I Am Nojoom, Nearby Sky win top awards at Dubai Int Film Fest

HEADLINES  I Am Nojoom, Nearby Sky win top awards at DIFF  DFM unveils first acquisition deals  Al Murry wins first Ministry of Interior Award  DIFF’s Cinetech to extend beyond festival  Breish sips Mate with Germany’s Filmbucht Latest News  I Am Nojoom, Nearby Sky win top awards at DIFF Khadija Al-Salami’s I Am Nojoom, Age 10 And Divorced was awarded best fiction film in the Muhr Feature competition at this year’s Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), while Nujoom Al Ghanem’s Nearby Sky won the award for best non-fiction film.  DFM unveils first acquisition deals Dolphins, Abood Kandaishan and Cairo Time are the among the first titles set to be released theatrically in the Middle East thanks to the Dubai Film Market’s new distribution programme.  Al Murry wins first Ministry of Interior Award Emirati filmmaker Saeed Salmeen Al Murry has won the inaugural Ministry of Interior Award for Best Societal Screenplay at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) for his project Going To Heaven.  DIFF’s Cinetech to extend beyond festival The 11th edition of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) closes today, but film industry professionals will be able to watch many of the Arab films in the selection online for the next nine months.  Breish sips Mate with Germany’s Filmbucht Lebanese filmmaker Bass Breish is gearing up to make his feature debut, Mate, with German production house Filmbucht Filmproduktion. Interview  Daoud Abdel Sayed, Out Of The Ordinary Egyptian filmmaker Daoud Abdel Sayed talks to Liz Shackleton about working with child actors and tackling the supernatural in his latest film, Out Of The Ordinary, which is premiering at DIFF.  Jan-Willem van Ewijk, Atlantic Dutch director Jan-Willem van Ewijk explains to Melanie Goodfellow how a passion for windsurfing in Morocco was the inspiration for his film Atlantic.  Khadija Al-Salami, I Am Nojoom, Age 10 And Divorced Yemeni director Khadija Al-Salami tells Melanie Goodfellow about her struggle to bring the issue of child brides to the big screen in I Am Nojoom, Age 10 And Divorced.  Nujoom Al Ghanem, Nearby Sky Emirati filmmaker Nujoom Al Ghanem talks to Liz Shackleton about how she worked with trail-blazing camel owner Fatima Ali Alhameli and building a film industry in the Emirates.  The Imitation Game: Cracking the code The Imitation Game brings the story of a little-known hero, who changed the course of the Second World War, to the big screen. Andreas Wiseman talks to the team behind the film.