Founded on 2 December 1971, this year the United Arab Emirates (UAE) celebrates its 50th Anniversary. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the founding father and the principal driving force behind the formation of the United Arab Emirates, uniting the seven emirates into the UAE. The year of the 50th commemorates 50 years since the nation’s founding in 1971 and celebrates its remarkable journey from the past to the present day and also looks forward to the changes the next 50 years will bring.
In honor of this very special 50th year the ZUMEFF steering committee created the Pioneers Prize Award. The aim of the Pioneers Prize is to celebrate the filmmaker whose film best honors and portrays the UAE leadership’s legacy of national development—past, present, and future.
The winner of the Pioneers Prize is Ali Lari for his film, Album. Please join us in congratulating Ali on winning this prestigious award.
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.