Gulf Film Festival receives films from region's best and brightest

The festival was conceived as a platform for showcasing emerging talent from the GCC, and is the first event dedicated solely to cinema from the Gulf region. Last year the GFF debuted with a diverse selection of films from up and coming filmmakers, 90% of which were World Premieres.

The number of entries for 2009 represents a 50% increase over last year, a sign that GCC filmmakers have taken notice of an excellent opportunity to have their work recognized in a dedicated arena.

Masoud Amralla Al Ali, Festival Director for GFF, said:

"We are very pleased with the strong showing of regional talent for this year's GFF submissions. Submissions from all of the countries in the GCC will provide an interesting cross-section of stories and landscapes for audiences to step into the world of the Gulf and its people."

"It is clear from the response that there is latent cinema talent in this region, and GFF is proud to provide an outlet for the passion and energy of Gulf filmmakers. We look forward to showing regional audiences what our emerging cinema talents are capable of," Al Ali added.

212 films from the GCC countries as well as Yemen and Iraq will be considered for the In Competition segments. The 200 films from abroad will be considered for the Out of Competition segments.

The countries forming nearly half of the submissions toward the In Competition segment were Saudi Arabia, followed by the UAE and Iraq, reflecting growing activity in cinema in those markets. Saudi Arabia entered 63 films, followed by the UAE with 45, Iraq with 39, Kuwait with 27, Bahrain with 24, Oman with 10, and Yemen with 4. These include films by student filmmakers, emerging talent and established names.

Over 20 feature films were submitted, both fiction and documentary, a significant increase over last year and one that reflects increasing confidence on the part of GCC filmmakers.

GFF will present 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 open to UAE scriptwriters.

Festival accreditation for media and industry professionals from the UAE and abroad is open till the April 9.