The Festival’s 2009 program included a wide range of films from the Middle East and all over the world: features and shorts, fanciful and down-to-earth, hard-hitting and hilarious. Keep checking back for announcements of the 2010 program in the coming weeks.
2009 Program Sections:
- nNarrative Features Competition
- Chosen for their remarkable vision and the freshness of their storytelling, these new fiction films are the work of a diverse group of beginning and established filmmakers from the Middle East and around the world.
- dDocumentary Feature Competition
- Whether recording major events or uncovering little-known stories, whether focusing on social issues or personal explorations, the filmmakers in this section demonstrate the power of nonfiction filmmaking to help us understand each other and our world.
- gGala Screenings
- With red-carpet guests in attendance, these prestigious new films roll out the most fun and glamour to be had in the festival, and offer films destined to draw serious attention in the awards season and beyond.
- wWorld Cinema Showcase
- Selected from among the year’s festival award winners and international highlights, these narratives and documentaries, screening out of competition, offer a rich and exciting view of what is happening in filmmaking around the globe today.
- tNew Cinema From Turkey
- Chosen by the editors of the vanguard Turkish film magazine Altiyazı this selection of recent films shows a remarkable burst of cinematic creativity from a place that has long been at the crossroads between the Middle East and Europe, offering an outstanding example of the success of a small, local film industry.
- ev“What in the World Are We Doing to Our World?”
- The power of film to educate, inform and inspire is central to this group of films that help us understand the global environmental crisis and call for us to take action to protect our planet for future generations.
- sShort Film Competition
- Both a training ground for up-and-comers and a familiar terrain to which established directors return to explore new approaches, short films often take us closest to the essence of the art of cinema. The films in this competition – including two programs of student projects – come from all over the world and represent an amazing diversity of visions and styles that are sure to surprise and delight.
- efEmirates Film Competition
- The Abu Dhabi Film Commission is pleased to present the 9th Emirates Film Competition, which aims to encourage the production of short, feature, and documentary films by Emirati filmmakers. It also provides an opportunity for GCC nationals and non-nationals to discuss and share their work with each other, as well as participate in short master classes and workshops.
- eEvents
- Our special presentations are highlighted by “Laugh Till It Hurts,” a screening of four hilarious silent films with live keyboard accompaniment – a first for Abu Dhabi. In addition, a series of master classes presented by renowned figures from the international film world offers a chance to go deeper into film history and film culture – with more surprises to come.
Black Pearl Awards
Films in competition in the 2009 Middle East International Film Festival will contend for Black Pearl Awards and prizes in three categories.
In the Narrative Feature category, the awards are:
Best Narrative Film, Best New Narrative Director, Best Middle Eastern Film, Best New Middle Eastern
Narrative Director, Best Actor, Best Actress.
In the Documentary Feature Category, the awards are:
Best Documentary Film, Best New Documentary Director, Best Middle Eastern Documentary,
Best New Middle Eastern Documentary Director.
In the Short Film Category, the awards are:
Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Middle Eastern Short, and three prizes for Best Student Shorts.