#WhyILoveUAE campaign is a short film competition for the public to share experience of living in the UAE

Abu Dhabi, UAE, October 7: – Image Nation Abu Dhabi, a leading media and entertainment company in the Middle East, is offering members of the public the chance to become filmmakers as part of a new competition celebrating life in the UAE.

The nationwide short film competition, #WhyILoveUAE, encourages budding filmmakers, students, amateurs and professionals to create short films shot on their cameras or smart phones capturing their personal experiences of living and working in the emirates.

The competition will lead up to the 44th annual UAE National Day, with the winning films being screened at VOX Cinemas around the country on December 2nd. The winners will also receive a film course scholarship at the New York Film Academy.

Gehad Darwish, Marketing Manager at Image Nation, said: “We are excited about the #WhyILoveUAE short film competition as it is a celebration of our country and a chance for the whole community to get involved – expats and locals alike.”

The #WhyILoveUAE campaign adds to Image Nation’s already bustling training and development division. The filmed entertainment company offers internships, international film school programs and amateur film competitions, Arab Film Studio and Arab Film Studio Docs.

Darwish added: “At Image Nation we’re always looking for talented filmmakers and this is a great platform for the public to be involved in – we may even uncover some unknown talents.”

The #WhyILoveUAE competition encourages individuals, creative groups, schools and universities from across the nation to participate.

The nationwide competition invites the public to submit videos that are up to one minute in length. The topic of the short films can be diverse, focusing on anything from UAE culture and traditions to lifestyle and experiences. The films can be in English or Arabic, as slice-of-life segments, short narratives, or poems.

The #WhyILoveUAE competition kicks off today and will run until mid-November, during which supporting film workshops and film networking events will be held in various locations. The campaign is being supported by twofour54 and will utilize The Smovies and Tempo platforms.

The judges for the competition include Emirati actor Mansoor Al Feeli (Zinzana), directors Nawaf Al Janahi (Sea Shadow), Khaled Al Mahmoud (Sabeel) and Nujoom Al Ghanem (Red, Blue, Yellow), as well as filmmaking instructors and veterans David Moore, Greg Unrau, Mohannad al Bakri, Dahlia Mahmoud and Michelle Nickelson.

“We are excited about the growing interest in community filmmaking and are thrilled to be adding value to this dynamic Image Nation initiative,” said Sana Bagersh, founder of The Smovies.

For more information see http://whyiloveuae.com/