146 films make the cut at the inaugural Gulf Film Festival

Masoud Amralla Al Ali, Festival Director for GFF, said: 'We are very pleased with the enthusiastic response from filmmakers towards the inaugural edition and can proudly boast that 90% of the films being screened are world premieres. It has always been clear to us that this region abounds with talent and is a viable and rich setting for quality cinema in its own right.

The Festival received over 200 entries for the Official Competition from filmmakers that centre on the issues, dreams and stories of the Arab world, epitomizing the talent and passion that is coming from this region. It was difficult to narrow down the selection to 93,' he concluded.

In addition to the Official Competition in features, shorts and documentaries, GFF received over 300 entries from around the world for Out of Competition segments and will show 53 films from around the world.

Festival organizers confirmed 146 films for the final selection, representing established and upcoming film centers in the Middle East.

In-Competition feature film category includes 6 films from KSA, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq.

There are 47 films in the running for In-Competition shorts representing UAE, Kuwait, KSA, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Iraq.

16 films have been selected towards In-Competition Documentary from Arab filmmakers in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, KSA, Iraq, USA and Switzerland.

The Festival, to further its mandate for promoting cinema amongst youth, includes a dedicated competition segment for students.

Organizers have short listed 15 shorts and 9 documentaries from student filmmakers in the GCC and Iraq.

In addition, the Festival will showcase 53 films in the out of competition segment from filmmakers in China, Canada, Germany, USA, GCC, Palestine, Iran, Kurdistan, UK, India, France, Argentina, Italy, Hungary, Spain and Lebanon.

This includes 8 films from Switzerland in the 'In the Spotlight' segment and 4 films from the UAE within 'Animation for Children' programming.

GFF will present top three prizes in the categories of feature, shorts and documentary in the Official Competition, and short and documentary in the Students' Competition.

There will be a Special Jury Prize in both categories and a separate Script Competition for Emirati Short Films.

Gulf Film Festival will take place between 13-18 April 2008 at the Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre, Mall of Emirates.