UAE In The News |
| |
UAE national filmmaker takes second place at Rotterdam film festival
|
The Emirates Foundation announced Wednesday that Bint Mariam won second place in the short film category at the Arab Film Festival held June 18-22 in Rotterdam. The film previously won second prize at the Gulf Film Festival in Dubai in April.
Bint Mariam (Mariam's Daughter) is directed by local filmmaker Saeed Salmeen Al Murry and was filmed earlier this year in the Al-Jazeera Al-Hamra area of Ras Al-Khaimah. The production of Bint Mariam was funded entirely by an arts grant from the Emirates Foundation, a leading philanthropic institution in the UAE that seeks to promote art as a profession.
Bint Mariam is the story of a girl who is forced to marry a much older man. When her husband dies, Mariam becomes a young widow who feels free for the first time. Saeed developed the idea for the film with writer Mohamed Hasan. Both liked the idea of exploring the girl's life after the death of her husband, rather than focusing the story on the hardships during the marriage.
Saeed believes that Bint Mariam is his best film so far. "It was a great honour for my country's name to be called at the award ceremony in Rotterdam. Without the help of the Emirates Foundation, I do not believe that this film would ever have been produced." Emirates Foundation CEO Peter Cleaves said: "Saeed's recent wins validate the impact that these arts grants are having on the UAE arts scene.
"Budding artists have the chance to shine, and well-established artists will have even more opportunity to fulfil their vision and compete on an international level." Saeed has won various film festivals awards, including best film at the Emirates Film Competition in 2007 for Al Ghabna. This year he attended a filmmaking workshop at the New York Film Academy in Abu Dhabi: he is now working with Hasan on a new script to begin shooting in December. – Emirates News Agency, WAM
|
|
|
|
©2007 UAE Embassy In Washington DC
