Through its annual award, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) further confirms its support for Arab filmmakers to produce films that shed light on societal issues. This comes from the acknowledgement of the cinema’s role in reaching a broad range of community members and as part of the Ministry’s partnership with the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).

Lieutenant Colonel Faisal Mohammed Al Shammari, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for the Ministry of Interior’s Cinematic Awards (MOICA), commented on the MoI’s collaboration with the DIFF and partnership with Enjaaz, the Dubai Film Market’s post-production program. “This partnership plays a vital role in reaching the noble goals of the award, which utilizes the cinema as a tool to disseminate culture, knowledge, and educational methods in a bid to improve the community.” He further pointed out the cinema’s prominent role in shaping societal values, traditions, and arts: “film is an effective way to deliver guidance, counseling, and cultural enlightenment. Overall, it has the ability to significantly raise the level of awareness regarding societal issues.”

For his part, Abdulhamid Juma, the Chairman of the Dubai International Film Festival, stressed the importance of the award in supporting filmmakers and Arabic projects that will have a significant impact on the public. He added: “There is no doubt that the cinema has an exceptional ability to communicate and interact with the public, come up with new ideas, and open the door for dialogue and discussion between the various society segments. We hope to see strong and successful cinematic works from the Arab world through this initiative, ones that reflect the spirit of this initiative and its objectives”. 

Within the framework of the partnership between the MoI and DIFF, the Ministry of Interior’s Cinematic Awards (MOICA) will be supporting the Enjaaz program; which was launched under the the Dubai Film Market (DFM) in 2009 and provides support for Arabic projects during post-production stages. This program enables Arab directors to complete their films. It also extends its support to reach Arabic talents and to provide them with the necessary tools to produce competitive Arabic works in the global arena.

The committee for the MOICA focuses on supporting substantial fiction and documentary projects that highlight societal issues in their broadest and most comprehensive sense. Most importantly, the committee looks for issues related to the following: security of society, child protection from various types of abuse, road safety, drug addiction and its negative impact on the individual’s life and society, natural disasters, and cybercrimes.

It is worth mentioning that the award is worth $100,000 and is awarded annually to a maximum of four cinematic projects.  During the 11th Dubai International Film Festival, the Ministry awarded the first award to Emirati director Saeed Salmeen Al Murry for his film ‘Going to Heaven’. The film, currently in production, highlights the social issue of family disintegration and isolation from a child’s perspective.

Submissions for the Enjaaz program are now open through 1 Aug. All applications for fiction and non-fiction projects produced by Arab directors, or those of Arab descent, can be submitted on the festival’s website: www.dubaifilmfest.com.

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