Cultural activist Masoud Amrallah applauds films in the Emerging Emiratis section that are taking up critical issues affecting nationals.
An indigenous minority without a documented past, a society that puts profit over life - Emirati films are taking shape and are starting to shape concerns engulfing UAE nationals, despite stereotypes of limitless wealth, a leading cultural activist said.
Masoud Amrallah, programmer for the Arabian Nights and Emerging Emiratis sections at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), said he saw a genuine dialogue taking place within Emirati films.
"Short Emirati films are developing. Before, a director would have been concerned in making a short film. Now films are putting forward extremely important issues and are caring more about the technical side as well," he said.
One important issue film makers were raising was "the country's demography in the absence of a real identity."
"We have no cinematic history, no history in pictures, to preserve how we lived 30 years ago, or a hundred years ago. There's no archive we can look through, so we are resdiscovering our pasts in new ways through short films."
Amrallah said UAE film makers were also playing a role in introducing expatriates to UAE society.
He said many thought UAE nationals were stereotypical - all wealthy, that we "drink petrol and drive big cars".
The UAE's ruthless commercial culture, and the wide gap between rich and poor among nationals was being explored through short films, Amrallah said.
"This society is alive. There's a lot of middle class and even poor people here. All some people know about us are big cars, but do they know how kids get them? The loans they take? Because this is a society that doesn't accept a UAE national to be poor. I think these problems are being dealt with through films."
He said the same culture put profit over life.
"I think that's seen in one of the films we are showing. A simple story about chicks being dyed a different and which ultimately kills them. This is about dealing with lives and souls - consuming them for profit even until death."
