twofour54 was launched in 2008 to accelerate Abu Dhabi’s media industry.  They are a unique media and entertainment hub dedicated to helping like-minded companies and professionals take full advantage of the MENA region’s current and future offerings in the media sector. 

One of the main sponsors of ZUMEFF 2021 is twofour54’s Creative Lab. Creative Lab is a vibrant community full of people who want to expand their creative opportunities.  They support Arab creative talents and guide their ambitions to bring ideas to life.  twofour54 established the “Creative Lab Emerging Filmmaker Award,”  an award given each year to an Emirati student filmmaker.

Congratulations to Ali Lari on winning the Creative Lab Emerging Filmmaker Award for 2021 for his film, Album.

Synopsis

Album is a story about a Middle Eastern girl who dreams of being a figure skater, but for whom everything will change when she turns 13 years old.

About the filmmaker

Ali Khaleel Abbas Mohamed Lari, is a Media Production and Storytelling major from the College of Communication and Media Sciences at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi.  The Media Production and Storytelling concentration at Zayed University develops student skills in film, video, photography and media storytelling for traditional and digital careers.

Ali is an extremely accomplished student filmmaker having won several awards for his films, Rose and Album.

Rose is a story about kindness and paying it forward, revolving around an everlasting rose which is passed on in gratitude among a spectrum of people living in the UAE.

Album is the story of a Middle Eastern girl who dreams of being a figure skater, but for whom everything will change when she turns 13 years old.

Awards which Ali has include:

• ZUMEFF 2019, Winner of the twofour54 Emerging Filmmaker Award for his film ‘Rose.’ 
• The Al Ain Film Festival 2021, Winner of the Best Student Film for his film ‘Album.’ The film was produced by the ZU Media Club.
• Abu Dhabi Festival Unproduced Screenplay competition, 2021, Winner for Al Baytari Al Sagheer (The Little Vet)
• ZUMEFF 2021, Winner of the twofour54 Creative Lab Emerging Filmmaker Award and the Pioneers Prize Award, both for his film called ‘Album.’ The film was produced by the ZU Media Club.

In addition to being creative in the field of film he has also published a fiction book in Arabic called Starless sky / سماء بلا نجوم

His ambition is to one day open a film production company.