Abu Dhabi Film Festival
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| Location | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
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| Awards | Black Pearl Awards |
| Festival date | October |
| Website | www |
Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF) (Arabic: مهرجان أبو ظبي السينمائي), formerly Middle East International Film Festival, is an international film festival which started in 2007. The event is held annually in October in the city of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The ADFF aims to showcase the best films from the region alongside standout productions from prominent international filmmakers. Since 2012, the festival has been part of the Abu Dhabi Media Zone Authority, specifically under Media Zone Events and powered by its partner company, twofour54.
The first festival debuted with 152 movies and 186 screenings shown in five Abu Dhabi venues. The festival started in 2007 with the support of H.E. Mohammed Khalaf AL Mazroui as General Director of the ADACH, and Nashwa Al Ruwaini as Executive Director. In 2008, Imad DeirAtany, a Lebanese talented filmmaker and marketer has joined the team with more than 200 staff members that empowered the brand of the festival.
In 2010, UAE based Brash Brands www.brashbrands.com assisted ADACH to develop the Festival's brand, allowing it to compete more effectively with Dubai Film Festival, Doha Tribeca Film Festival, Cannes, etc. With the changes came the move from MEIFF to Abu Dhabi Film Festival.
With a new branding scheme, and in its second year under the command of Executive Director Peter Scarlet, the 2010 ADFF is making a strong effort to breakout from a cluttered festival junket in the Persian Gulf region. This year there are six feature films and two documentaries that are attracting a considerable amount of industry buzz.
In a Better World by the Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier, takes a look at the lives of two families in small-town Denmark as they become intertwined through an uneasy friendship of two boys. The official Canadian entry to the Oscar also bows in Abu Dhabi. Incendies, directed by Denis Villeneuve, is based on a play by Canadian-Lebanese writer Wajdi Mouawad, and tells the story of a mother’s cryptic will that forces her grown children to confront the prospect that the father they thought dead is alive, and that they have a brother. From Egypt is Messages from the Sea by Daoud Abdel Sayed, which follows the story of Yehya, who returns to Alexandria, the city of his youth following the death of his mother, where he encounters the new face of the ancient, portrayed as a decaying metropolis. Cirkus Columbia, is also considered an Oscar contender. Directed by Danis Tanovic, who won the Best Foreign Language Oscar with his film No Man’s Land in 2002. Cirkus Columbia follows a wealthy ex-pat who comes home to his small village in Yugoslavia in 1991.
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