Board of Directors

Board of Directors

H.E. Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan

Chairman

Sheikh Sultan, a member of the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates and a member of the Executive Council of goverment of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, is chairman of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH). He also holds a number of other official positions including Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Chairman of Tourism Development and Investment Company, and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company. In each of these leadership roles, His Excellency has a personal investment in preserving the heritage of Abu Dhabi while expanding both the emirate’s rapidly growing tourist industry and its artistic and cultural role on the world stage. Sheikh Sultan was honoured with a Cultural Leadership Award from the American Federation of the Arts for his vision in developing Saadiyat Island Cultural District. He is also a Board Member of the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE.

H. E. Mohammed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei

Director General

H.E. Mohamed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei is the Advisor for Cultural & Heritage Affairs at the Court of H.H. the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Director General of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage (ADACH). The Authority is responsible for the preservation of the heritage of the region and has as its goal making culture a part of everyday life in the United Arab Emirates, and to establish Abu Dhabi as a global cultural capital.

Under Al-Mazrouei’s leadership, ADACH has launched a wide range of projects, including two of the most successful television programs in the Arab world – The Million’s Poet and The Prince of Poets; the Abu Dhabi Film Festival; the Abu Dhabi Film Commission; the New York Film Academy Abu Dhabi; Sounds of Arabia; the Sheikh Zayed Book Award; the Kalima book translation project; the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair; the Mazayin Al-Dhafrah camel festival; the publication of the English-language newspaper, The National; and the publication of the Arabic and English magazine, Shawati. He is a founder of both the Academy of Poetry and Beit el-Oud, which specializes in teaching music to young Emiratis.

Through Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC), of which he was chairman, Al-Mazrouei launched The National, the first English-language newspaper in Abu Dhabi. Other notable achievements with ADMC include the National Geographic Abu Dhabi Channel; the Abu Dhabi Media Summit; the launch of the careers of dozens of talented UAE broadcasters; the significant development of the Abu Dhabi sports channels; and the launch of imagenation abu dhabi, a body that finances and makes films.

Al-Mazrouei seeks to interest a new generation in the cinema industry within the UAE and is hopeful that this will lead to the presentation of the past and present of Abu Dhabi through film, thus reflecting the rich heritage of the region throughout the world.

Eissa Saif Rashed Al-Mazrouei

Project Director
Eissa Saif Rashed Al-Mazrouei is Director of Special Projects for the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), where he is responsible for the planning and delivery of ADACH’s strategic initiatives in the media and film sectors. Al-Mazrouei has also spurred the development of the Abu Dhabi Film Commission (ADFC) and set the strategy and vision for the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, for which he is Project Director. His previous experience includes Sector Development Manager for the Western Region Development Council, an organization that oversees the analysis and implementation of business development opportunities within the region. He is on the Board of Directors of Flash Entertainment and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing Administration from California State University.

Peter Scarlet

Executive Director

Peter Scarlet was Artistic Director of New York City’s Tribeca Film Festival from 2002 to 2009, before which he spent a year as the first non-French Director General of the Cinémathèque Française.

Mr. Scarlet was Artistic Director of the San Francisco International Film Festival for 19 years, from 1983 to 2001. Among the many directors he introduced to American viewers are such figures as Jane Campion, Léos Carax, Alan Clarke, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Spike Lee, Mike Leigh, Guy Maddin and Christopher Nolan.

In 2001, the Ministry of Culture of France named Mr. Scarlet an Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters. He has served as a juror at many international film festivals, including Cannes, Los Angeles, Montreal, San Sebastian, São Paulo, Sarajevo, Taormina, Vancouver and Venice; and has participated in seminars relating to international film production in many cities worldwide.

For the past three years, he has co-curated and presented the CineMondo series of foreign films broadcast on the satellite network Link TV.

Abdulla Al Amiri

Director of Arts & Culture Department, ADACH

Coming Soon

Nashwa Al Ruwaini

Advisor, Abu Dhabi Film Festival

Nashwa Al Ruwaini is a Board Member and the CEO of Pyramedia, and a Co-Founder and Board Member of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. She is the host of a self-titled weekly prime time television program on Dubai Television, the Nashwa show. Nashwa’s 20-year experience in the media helped Pyramedia gain its position as one of the most successful private media production companies in the Middle East. Both Nashwa and Pyramedia have received many accolades from regional and international organizations for their vision and exceptional work in media over the years.

Pyramedia is comprised of four divisions: PyraMovies and PyraDocs, which produce and finance feature films and documentaries; PyraStars, an agency and casting division for Arab actors; and the recently launched PyraDrama, which focuses on TV drama production. Together, all Pyramedia’s divisions aim to produce content that is enlightening about the culture of the Middle East.

Nashwa also acts as a Media Consultant to various governments, regional and international institutions, and high-profile individuals.