Tropfest Arabia puts spotlight on Arab movie talent

Cinema lovers have the chance to see 16 short films for free Friday night on Abu Dhabi's Corniche as part of the third annual Tropfest Arabia competition.

Film fans at Tropfest Arabia last year. Courtesy Tropfest Arabia 2012

It’s definitely the season for film-watching in the UAE and the weather is perfect for kicking off your shoes, lying back on a beanbag on the beach under the stars and watching the region’s best short films on the big screen. And all without spending a dirham.

On Friday, the world’s largest short film festival, Tropfest, comes to Al Sahil Beach on Abu Dhabi’s Corniche. Film lovers will be entertained by 16 finalists’ films, presented in front of a celebrity judging panel who will also be watching the films for the first time.

The Lebanese celebrity TV presenter and star of MBC’s hit show Arabs’ Got Talent, Raya Abirached, will introduce the films while the award-winning Egyptian actress Yusra is the co-director of the event, along with the Tropfest founder John­ ­Polson.

The number of entries for this year’s competition nearly doubled compared with last year to more than 440 entries, so it was a tough job for Yusra and Polson to whittle the list down to the final 16.

“The Tropfest Arabia festivals of 2011 and 2012 proved that the Arab world’s appetite for media, film and entertainment is growing more and more each day,” says Yusra. “Creativity in this region is flourishing and now is the time to get involved.”

The original Tropfest was held in Sydney, Australia, in 1993; the events are now held in nine different countries and regions around the world. Last year’s winner, Mohamed Hussen Anwar, said: “It’s a wonderful feeling to be recognised for my creativity. My advice to future participants is to focus on details, making your storyline more realistic. Trust your crew in order to be successful and, finally, best of luck.”

The finalists in this year’s competition come from the UAE, Kuwait, Egypt, Syria, Algeria, Yemen, Sudan, Morocco and Lebanon.

All the entries are no longer than seven minutes and each movie features a Tropfest signature theme, which this year is “Time”. So the Emirati filmmaker Fatima Al Dhaheri’s entry Yadi Bardan starts with a clock on the wall showing it is 6am. The film goes on to show a young girl making a quilt for her grandfather, who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Some films carry a message of hope, such as the Egyptian Haidy Bahgat Zakher Ibrahim’s portrayal of a man with no arms who contemplates what he cannot do, but smiles as he still manages to juggle a soccer ball. Others have a political tone – the Yemeni Mohammed Al Asbahi’s is a tragic tale of a young girl whose dreams of a better life are snatched away when her mother decides to marry her off to an old man. The film concludes with a warning – marriage is for “adults only”. Another thought-provoking film to be screened is Numbers by the Egyptian Amr Kamal; it is about how people are depicted in TV news and in ­newspapers.

The judging panel this year includes the Emirati filmmaker Ali F Mostafa, who directed the first Emirati feature film City of Life, which shed light on urban living in Dubai. Mostafa announced his next major feature, A to B, at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. He also has his own production company, AFM Films, so he is one man the filmmakers will be keen to ­impress.

Also judging this year will be the Tunisian actress Dorra Zarrouk, the Syrian actor Bassel Khyat, the Kuwaiti actor Khaled Amin and the Jordanian producer Rula Nasser.

The winning filmmaker will be awarded US$11,500 (Dh42,240), a Nikon D7100 SLR camera and a trip to meet industry professionals in Los Angeles.

After judges announce the winners, the Lebanese singer Ramy Ayach will perform. The pop star began his musical career in 1996 by taking home the gold medal on the talent show Studio El Fan, going on to release eight albums and perform around the world.

“It’s wonderful to be part of such an exciting and motivating event which gives our region’s youth a platform off of which they can develop their talents and ambitions,” he says. “Tropfest Arabia really encourages creativity and originality, and we need more events like it for the Middle East’s growing media and entertainment industries.”