Female genital mutilation is a heavy topic for a short film, acknowledges Amena Al Nowais, but one she felt compelled to tackle.
It was the harrowing story of an Egyptian woman that won the 27-year-old Emirati the Best Picture award, for Omnia, at the finale of Image Nation's first Arab Film Studio Documentary competition on Tuesday night.
The subject of the film, 32-year-old Abu Dhabi-based receptionist Omnia Ibrahim, not only attended the ceremony, but beamed, posed for photos and answered questions afterwards.
“I’m really happy that she did, seeing her face, especially for her to see that the movie won, that people were very moved by her story,” said Al Nowais, who found her subject after interviewing four psychologists.
Ibrahim, who has had three years of counselling in an effort to come to terms with the illegal “purification” ceremony performed on her, with her parents’ consent, when she was 10 or 11, welcomed the chance to shed light on the issue.
“It’s not only the prize; that people can see the movie and understand exactly what happened and try to help women in Egypt and Africa and help stop this crime,” she said.
The Abu Dhabi-based Al Nowais, who studied Hebrew and politics at Soas, University of London, is moving into a television researching role with Image Nation and plans to make film her career.
Two of the six filmmakers from the competition, which follows the narrative portion launched several years ago, will take on roles at Image Nation, said Omar Butti, manager of the company’s documentary unit.
The unit, which has produced three full-length projects since launching two years ago, including the polio film Every Last Child, which opens in the United States on June 3, and As One, an autism documentary that screened at last year's Abu Dhabi Film Festival, wants the competition to help in its goal to be an "incubator", said Butti.
“We want much more local talent involved in the process,” he said.
Three of the six Arab Film Studio documentary competitors made films that reflected a cross-generational, father-son conflict, including the Emirati Fayssal bin Sahli's Made of Clay, which won for Best Editing and tells the story of Ahmed, an aspiring stop-motion animation artist. Pakistan's Tanya Daud won Best Cinematography for her short film The Absentees, which told the story of Raees, a Rohingyan refugee working in Dubai, while Waled Al Madani, from Syria, won Best Sound Design for his film The Sheikh of Musaffah, about a father and son who are mechanics.
The winner and finalists were chosen by a judging panel that included Davis Guggenheim, the producer and director of Image Nation's forthcoming documentary I Am Malala (which opens in the US on October 2), Anthony Geffen, the Bafta- and Emmy-winning documentary producer, and The National's editor-in-chief Mohammed Al Otaiba. The National's writers and editors Stacie Overton Johnson, James Langton and Deepthi Unnikrishnan served as advisers on the project.
Image Nation has already started accepting submissions for the second Arab Film Studio Documentary Competition.
• For more details, visit arabfilmstudio.ae
amcqueen@thenational.ae
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
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Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
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Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
The%20specs
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 285bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: TBA
On sale: Q2, 2020
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
MAIN CARD
Bantamweight 56.4kg
Abrorbek Madiminbekov v Mehdi El Jamari
Super heavyweight 94 kg
Adnan Mohammad v Mohammed Ajaraam
Lightweight 60kg
Zakaria Eljamari v Faridoon Alik Zai
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Mahmood Amin v Taha Marrouni
Light welterweight 64.5kg
Siyovush Gulmamadov v Nouredine Samir
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Ilyass Habibali v Haroun Baka
RESULT
Aston Villa 1
Samatta (41')
Manchester City 2
Aguero (20')
Rodri (30')
The%20Mandalorian%20season%203%20episode%201
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERick%20Famuyiwa%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPedro%20Pascal%20and%20Katee%20Sackhoff%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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