Al Ain Film Festival Announces Winners of Abu Dhabi Film Festival Unproduced Screenplay Competition

Al Ain Film Festival announced the winners of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival’s unproduced screenplay competition, which was held on 3^road Al Ain Film Festival, in cooperation with its cultural partner Abu Dhabi Film Festival. The winner is Hamdan Al Ketbi, a young Emirati writer Open (Parallel), Ali Lari for Albertari Alsagil (The Little Vet) and Saraa Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi Hermon Sagil (A little dream). The competition highlights new talents and cultivates the next generation of UAE screenwriters. It is part of the common mission of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival and Al Ain Film Festival to promote the development of the UAE film industry and create a unique creative atmosphere.

The winning script was selected by a panel of experts led by UAE film director and playwright Saleh Kalama, UAE screenwriter Ahmed Salmaine and UAE director Dr. Hussein Ibrahim. Each winner received a grant of 20,000 dirhams.

The competition reflects Al Ain Film Festival’s firm belief in the importance of the script as a key component of the film, which has made a significant contribution to the success of the film. Mr. Amer Salmeen Al Marri, founder and director of the Al Ain Film Festival, commented on the implementation of the program aimed at supporting creative talents in the local screenwriting field, said: “We are very pleased to cooperate with the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which is the largest cultural celebration in the region. Initiate and implement this creative plan for young UAE writers.” The competition requires applicants to be UAE nationals under 35 years old and submit original scripts written specifically for films or inspired by or based on published literary works. The script must be fictitious, not documentary, and not less than 30 minutes. “The first competition attracted a wide range of participation; ushering in the birth of a new talent pool of young writers in this field, they will use the Abu Dhabi Film Festival unproduced script contest as a springboard to success. I wish the first this year. The screenwriters who won the contest are all going well, and their film is scheduled to be released in April this year.^day A version of the Al Ain Film Festival”, Al Marri said.

Said HE Huda I. Alkhamis-Kanoo, founder of Abu Dhabi Music and Art Foundation and Artistic Director of Abu Dhabi Arts Festival“We are proud to support a unique platform to promote the development of emerging UAE screenwriters and filmmakers, which is in line with our country’s vision of developing and prospering the film industry. Our strategic cultural partnership with Al Ain Film Festival is with us The mission intersects, that is, to cultivate film achievements and to give a voice to the future young creatives of UAE film.

In the 25-year history of ADMAF, the foundation has been an active incubator for young talents in the UAE. Together with the Al Ain Film Festival, our support for young creatives who are the cornerstone of the sustainable development of the UAE’s cultural and creative industries continues to increase.

I commend the winners of this year’s competition Hamdan Al Kitbi, Ali Lari and Saraa Al Shehhi for their creativity and dedication to film craftsmanship. Their efforts reflect our country’s long tradition of innovation,” he added.

The collaboration with Al Ain Film Festival is part of the agenda announced at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival in 2021,^day The version with The Future Starts Now as the theme, and through the Young Filmmakers’ Circle program, will become an incubator for creativity and young filmmakers and directors in the UAE.

The Abu Dhabi Festival is supported by its main partner Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala) and energy partner GS Energy.