MEIFF films gain huge successes this award season at BAFTAs and Oscars

MEIFF Special Presentation film Vicky Cristina Barcelona, directed by Woody Allen, had proven to be a favourite this award season with actress Penelope Cruz nabbing several wins and nominations.

Cruz recently won Best Supporting Actress at the world-renowned Academy Awards as well as winning Best Supporting Actress at the British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA). The film also won Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes and garnered nominations for actors Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall and Penelope Cruz in the categories of Best Performance by an Actor, Best Performance by an Actress and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role respectively.

Black Pearl Award Documentary nominee Man on Wire has won the Outstanding British Film Award at the BAFTA's for Producer Simon Chinn and Director James Marsh and an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The documentary was also nominated at the BAFTA's for the Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer for their First Feature Film for producer Simon Chinn.

Persepolis, screened at MEIFF 2007 which also one the Audience Choice Award during the festival, has managed to stay put on the Awards radar nabbing two nominations at this year's BAFTA's. Persepolis has been nominated for Best Film not in the English Language and Best Animated Film for directors Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud.

MEIFF, held in Abu Dhabi, is an annual event and a project of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH). The Festival is a cultural event dedicated to bringing a diverse slate of international films and programs to the community and introducing filmmakers from around the world to the resources of the region.

Last year's MEIFF had seen several new additions to an already exciting schedule. For the first time, there was a section of the Festival concentrating on Environmental Films as well as a showcase of documentaries highlighting the 60 years since the division of Palestine and a programming section for Arab Women Directors. The festival also held a number of high-profile industry initiatives including Cinema Verite, highlighting socially conscious films.

Culminating in ten action-packed days of cinema, with 152 movies and 186 screenings shown in five Abu Dhabi venues, All in all, 76 feature films and 34 short films from over 35 countries competed for the MEIFF 2008 Black Pearl Awards.