Cate Blanchett will head the IWC Filmmakers Jury for the sixth IWC Filmmaker Award at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). Making her third appearance on the DIFF red carpet, Cate Blanchett and the Jury panel will select a win­ning project from the shortlisted entries. The award gives cinematic talent from the region the chance to bring their projects to the silver screen, with A USD 100,000 cash awarded to one feature-length film pro­ject in development to help the winning filmmaker bring their idea to fruition on the big screen.

“Filmmaking is an integral part of cul­tural creation – it is an art form that allows us to look in the mirror and gives us an important opportunity for reflection," said IWC CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr. “Being storytellers ourselves, we deeply appreciate the creativity, courage and passion that talented filmmakers invest in their work to enchant and captivate their audi­ences. IWC is a passionate brand and our involvement in this festival is for the love of cinema. For this reason, we are proud to support yet another promising film project with the sixth IWC Filmmaker Award in December.

DIFF Chairman Abdulhamid Juma added: “Each year, the bar is set higher by the scripts we receive for the IWC Filmmaker Award and our expert jury members have tough decisions to make. We are privileged to welcome back an icon of the silver screen to Dubai to lend her insight to the distin­guished jury and inspire new emerging talent from the re­gion.”

THE 2017 NOMINEES AND THEIR PROJECTS:

Nayla Al Khaja: Animal
From pioneering Emirati director, screenwriter and producer Nayla Al Khaja comes a personal tale of the toll a tumultuous home environment can take on a fragile child. Animal is set in Al Matina, an old neighbourhood of Dubai, where an upper middle class household is ruled by its unstable and cruel patriarch. Following the lives of four family members – father, mother, daughter and son – and the family’s two domestic helpers, the audience quickly grasps the tempestuous mood swings the other members of the home are forced to endure, and the extreme anxiety this can create. To escape their harsh reality, the two siblings shape a parallel world fuelled by creativity, pranks and imagination. Each outburst from their father drives the siblings further into their own world, forcing their already distraught mother to try to take action before it’s too late.

Mohamed Rashed Buali: Kombars
Self-made Bahraini filmmaker and recipient of a Biennale di Venezia Golden Lion Mohamed Rashed Buali returns to the IWC Filmmaker Award with Kombars. The film follows Bader, a widower in his forties who works as an office boy at a ministry and spends his spare time taking on acting jobs to earn additional income. He lives with his father, who is in his seventies and recently married a 25-year-old expatriate woman. Bader is also looking for a new wife with the aid of a matchmaker, but the process is slow due to his limited funds. By a stroke of luck, Bader learns that he is now the proud owner of a women’s lingerie shop, following the death of his aunt. However, he is also given the news that his spot on the government housing benefit list, which he has been on for 15 years, will be lost as he is no longer married. He is given one month to find a wife and marry, otherwise his spot will be gone.

Haifaa Al Mansour: Miss Camel
Haifaa Al Mansour is Saudi Arabia’s first female filmmaker and has received critical acclaim for her fearless take on taboos and controversial issues. Her new project, Miss Camel, tells the story of Hayla, a blossoming Saudi teen who will do anything to escape her arranged marriage and fulfil her goal of attending art school outside of Saudi Arabia. While scheming to make her way to the in-person interviews for the art college in a neighbouring Gulf state, Hayla makes a startling discovery at her cousin’s wedding – she can talk to animals. Melwah, a beautiful camel that she sees every day with a cute Bedouin boy named Isa, confronts her about her plan and convinces Hayla to accompany her to the Miss Camel beauty pageant across the border. Assuming Hayla has stolen Melwah, Isa follows them on their dangerous and exciting desert trek. 

Muzna Almusafer: The Crown of Olives
Making her return to DIFF is award-winning and Enjaaz-supported Omani filmmaker Muzna Almusafer, with her captivating feature, The Crown of Olives. Inspired by the sleepy city of Muscat, the story follows Reem, who arrives in the Omani capital from the olive fields of Morocco. Reem works in a brothel as a dancer until a chance encounter with Marwa, a henna painter at her beauty salon, sees the two strike up a friendship. Marwa invites Reem to lunch at her house where she asks her mother if Reem can stay with them. Reem moves into the Omani house shortly after, where she meets Rahma, Marwa’s younger sister. The two immediately connect and become close friends, causing Marwa’s envy to rise. Their friendship continues to destabilize after a double date with Marwa and her boyfriend Ismael starts a whirlwind romance between Reem and Ismael’s friend Nizar. After Ismael informs Marwa that they can never wed, her emotional turmoil and need for revenge is suddenly aimed at Reem.

Winning scripts in previous years have from Emirati directors Abdullah Hassan Ahmed and Layla Kaylif, Kuwaiti director Abdullah Boushahri, and British-Iraqi director Maysoon Pachachi.

The IWC Filmmaker Award will be presented to the win­ning filmmaker at a star-studded gala on 7 December 2017, during the 14th edition of DIFF (6 to 13 December 2017).

About Cate Blanchett
Acclaimed actress and two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett has a long and illustrious career featuring in an array of successful films including The Aviator, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Carol and Blue Jasmine. The Australian actress has broken multiple Academy Awards records, including being the only actress in history to be nominated more than once for the same role, having played Elizabeth I in both Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007).

About IWC Schaffhausen
With a clear focus on technology and development, the Swiss watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen has been producing timepieces of lasting value since 1868. The company has gained an international reputation based on a passion for innovative solutions and technical ingenuity. One of the world’s leading brands in the luxury watch seg­ment, IWC crafts masterpieces of haute horlogerie at their finest, combining supreme precision with exclusive de­sign. As an ecologically and socially responsible company, IWC is committed to sustainable production, supports in­stitutions around the globe in their work with children and young people, and maintains partnerships with organiza­tions dedicated to climate and environmental protection.

About Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF)
The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) is the leading film festival in the Middle East and Africa. Since its incep­tion in 2004, the festival has served as an influential plat­form for Arab filmmakers and talent at an international level by spearheading the cinema movement in the region.