With all the political upheavals in the Middle East, film festivals in the Gulf are becoming Arab cinema’s main driver. The Abu Dhabi Film Festival spearheads this effort in several ways, besides being positioned at the start of the sweltering area’s fest season (Oct. 24-Nov. 2). Abu Dhabi, now in its seventh edition, was the first fest in the Middle East-North Africa (MENA) region to program Arab movies in competition alongside pics from the rest of the world, a key aspect of the fest’s vision that continues under current artistic director Ali Al Jabri, now in his second year. The goal, Al Jabri says, is to provide the audience with the best Arab and international films from the first half of the year, making for a unique blend of titles. Abu Dhabi auds are a unique mix of Arabs and expats from around the globe, and the event is practically their only chance to see on a bigscreen films that aren’t either Hollywood or Bollywood blockbusters.
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