Amer Salmeen Al-Murry, founder and general manager of the Al Ain Film Festival, announced the Festival’s participation in the 75th edition of the Cannes International Film Festival in France, where the Al Ain Film Festival is to be the only cinematic representative of the United Arab Emirates in Cannes, the largest film market in the world.
This participation of the Al Ain Film Festival came as an Emirati cultural artistic endeavor through a pavilion at the Cannes Film Market, sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Festival, a strategic cultural partner, with the aim of promoting the Al Ain Festival along with promoting tourism to the city of Al Ain. In addition, it will showcase the UAE’s huge development in the field of the cinema industry, within the vast and artistic Cannes Film Market, considered to be the largest such market in the world. The largest film institutions, companies and the most prominent producers, directors and film critics from the Gulf and Arab countries participate in this market along with their counterparts from all over the world.
Al-Murry revealed that this distinguished participation through the Al Ain Firm Festival pavilion at the Cannes Firm Market, which he described as a “golden opportunity”, will be an opportunity to prepare for the launch of the fifth edition in 2023 of the Al Ain Film Festival with a new international outlook, through the closing of agreements and the establishment of partnerships with international film institutions.
Seeking out the most prominent international films to be shown to Emirati audiences in the fifth edition of the festival, is to contribute to the acquisition and exchange of knowledge and experiences on the one hand, while on the other, seizing the opportunity to introduce filmmakers from around the world (including actors, producers, directors and distributors) to Emirati culture and cinema and the capabilities it has acquired. The Emirates has witnessed a vast development in the film industry along with the UAE’s 50th year achievements, among which are some historic achievements. He pointed out that after the preparations he is undertaking -the details of which will be announced later upon his return to the Emirates – the Al Ain Film Festival will acquire international status.
He went on to state: “The Al Ain Film Festival will be the best ambassador for the UAE at the Cannes Film Festival, which is characterized by a large and diverse cinematic presence. This is because such a volume of filmmakers from all over the world does not meet at the same time except in the French city of Cannes during the festival period. This includes the five major European film sectors, namely the Venice International Film Festival from Italy, the Berlin International Film Festival from Germany, the Toronto International Film Festival from Canada and the Sundance Film Festival from the United States – noting that it is planned for the Al Ain Film Festival to participate in some of these international festivals after its success at the Cannes Film Festival.