Under the patronage of Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna Bint Khaled Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance and President of Zayed University, the 7th edition of Zayed University Middle East Film Festival (ZUMEFF) will take place on May 1 – 2at Zayed University Abu Dhabi.The top five finalists will be recognized and honored in an awarding ceremony that will take place at Abu Dhabi campus on May 2.The 16 ZUMEFF Finalistsare now in the hands offour industry judges: Majid Al Ansari, Director Zinana, & Arab Filmmaker Of The Year, AlaaKarkouti, Film Analyst, MAD & Arab Cinema Center, ButheinaKazim, Co-Founder of Cinema Akil and John Kochanczyk, Producer & Sound Editor at Mile Studio.They will choose the Best of the Best, Best Narrative, Best Animation and Best Documentary Film, in addition to the twofour54/ZUMEFF Aspiring UAE Filmmaker Award. The finalists are from seven countries including Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Iran, Jordan and the UAE.
“ZUMEFF plays an important role in the exchange of ideas and approaches to filmmaking between the UAE and the students of ZU and international, especially regional, submissions. The submissions this year were marked by a strong sense of sociopolitical preoccupation on the one end of the spectrum and a deep introspective perspective on the other end. The selected films exhibited beginnings of many stronger future projects to come” says ButheinaKazim, Co-Founder of Cinema Akil.Majid Al Ansari, Arab Filmmaker of the Year says: " I am so honored to be part of this year's ZUMEFF Jury. The festival is a great platform to recognize the future generation filmmakers from the Arab world."The two-day event will be open to the public, who will enjoy watching around fifty films from 12 countries in the festival. “We are very happy with more than 160 submissions that we received this year and we feel privileged to showcase the work of the young and talented Arab directors. It is great to see the festival grow year by year" says Sascha Ritter, the Faculty Director of ZUMEFF.ZUMEFF’s sponsors and partners this year areEtihad Airways, Park Rotana Abu Dhabi, Fast Rent A Car, twofour54, Adobe Middle East &Grapheast, Bin Hamoodah Auto, FakrahAlwan, Dubai International Film Festival, The Scene Club, Arab Cinema Center, #SupportArabCinema, Abela, Mile Studios, UAE National Film Library and Archive and Zayed University.
About the ZUMEFF 2016 Industry Judges
MAJID AL ANSARI -Director, Arab Filmmaker of the Year
Majid’s film career began when he joined Image Nation Abu Dhabi as a young intern with a passion for filmmaking. After his internship, Majid worked on the Image Nation films Sea Shadow and Djinn in various roles and became an executive on the 2014 film, From A to B. Majid’s first short film, The Intruder, screened at 34 festivals around the world.His feature film debut Zinzana had rave reviews and Variety named Majid “The Arab Filmmaker Of The Year” at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival.
ALAA KARKOUTI - Film Analyst, MAD & ACC
Alaa is a renowned Film Analyst and an influential professional within the cinema and entertainment industry in the Arab world.His expertise in cinema analysis has provided him with many opportunities to participate in various panels and juries in film festivals worldwide. He established three cinema magazines between 2000 and 2010.Moreover, Alaa publishes the annual list of the 50 most powerful people working in the film business across the Arab world, which is the first listing of its kind in the Arab world.
BUTHEINA KAZIM - Co-Founder Cinema Akil
ButheinaKazim is the co-founder of Cinema Akil, a Dubai-based independent cinema. She was a Fulbright scholar of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University (NYU) in New York from 2011-2013 and has worked as a project manager in television and radio stations in the UAE.
Butheina has been involved in programming several film series including Abu Dhabi Film Festival at The Pavilion Downtown Dubai, Cinema Akil Pop Up at the Third Line and Cinema Akil at Market Outside the Box. She is also the producer of short documentary film Letters to Palestine which has been screened in festivals in Argentina, Spain, Palestine and Canada.
JOHN KOCHANCZYK - Producer, Sound Editor at Miles Studio
John Kochanczyk is a Sound Designer, Audio Systems Mixing and a Post Production expert. He has been practicing sound for over 10 years, and has delivered several projects covering the spectrum from live and theatrical audio to commercials, music videos and narrative filmmaking.
John also has a teaching experience at New York Film Academy, Abu Dhabi and now works at Mile Studios where he provides sound for feature films, documentaries, music videos and television commercials
About ZUMEFF
The Zayed University Middle East Film Festival (ZUMEFF) is a Middle East wide film festival for students by students. Now in its 6th year, it showcases that best films from universities across the region. The festival screenings will be on 1-2 May 2016.Top prizes are determined by student and industry judges in five categories: Best of the Best, Best Narrative, Best Documentary, Best Animation and the twofour54/ZUMEFF Award for Best Aspiring UAE Filmmaker.Winners are flown to Abu Dhabi to take part in a closing event attended by regional filmmakers and celebrities.ZUMEFF is organized as a class, in which students do the marketing, film evaluations, event organization, artwork and printing, outreach, advertising and public relations.ZUMEFF was established in 2010 as a graduation project by AlYazyah Al Falasi, ReemaMajed and Faculty Director Alia Yunis, with the aim to showcase students’ films and encourage young filmmakers in the region. The current ZUMEFF director is Sascha Ritter.Website: http://www.zumeff.com/
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 Sustainability Sciences & Humanities, and College of Technological Innovation (Accredited by ABET).