European countries, as a result of the hard efforts made by the Festival management.
In addition to number of Oscar-nominated Arab and European films, from Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and one from Ireland.
In addition to competitions that reach the aspirations of the audience, including Emirati short and feature films, GCC short and feature films, world films, and a competition for unproduced screenplays, the fruit of the agreement that the Festival recently concluded with “Abu Dhabi Festival”, and a new competition for Corona entitled “Make Your Film in Corona Time”, and not to forget The Fareed Ramadan Award, presented for the best screenplay of GCC Feature Film.
This competition will be a great addition to the Festival in order to reach its ultimate goal, as it was intended to empower and encourage GCC screenwriters on the one hand, and to honor the spirit of the late Bahraini writer and screenwriter “Fareed Ramadan” on the other hand, as he had a distinguished presence in the 1st and 2nd Editions of the Festival, and his writings influenced the art of cinema in Bahrain and the Gulf.
The films that reached the festival exceeded 378 films from different countries in the world, and the credits are to the diversity of competitions and its embrace of Emiratis, GCC citizens and residents of the country, as well as students and amateurs. 10 films were selected for the “Falcon GCC Short Film” competition, where 3 films will be screened from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, two films from Kuwait, 3 films from the Sultanate of Oman, and Bahrain also will participate in two films.
The Festival chose 15 films for the “Falcon Emirati Short Film” competition, whose topics varied between drama, fiction and comedy, which are high-rank films, on the levels of art and direction, produced and directed by a group of distinguished Emirati filmmakers.
The Falcon GCC Feature Film Competition has got 6 films, and 10 films for the GCC Short Film Competition.
As for the films of the “Make Your Film in Corona Time” competition, their number exceeded expectations, especially as it is aimed at Emiratis as well as all residents of the country, and 17 films were selected, as the competition gives filmmakers and amateurs the opportunity to inspire from the quarantine, by filming a short film of a duration (3 – 15 minutes), in which the it revolves around the quarantine’s daily details, and the Festival allocated two prizes for this competition: one for the (Best Film) and the other for the (Best Idea).