MUMBAI: A jury of eminent film professionals and cultural leaders will judge this year’s official competitions for professionals and students and the script competition for Emirati Short Films at the Gulf Film Festival, held under the patronage of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) chairman His Highness Sheikh Majid Bin.

The film competition jury is headed by Moroccan filmmaker Jillali Ferhati. He is joined by Saudi Arabian filmmaker and critic Mohammed Aldhahri; Emirati actor Ibrahim Salim; Yemeni filmmaker Khadija Al-Salami and International Film Festival artistic director Bratislava in Slovakia Matthieu Darras. The jury for the Script Competition comprises Qatari scriptwriter Widad Al Kuwairi, Saudi columnist Badriya Abdullah Al Bashar and UAE writer Amina Abu-Shehab.

The film jury will assess features, documentaries and shorts that are currently being short-listed for the in-competition section. GFF will present three prizes in each of the categories in the Official Competition for professionals, and for short and documentary categories in the Students Competition. There will be a special jury prize in both categories.

The script jury comprising three distinguished writers from the region will adjudicate the selected entries, awarding a total of AED 120,000 toward promising film projects from UAE Nationals. In all, awards worth AED 485,000 will be presented to professions and student filmmakers.

GFF festival director Masoud Amralla Al Ali said, "The jury for the in-competition section of Gulf Film Festival is a representative cross-section of Arab cinema and culture today, encompassing some of the most prominent cinematic figures this region has ever seen."

He added, "The in-competition sections at Gulf Film Festival are a true talent showcase of the finest cinema centred on life in the Gulf and by regional filmmakers. The recognition at the festival helps them to take these movies to a wider audience and strengthen the region’s film industry."