2 Gulf Film Festival Films win top honors at the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam

6 films, featured at GFF were tapped for recognition in 2 different categories; official competition shorts and documentaries at the annual cultural event that aims to encourage dialogue between the west and the Arab world.

Applauding the achievement, Masoud Amralla Al Ali, Festival Director for GFF, said:

'We are pleased to see Gulf region cinema achieving richly deserved international acclaim, which is the essence of our mandate. Platforms such as these showcase the region's evolving creative potential and further the development of the film industry in the Arab world. The inaugural edition of the Gulf Film Festival showcased cinematic brilliance from around the Arab world and we will strive to continuously bring works of this caliber to our future editions.'

UAE director Saeed Salmeen Al Murry's 'Bint Mariam', recipient of the second prize and a special mention for its leading lady 'Nevin Madhi' at the Gulf Film Festival, walked away with the Silver Hawk award. The film highlights the sufferings of a girl capturing every emotion in her search for happiness.

The second winner at Rotterdam was Mohammed Rashid BuAli from Bahrain whose film 'Absence' was awarded with the Special Jury Award in the official competition for shorts.

The film deals with the poignant subject of loneliness in a rapidly evolving society.

The other films in competition from GFF included 'A Dinner' by Hussain Al Riffaei from Bahrain which explores the taboo subject of adultery and its consequences in a Muslim state presented as a dialogue between a girl and her family, 'Personal Calendar' by Iraqi Basheer al Majid that delves into the internal political crisis of Iraq, 'One Day in Khadimiya Prison' by Oday Salah from Iraq depicts the life of Iraqi women in the war ravaged nation and 'When the people spoke (part two)' by Kuwait's Amer Al Zuhair which deals with the subject of youth empowerment and the changes their combined power can bring to society.

Now in its 8th year, the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam is organized by 'Stitching Film in de buurt' in cooperation with several European and Arab organizations.

The Festival aims to support Arab cinema and filmmakers, creating better understanding between the west and the Arab world through the medium of films.