Gulf Film Festival 2013: Don't forget the International Shorts

A still from the animation Father, a collection of shorts brought together by Ivan Bogdanov

The vast majority of the Gulf Film Festival's 169-film line-up might consist of shorts and features from the GCC, Iraq and Yemen, but it's definitely not worth forgetting about the festival's international selection either.

15 films from as far afield as Venezela and as close to home as Iran are competing in the official International Shorts Competition, which will award prizes totaling Dh95,000.

Parental relationships feature heavily in Swing of the Coffin Maker, by German filmmaker Elmar Imanov, and the award-winning Father, a Croatian/Bulgarian/German co-production in which Ivan Bogdanov worked with five European directors to create five animated stories.

From Tunisia, comes Bobby - by Mehdi Barsaoui - about an eight-year-old boy who meets a stray dog on the way to school. In Venezualan short The Prisoner, a boy scout game in the mountains takes a wrong turn when one side takes another boy hostage.

Perhaps the most curious short of the bunch is Lonely Bones, an surreal and sinister affair from Dutch filmmaker and artist Rosto that combines 2D and 3D animation with live action. Rosto has collaborated with Tom Waits and Terry Gilliam in the past, which should give you some idea of what to expect.

The international shorts are being shown in groups, with screenings each remaining day of GFF in Grand Cinemas. For more information and timings, visit www.gulffilmfest.com