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The second annual Gulf Film Festival (GFF) will get underway in Dubai this week with 412 entries, 24 of them from Bahrain.
Eight films will vie for top spots in the official competition, including shorts and student shorts while one film will be showcased in the out of competition Lights segment.
Last year the GFF debuted with a diverse selection of films from up and coming filmmakers, 90 per cent of which were world premieres. The number of entries for 2009 represents a 50 per cent increase over last year, a sign that GCC filmmakers have taken notice of an excellent opportunity to have their work recognised in a dedicated arena. More than 200 films from the GCC countries as well as Yemen and Iraq will be considered for the In Competition segments.
The 200 films from abroad will be considered for the Out of Competition segments.
This year's contributions from Bahrain present powerful statements on the world and the human condition.
Filmmaker Mohammed Rashed Bu-Ali's Al Bashara (The Good Omen) depicts the Bahraini tradition of hanging a woman's dress, or Nashal, over the roof of a home in which a family member has returned from a long absence.
Ghobar (Dust), by award-winning directorial duo Abdulla Al Sadaawi and Mohammed Janahi, follows a group of people who are thinking of making a film. The director explains the basics of filmmaking, where the reality of their daily life blends with fantasy.
Ali Alali's Mraimy set in the 60s, follows a belly dancer who renounces her community and falls madly in love with a fisherman.
Yassin, by writer and playwright Jamal Al Ghailan, is the story of the title character, slaving towards a dream that will never be realised.
Actor and director Hussain Al Riffaei's Cage explores the disturbing relationship between a man in his 30s and his younger sister, whom he has kept locked up for five years after suspecting her of dating a man.
Other films that will be screened include Yesterday and The Cork, by filmmaker and 'Cinenym' club founder Aisha Al Muqla.
In the student shorts category, Burning Flowers, directed by Mohammed Ebrahim Mohammed and Mahmood Alshiakh's, End? No! which is part of the festival's 'Lights' segment.
