GFF’s Lights’ films cast long shadows

The line-up for the Gulf Film Festival’s, ‘Lights’ programming segment, presents an array of 36 films from emerging artists around the Gulf region. The selection of Lights films, included in the 169 strong line-up, will be screened for free to the public throughout the festival duration from April 11 to 17 at Dubai Festival City.

The majority of the Lights segment films are from filmmakers based in the UAE, said Masoud Amralla Al Ali, GFF Festival Director: “The UAE is coming into its own as a filmmaking hub, and a rich cinema culture inspires artists to express themselves and offer up challenging new narratives that expose and illuminate the culture they live in. The Lights films will offer fresh new cinema for our audiences and the filmmakers are definitely part of an active new generation of artists that we will be hearing from for decades to come.”

From the UAE, two documentaries offer a window into the lives of the country’s young people. Souvenirs from Candy Land, by Amani Alowais, investigates rumours that an increasing number of young people in the UAE are using illegal substances, while Aisha Abdullah’s 69 voices young people’s concerns about their future goals and aspirations.