The Cinema of the United Arab Emirates is minimal but expanding. There was only one full-length Emirati feature film as of 2007, Al-Hilm, about a group of frustrated actors/directors wandering aimlessly in the desert. However there are a large number of short films from the country (the makers of which have been dubbed the 'Emerging Emiratis'). In addition the UAE is a popular filming location for South Asian films and television serials, mainly those of Bollywood and the Pakistani Lollywood.
The UAE holds annual film festivals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and a film studio (Studio City) has been purpose-built in Dubai to promote Emirati filmmaking.
In 2008 Emirati director Majid Abdulrazak produced a film version of Wilfred Thesiger's Arabian Sands which was self-funded and employed actors from the UAE and Oman in most of the major roles. The film has since been released on DVD by Viva Entertainment.
The second edition of the Gulf Film Festival in Dubai (April 2009) premiered two UAE feature films. Al Dayra (The Circle), by filmmaker and actor Nawaf Al-Janahi, told the story of Ibrahim, a poet and journalist who captures a thief and finds himself changing lives with him. Director and novelist Saleh Karama also showcased his first feature, Henna, in which the title character’s mother is sick, and her frequent fits have led to a divorce; fatherless Henna has to find a way to relate to her new father-figure, a Bedouin relative who arrives from the desert with his camels to visit the family.
The sixth edition of the Dubai International Film Festival in 2009 featured further screenings of The Circle and the premiere of City of Life by Emirati director Ali F. Mostafa, which went on to achieve general release in UAE cinemas on 22 April 2010 - the first locally produced film to do so.
Nawaf Al-Janahi's film Sea Shadow was released on 17 November 2011. It came out on DVD on 25 September 2013.
Emirati feature films
- Al-Hilm (The Dream) (2005) Nawaf Al-Janahi
- Tarab Fashion (2006) Mohamed Daham
- Haneen (2006) Mohammad Al-Traifi
- Menahi (2008)
- Arabian Sands (2008) Majid Abdulrazak
- Al Dayra (The Circle) (2009) Nawaf Al-Janahi
- Henna (2009) Saleh Karama
- City of Life (2009) Ali F. Mostafa
- Sea Shadow (2011) Nawaf Al-Janahi
- A to B (2013) Ali F. Mostafa
- Three (2013) Nayla Al Khaja
- Banat Fahma (2013) Abdulla Al Kaabi
Emirati short films
- The Sons of Two Suns (2013) S.A.Zaidi & Ghanem Ghubash
- The Fallen (2008) Mohammed Mamdouh
- 100 Miles (2007) Mustafa Abbas
- Ahlam Fi Sundook (Dreams In A Box; 2003)
- Al-Rumram (1994)
- Ala Tareeq (On A Road; 2003)
- Amen (2005)
- Arabana (2006) Nayla Al Khaja
- Arwaah (Souls; 2004)
- Aushba's Well (2004)
- Cigarettes (2004)
- The Confrontation (1998)
- Hajess (Obsession; 2002)
- Mirrors of Silence (2006)
- Signs of the Dead (2005)
- Under the Sun (2005) Ali F. Mostafa
- Once (2008) Nayla Al Khaja
- Levity Xero Error Minus1 (2010) Ashraf Ghori
- Malal (Bored; 2010) Nayla Al Khaja
- F=ma (2012) Experimental Short
Films shot in the United Arab Emirates
- diamond necklace(Indian)
- Moments Of Fiction (2011)
- Dam 999 (Hollywood-Indian collaboration; 2011) partly filmed in Fujairah, UAE
- Mission: Impossible â€" Ghost Protocol (American; 2010) partly filmed in Dubai
- City Of Life (Emirati; 2009) filmed in Dubai
- 36 China Town (Indian; 2006) partly fimed in Dubai
- The Killer (Indian, 2006) mostly filmed in Dubai
- Balram vs. Tharadas (Indian; 2006)
- Boom (Indian; 2003) partly filmed in Dubai
- Chalo Ishq Larain (Pakistani; 2002) partly filmed in Dubai
- Chetna: The Excitement (Indian; 2005) partly filmed in Dubai
- Code 46 (British; 2003) partly filmed in Dubai
- Deewane Huye Paagal (Indian; 2005) partly filmed in Dubai
- Dil Vil Pyar Vyar (Indian; 2002) partly filmed in Abu Dhabi
- Dubai Return (Indian; 2005) partly filmed in Dubai
- Family: Ties of Blood (Indian; 2006) partly filmed in Dubai
- Keif al-Hal? (Saudi; 2006)
- The Kingdom (American; 2007) filmed in Abu Dhabi
- Kisse Pyaar Karoon (Indian; 2005) partly filmed in Dubai
- Hera Pheri (Indian, 2000) dream-sequence song filmed in Dubai and its desert
- Lahoo Ke Do Rang (Indian; 1997) partly filmed in Dubai
- Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya? (Indian; 2005) partly filmed in Dubai
- Market (Indian; 2003) partly filmed in Dubai
- Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (Indian; 2004) partly filmed in Dubai
- Naam (Indian; 1986) partly filmed in Dubai
- Om Jai Jagadish (Indian; 2002) partly filmed in Dubai
- Pehla Pehla Pyar (Pakistani; 2006) partly filmed in Dubai
- Pyar Hi Pyar Mein (Pakistani; 2003) partly filmed in Dubai
- Risk (Indian; 2007)
- El-Sefara fi El-Omara (Egypytian; 2005) partly filmed in Dubai
- Silsiilay (Indian; 2005) partly filmed in Dubai
- Syriana (American; 2005) partly filmed in Dubai
- Talaash: The Hunt Begins... (Indian; 2003) partly filmed in Dubai
- Tarap (Pakistani; 2006) partly filmed in Dubai
- Vishwavidhaata (Indian; 1997)
- Woh Lamhe (Indian; 2006) partly filmed in Dubai
- Singam (Tamil; 2010) one song
- Oru Kal Oru Kannadi (Tamil; 2012) one song
- Diamond Necklace (Malayalam) 2012
Emirati directors
- Ali F. Mostafa
- Nayla Al Khaja
See also
- Cinema of the world
References
External links
- Article on Arab Cinema
- The Killer (2006 film)
- Vox Cinemas UAE
- IMDB entry for the UAE
- IMDB entry for The Circle
- Cinemas in the UAE - TEN Movies
- City of Life official film website
- Sea Shadow official film website
- Gulf Film Festival website
- Dubai International Film Festival website
- Abu Dhabi Film Festival Official website