Saleh Karama named EFC Director at Abu Dhabi Film Festival

Ali Al Jabri, Abu Dhabi Film Festival Director said, "We are proud and excited to have Saleh take on this new role. He has been a key figure throughout the competition's rich history, whose knowledge and experience will help take the EFC to new levels. He has also been instrumental in developing the film scene in the region, and we are sure he will continue to champion local and regional cinema by curating a program of outstanding works to be shown at the festival each year. He is one of the leading Emirati figures of the film industry, having made great contributions to cinema and participating in international Festivals including the Al Watba Cultural Festival in Morocco and many outstanding creative screenwriting workshops."

Karama is an established Emirati novelist, playwright, screenwriter and director, and one of the founders of Abu Dhabi Theatre in 1977. His film What is Left? won the judges award at the 2003 Emirates Film Competition and also won Best Short Film award at the Casablanca International Film Festival in 2007. He has written and directed several films including Henna, which received the Best Director award at Abu Dhabi's 2008 Middle East Film Festival. Other plaudits include a Golden Shell Award from the San Sebastian International Film Festival for Soul Cart which Karama wrote, and Best Playwright Award for his play Try Again, won at Cairo's Arab Theatre Festival in 2007.

This is the first year the Abu Dhabi Film Festival has been presented under the management of TwoFour54, as part of the plan to strategically align the festival alongside Abu Dhabi's other media initiatives and related events, reinforcing Abu Dhabi as the creative hub for the region supporting film production.