In a refocusing of its film activities to reflect the rapid growth in the region, the Media Zone Authority-Abu Dhabi has announced that the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF) is being brought to a close in order to focus on future targeted initiatives to further support local and Arab filmmakers and attract more film productions to Abu Dhabi. The move marks the next phase in the capital’s maturing film industry.
The Media Zone Authority will continue its efforts in supporting Emirati and Arab filmmakers through the “SANAD” Fund, which provides financial support for film projects during their development and post-production stages. The Fund enables filmmakers to develop and complete feature narrative or documentary films. Details of the next session of submissions for SANAD will be announced soon. Additionally, twofour54’s creative lab will continue its role in supporting local talent in the UAE.
“Over the last few years we have built a strong foundation for a self-sustaining film and television industry. It is now the right time to deepen our commitment and further develop programmes to take the local industry to the next level. We attracted several major international and regional productions to shoot in the Emirate over the past two years alone, which brought large-scale investment, further built the film industry infrastructure in the region, and created significant opportunities for local talent. These projects include Universal Pictures’ Fast and Furious 7 and Disney’s Star Wars: Episode VII, as well as regional productions Al Ikhwa, Iftah Ya SimSim and ET Bil Arabi,” commented Noura Al Kaabi, CEO, Media Zone Authority.
“Now that Image Nation Abu Dhabi has become part of the Media Zone Authority, our efforts towards building the media sector can be more coordinated and effective. Image Nation’s combination of Hollywood film relationships and its local talent and production knowledge is uniquely valuable to this new phase of our industry,” shared Mohamed Al Mubarak, Chairman, Image Nation Abu Dhabi.
