Nahda Foundation, Kino Pod Baranami in Krakow and Kino LAB in Warsaw presented Poland’s first review of films from the United Arab Emirates, which took place on April 15-17, 2016. The event, organized in collaboration with Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Emirati filmmakers, aims to present this little-known but dynamically developing cinema. The review will be attended by a special guest – the film director Nawaf Al Janahi.

The United Arab Emirates are associated mainly with oil, investment boom in recent years, ultra-modern skyscrapers of Dubai and Abu Dhabi or amazing man-made islands. It should be remembered, though, that this relatively small country of the Arabian Gulf – with less than 10 million citizens – is also an important center of Arab culture and the young, emerging cinema. Its birth dates back to the turn of the century and it is supported by the Dubai International Film Festival, organised since 2004, and the Abu Dhabi Film Festival initiated three years later.

The programme of the review included two feature films and one documentary, as well as a selection of short films. From A to B is a classic road movie – the route passes through the Arabian Peninsula and twists and turns of male friendship. Sea Shadow constitutes an intimate portrait of two boys whose dilemmas reflect the clash of traditional values and trends of modernization in the Emirati society. The film’s director, Nawaf Al Janahi, was the guest of the screening. As One, a feature-length documentary presents the participants of an art therapy project aimed at children suffering from autism, while the selection of four short films shows the diversity of styles and audiovisual languages among Emirati filmmakers.

The film review in Krakow was be accompanied by three special events – a lecture on the history of the United Arab Emirates at Kolanko No 6 (ul. Józefa 17), a meeting with Ahmed Abdalla Burhaima, Consul of the UAE in Poland at Collegium Maius (ul. Jagiellońska 15) and Breakfast with Emirati Cinema at Pauza In Garden (ul. Rajska 12), dedicated to the history of cinema of the country.

Emirati Film Review was organized under the honorary patronage of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Poland.

All the films were screened with Polish and English subtitles.