Abu Dhabi film festival kicks start tomorrow

Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2011 kicks start tomorrow , Friday featuring 200 movies from 45 countries with the main focus on Arabic cinema production. Vice-Chairman or the organizing committee Mohammad Al-Mazrouei, speaking at a news conference here Thursday said that Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) was exerting efforts to back creativity, cultural diversity combined with local traditions in order to boost Abu Dhabi's status as a cultural hub in the region. In five years, he added, Abu Dhabi Film Festival succeeded in being an open forum for Arab and Western movie stars, thus paving way for discovering new talents in the region. Al-Mazrouei cited the establishment of "Sanad" fund which financed 50 cinema projects so far. ADACH's Director of Special Projects Eissa Al-Mazrouei, meanwhile, said the UAE's film contest were designed for the GCC movies. Eissa Al-Mazrouei said the UAE's film contest was launched in 2001 and was thus one of the first competitions for movies in the Arab Gulf country.