THREE EMIRATIS REACH ARAB FILM STUDIO FINALS

Award ceremony to be held at this year’s ADFF

Abu Dhabi, 11 October, 2014: Three Emirati filmmakers have reached the final of Image Nation and twofour54’s amateur film competition, Arab Film Studio, including mother of seven, Fakhrah Abdullah.

The will attend an award’s ceremony held at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival for the first time in the competition’s history.  

Fakhrah, 34 from Fujairah, whose short film tells the story of a wheelchair bound boy, said: “I am overwhelmed at the news that my film has been selected as one of the final six. It’s been an incredible few months learning from industry experts and getting a behind the scenes, up-close look at the film industry. I’m lucky to even get this far in the competition, winning would just be the cherry on top!”

Six awards will be given out during the event, including the coveted Best Film which includes a 50,000AED prize fund and a chance to work with Image Nation on future projects.

Final Films

THE PARROT

Ali Al Marzouqi (UAE)

A lonely businessman searching for a parrot buys one from a questionable source. He is attracted to the intelligence of this talking parrot and over time builds a friendly relationship with it. However this friendship finishes with a strange and unexpected end.

THE LAST PETAL

Fakhrah Abdullah (UAE)

This film tells the story of a child that ends up wheelchair bound after an accident. His mum tricks him into believing he will recover, despite the chances of this being slight. After many years, he is still not able to walk, but finally realizes that his mum played a vital role in him having a life full of happiness and hope.  

ALABAYA

Maryam Alabbad (Kuwait)

Set in Kuwait, 1938, a young girl dreams of going to school but must fight against social stigmas of the time, and her father who believes a girls life is more purposeful in the home. 

SHADOWS

Mohamed Magdy (Egypt)

A story about a female painter who delivers messages from the dead to their beloved, seeking for the opportunity to deliver her own message to her deceased parents.

RENDEZVOUS

Salman Ahmad (Pakistani/UK)

Two strangers with family and work issues on their mind meet randomly at the airport when their flights are delayed. In their ensuing conversation, they find comfort in each other and vow to make the right choices going forward.

KALELIS

Shahad Al Shehhi (UAE)

A young colorless (black & white) girl struggles in accepting herself and feels unfortunate for the fact she is deprived of having the privilege of wearing colorful clothes and makeup. Whatever she wears, its colors fade away. Her only way to play with colors is through her talent of painting. When a young blind girl visits, she is forced to see the world through her eyes.

This year’s finalists, chosen by a panel of judges including David Hasselhoff, include Ali Al Marzouqi from the UAE; Maryam Alabbad from Kuwait; Mohamed Magdy from Egypt; Salman Ahmad from the UK and Shahad Al Shehhi from the UAE.

Last year, Sara Saber from Egypt won the top prize and has gone on to screen her final film, In Her Eyes, at festivals around the world, including the Arab Film Festival in San Francisco.

Three of the AFS participant’s films, Shadows by Mohamed Magdy, Kalelis by Shahad Al Shehhi and Taboo by Aisha Al Hammadi (not a finalist) have also qualified for ADFF’s Emirates Film Competition.

The Arab Film Studio award’s evening will be held on October 30.

STOP HUMAN TRAFFICKING- Humans are not commodities

Opening a news channel on TV can leaves you feeling depressed and drained powerless in the face of the negative forces at work. Yes TV is a powerful mass media, but what lends it power are the human actions (negative or positive) that it revolves around or as in the case of news channels covers.  You have to be devoid of human emotions if you are not affected by the umpteen cases of child abuse, human trafficking and rape reported in the various platforms. At one point you are left feeling so helpless that the only sane thing to do is switch off the channels, numb your senses or pretend these are alien stuff that happens in a different world and you will remain untouched by it. Some other reactions span as these – 1.become paranoid and make the lives of those around you miserable with your paranoia or 2. a voracious upholder/proponent of human rights.

There is some NEWS however which give you hope, brighten up your day, becomes a reason for you to smile. One such NEWS that brightened up my day was the rescue of a 5 year old child trafficking victim in Jammu Kashmir. This child was kidnapped from Bandra, Mumbai; forced to beg and subsequently abandoned after the recent flood. The child was found hungry and in frail condition by a Kashmiri family. The Jawans too pitted in to help when they were alerted by the family. While the search was on for the girl’s family the Kashmiri family not only took care of the child but had also decided to take in the child as their own if no one claimed her. What a show of humanity by the poor Kashmiri family with 4 kids of their own to sustain. The little 5 year old was all praises for the caring Jawan's as well. It is these little stories of hope & humanity that come up as sparks of light dispelling the engulfing darkness.While the tentacles of Human Trafficking so deep rooted that every effort to 

combat it seems insignificant every step matters.

While the tentacles of Human Trafficking so deep rooted that every effort to 

combat it seems insignificant every step matters.

1. Believe that you can make a difference. Everyone has the potential to identify a human traffickingvictim. Identify and learn the red flags of human trafficking so that you can help in identifying a potential trafficking victim. 

2. Become a cautious consumer. Determine your Slavery Footprint. Find out the Department of Labor’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor. 

3. Integrate human trafficking information into places and platforms where you think you can make a difference.

4. Join or initiate an anti-trafficking coalition; donate fund or items to an anti-trafficking organization; start a fund raiser or awareness event.

7. Create public awareness and distribute materials relevant to the topic

8. Volunteer to reach out to victims or offer professional services to a local anti-trafficking organization.

12. Educate your child about it and also help spread awareness. Try to make a difference as a parent, educator, or school administrator, be alert of how traffickers target school-aged children.