Finalists announced for the Hayah Film Competition

The competition is sponsored by the Higher Colleges of Technology's Abu Dhabi Women's College in association with the Middle East International Film Festival - Abu Dhabi (MEIFF), and EmiratesMac Apple User Group.

The competition, which was open to anyone in the Middle East, accepted submissions in the categories of Student, Professional, and Amateur, and required filmmakers to create a complete five-minute film for an iPod. Over 100 submissions were received from filmmakers across the Middle East covering the theme of "life at the size of an iPod screen."

The entries were viewed and judged on iPod screens. The judges paid particular attention to each filmmaker's creativity and originality, the use of color and contrast, the filmmaker's technical proficiency, the film's suitability for the small format, the length of the film, and whether the filmmaker succeeded in presenting a clear and complete story.

The judges for the competition were Dr. Brad Cook, Director of ADWC; Omran Al Owais, Vice President of EmiratesMac Apple User Group; and Jon Fitzgerald, Festival Director of the Middle East International Film Festival - Abu Dhabi.

"The Abu Dhabi Women's College is extremely proud to be a sponsor and organizer of the Hayah Film Competition," noted Dr. Cook.

"This competition has provided a creative outlet for students, amateurs and professionals to profile their talents and skills in an exciting new iPod film format. With over 100 submissions, this was a remarkably competitive event."

The finalists for the Hayah Film Competition are as follows:

Student Category:
"Seastar" by Fatima Al Muhairi
"Ramadan" by Fatima Al Shamsi
"Tourist" by Luliwa Al Mehairbi

Amateur Category:
"The Universe of Man" by Ali Almossawi
"The Looser" by Osama Mesalatie
"Celebrate Life" by Kamil Roxas

Professional Category:
"For No One" by Ziad Oakes
"Number Plate" by Souheil Zahreddine

Winners for the competition, including the winner of the People's Choice Award, will be presented at the closing ceremonies of the Middle East International Film Festival - Abu Dhabi (MEIFF) on Friday, October 19, at the Emirates Palace. Voting for the People's Choice Award continues until midnight Thursday, October 18, at www.hayahfilm.com.