The annual Abu Dhabi Film Festival is to be discontinued, the Media Zone Authority-Abu Dhabi has announced.
The authority says it is retaining its SANAD fund and added in a statement: "The Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF) is being brought to a close in order to focus on future targeted initiatives to further support local and Arab filmmakers and attract more film productions to Abu Dhabi and the region. The move marks the next phase in the Capital’s maturing film industry."
The move comes after just eight editions of the festival, which began in 2007 as the Middle East International Film Festival.
The authority's chief executive Noura Al Kaabi said: “Over the last few years we have built a strong foundation for a self-sustaining film and television industry. It is now the right time to deepen our commitment and further develop programmes to take the local industry to the next level.
"We attracted several major international and regional productions to shoot in the Emirate over the past two years alone, which brought large-scale investment, further built the film industry infrastructure in the region, and created significant opportunities for local talent. These projects include Universal Pictures’ Fast and Furious 7 and Disney’s Star Wars: Episode VII, as well as regional productions Al Ikhwa, Iftah Ya Simsim and ET Bil Arabi.”
Al Kaabi also noted that the UAE continues to be represented at international film festivals through Dubai International Film Festival and Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival.
