The Zayed University Middle East Film Festival (ZUMEFF) and the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) announced that they will work together to support young Arab and UAE students.Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance and President of Zayed University, said: “We are very happy to intensify our strategic partnership with DIFF. It allows us to have special screenings in Dubai for the first time in 2017.” The main festival screenings will be held at Zayed University’s Abu Dhabi Campus on 30 April - 1 May 2017 and will be open to the public.
Shivani Pandya, Managing Director of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), said: “Supporting the next generation of filmmakers from across the region is paramount to DIFF’s commitment to helping the Arab film industry flourish. The Zayed University Middle East Film Festival shares this passion and we are delighted to be working with them to inspire young talent and ensure tomorrow’s industry will be just as strong as today’s.”ZUMEFF is a Middle East wide film festival for students by students in the Zayed University College of Communication and Media Sciences (CCMS). Now in its 8th year, it showcases the best films from universities across the region. Throughout the last eight years ZUMEFF has increasingly gained recognition at international film festivals.“Showing our movies at festivals such as the Malmö Arab Film Festival in Sweden, the Zanzibar International Film Festival in Tanzania, the Arab Film Festival in Tübingen, Germany and the Arab Film Festival in San Francisco in the US provides a great opportunity to reinforce a positive image of Arab youth,”Sascha Ritter, ZUMEFF Director and Instructor at the College of Communication and Media Sciences, said.
Call for Films
“We are delighted to announce that submissions are now open for ZUMEFF 2017,” stated Ritter. “We are looking forward to receiving documentary, narrative, and animated films,” Ritter added. Films can be submitted online atwww.zumeff.com. ZUMEFF accepts submissions from across the Middle East and North Africa as well as students of Middle Eastern origin who are studying abroad as long as they were made by students at universities, colleges or higher learning institutions in the past 18 months.The deadline for submissions is 31 January 2017.
About ZUMEFF
The Zayed University Middle East Film Festival (ZUMEFF) is a Middle East wide film festival for students by students. Now in its 8th year, it showcases that best films from universities across the region.Top prizes are determined by student and industry judges in four categories: Best of the Best, Best Narrative, Best Documentary and Best Animation.ZUMEFF was established in 2010 as a Zayed University College of Communication and Media Sciences graduation project by AlYazyah Al Falasi, Reema Majed and Faculty Director Alia Yunis, with the aim to showcase students’ films and encourage young filmmakers in the region.
Sponsors/Partners:
Dubai International Film Festival, Adobe Middle East &Grapheast, Park Rotana Abu Dhabi, Fast Rent A Car, International Filmmaking Academy Bologna, UAE National Film Library and Archive and Zayed University.
About Zayed University
Zayed University is today the premier national university in the United Arab Emirates and a regional leader in educational innovation and change. It has created and implemented a skills-rich, outcome-based general education program that systemically develops student skills, knowledge, and values associated with liberal learning and provided a solid foundation for pursuit of disciplinary majors and future careers. Zayed University welcomes national and international students, and provides them with a high quality education, offered by seasoned teaching scholars to prepare them to shape the future of the United Arab Emirates.Zayed University offers Undergraduate and Graduate degrees in the following Colleges: College of Arts & Creative Enterprises (recognized as substantially equivalent by NASAD), College of Business (Accredited by AACSB), College of Communication & Media Sciences (Accredited by ACEJMC), College of Education (Accredited by NCATE), College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Natural and Health Sciences, and College of Technological Innovation (Accredited by ABET).