Razan Al Mubarak elected as president of ADIEFF's judging committee

Razan Al Mubarak said that the involvement of a vital and critical sector, as the film industry, in the encounter of environmental challenges in our region is highly appreciated and appraised; especially that raising awareness of the environmental hazards of earth is not the sole responsibility of government bodies.

The Efforts and thoughts of CSO's and media should be joined to raise awareness of the impact of such environmental hazards. Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi is always keen to support educational initiatives that form a part of our efforts aiming at environment conservation. Raising awareness is a one of the major elements that will enable us to build a highly educated and informed society with regard to urgent environmental issues locally and internationally. We are pleased to take part in this festival that constitutes a significant initiative, which will enable us on the long run to counter environmental challenges arising under the fast- paced development we witness today.

The secretary general added that the festival paves other ways before the competent bodies concerned with environment conservation to be considered to raise awareness of environmental hazards. Such ways include film industry that has the ability, considering its characteristics, to change the individual behavior toward environment.

ADIEFF's administration indicated that, in addition to the position of secretary general of Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi, HE Razan Al Mubarak is a landmark in the field of environment conservation. She is the delegated member of Emirates Wildlife Society in cooperation with World Wildlife Fund (EWS-WWF) and Mohammad bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund and a member of Global Footprint Network and board member of African Wildlife Foundation. Her activities record showcases the enormous efforts she exerts in various projects to create environmental awareness by the public through providing all environmental information and on the grounds that the coming generations will account all those involved in the destruction and damages suffered by the planet.
HE Razan holds a Master degree in general comprehension of environmental change from London University College as well as an honorary Bachelor degree in environmental studies and international relations from Tufts University, USA.

With regard to the formation of the festival's judging committee, ADIEFF's administration confirmed that the committee comprises a president and four members representing five different cultures with various field of business ranging between Film Industry, Film criticism, and specialization in environmental affairs. This committee also comprises Laila Ulwi as a judging member in the official film contest that includes the three kinds of long and short films (narrative, documentary and animation). Laila has a long experience in judging films and has been elected a member and president of the judging committees of more than 9 Arab and international festivals including Cairo International Film Festival, Valencia Festival in Spain and Sao Paolo Festival in Brazil.

The committee also comprises American film critic and festival director Deborah Young is the International Film Editor of The Hollywood Reporter and a contributing editor for the award-winning American film magazine Cineaste. Based in Rome, Italy, she has reviewed films from around the world since the 1990's, when she was appointed Rome Bureau Chief for Variety, one of the world's most famous magazines.

Alongside her journalistic career, Young has actively participated in major film festivals. She has been a consultant for Tribeca and was a member of the selection committee of the Venice Film Festival in 1998 before joining the Taormina Film Fest in 1999, as Artistic Director from 2007 to 2011. Under her mandate, the festival assumed a strong Mediterranean identity, instituted the popular Campus Taormina and industry sections, and greatly increased its audiences and prestige.

Deborah has been a member of international juries at film festivals such as Cairo, Edinburgh, Tribeca, Rio de Janeiro, Sarajevo, Man, Carthage, Rotterdam, and many others. She is the director of The Tour (2002), a short feature film shown at the Venice Film Festival, Alpe Adria, Buenos Aires International Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival.

The administration also announced the election of Andrea Morini, who graduated in 1978 at the University of Bologna in Modern Literature, with a thesis on "Finance and culture: film distribution in Italy from 1945 to 1965". From 1979 to 1982 he was the President of Angelo Azzurro Media Cooperative, based in Bologna, whose activity were the organization of cinematic events and the distribution of "art et d'essai" movies.

In 1983 the Municipal Administration of Bologna charged him to supervise the project of the opening of the Bologna Film Archives' new theatre: Cinema Lumière. Then he became the programmer of the cinema. He's still working at the Bologna Film Archives as Head of Programming Dept.

He has been also organizing several film festivals in Italy and around Europe. He wrote about contemporary cinema and published books on the cinema of the Arab Countries, and gives master classes on Film History.

In February 2004, he was appointed "Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres" by the French Minister of Culture.

The judging committee also comprises Iraqi- German director Qias Zubaidi. Zubaidi is known for directing and editing a variety of significant Arab films in Damascus, Lebanon, Tunisia, Palestine and Germany the total of which amounts to 12 films and most of which are award winning in the various Arab and international festivals.

ADIEFF's administration said that Zubaidi is a researcher in the theory of cinema and editing and has published 6 publications about cinema and theater, most notable of which is "audio and video in cinema- the seventh art" and "the literary medium in cinema". He also co-authored more than 8 long theoretical studies about the history and methodology of documentaries in Al Jazeera three documentary books issued in the period between 2010 and 2012. The Iraqi critic also participated as a member of the judging committees of various festivals such as Leesburg, Cairo, Paris, Freiburg, Berlin, Damascus and Rotterdam.

It is worth mentioning that ADIEFF is the first of its kind in the Middle East that is concerned with environmental films. ADIEFF is organized by Media Lab and hosted in Abu Dhabi for 6 days from 20 to 26 of April. It aims at the public promotion of the importance of environment conservation under the title "to make earth a better place to live" as well as keeping pace with the latest updates in the fields of awareness and environment conservation.