Welcome back everyone to the third and final day of the 11th annual Zayed University Middle East Film Festival. This is the day we have all been waiting for.
Today we will celebrate the achievements of the impressive filmmakers whose films stood out from all the submissions received to be awarded First Place in each of the three categories of Animation, Documentary and Fiction. Like yesterday, you will meet each of the filmmakers virtually and hear what inspired them to make these winning films.
We will also be presenting two special awards this year, the twofour54 Creative Lab Emerging Filmmaker Award, which is awarded each year to an Emirati student filmmaker and the Pioneers Prize Award which is a special award given this year in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the United Arab Emirates.
Our special segment today is titled, “A Conversation with the Commissioner.” ZUMEFF co-host and CCMS student Nouf Al Kathiri interviews Abu Dhabi Film Commissioner Hans Fraikin. This fascinating conversation explores the challenges and successes of the film industry during the global pandemic and how Abu Dhabi has become a popular location for international film and television production. You won’t want to miss this!
As we conclude the final day of this year’s film festival, and on behalf of the ZUMEFF Steering Committee, we would like to thank all the filmmakers for their submissions without which there would be no festival, our partners twofour54 and Adobe, our student emcees Nouf and Elyazya, the pre-screeners and judges, and of course Zayed University and Her Excellency Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth and President of Zayed University for their continued support of the Film Festival.
We thank you all for tuning in to the 3-day event, stay safe, and we look forward to hosting you all again in 2022!
