His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum presented the Muhr Awards to the winners, which was held during a celebratory ceremony that took place in the Souk Madinat Theatre at Madinat Jumeirah on the closing day of DIFF that took place from December 6-13.

Winning the Best Director in the Muhr Emirati category was Abdullah Aljunaibi for his thrilling film ‘Camera’, winner of the Best Emirati Feature went to ‘Sharp Tools’ directed by Nujoom Alghanem, whilst ‘Escape’ directed by Hana Alshateri and Yaser Al Neyadi was named Best Muhr Emirati Short. In the Muhr Short category, Special Jury Prize went to Cyril Aris for ‘The President’s Visit’ and the Best Muhr Short went to gifted director Mahdi Fleifel for ‘The Drowning Man’. In the Muhr Gulf Short category, Best Muhr Gulf Short went to the deserving Ulaa Salim for ‘Fædreland (Land of Our Fathers)’, and Dhyaa Joda was awarded the Special Jury Prize for her compelling film ‘Sabyea’.

Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais, Founder and Group CEO, Quantum Global Group, on Muhr Awards at the 14thedition of Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF): “As we are seeking to build a presence in Dubai, it is natural for me to invest in film, and in particular local Arab and Emirati film making through the Muhr Award. Film is such a powerful tool for cultural expression and exchange, so it is interesting to me that indigenous film making is growing so strongly, both in the Arab world and in Africa, as in Nollywood for example. ”

The Muhr Feature category saw Lucien Bourjeily awarded the Special Jury Prize for his feature ‘Heaven Without People’, while Ziad Khalthoum was presented with the Best Muhr Non-Fiction Feature prize for ‘Taste of Cement’, and winner of the Best Muhr Fiction Feature was handed to Annemarie Jacir for ‘Wajib’. Taking home Best Actress in the Feature category was Menha El Batroui, for her role in ‘Cactus Flower’, and she was joined by Mohammad Bakri and Saleh Bakri as a joint Best Actor award for ‘Wajib’. Best Director was presented to Sofia Djama for her outstanding film ‘The Blessed’.

Masoud Amralla Al Ali, DIFF Artistic Director, said: “The Muhr competition has grown with the festival, and since its inception we have been able to see the variety and strength of talent from across the region continue to evolve. The 2017 edition certainly raised the bar and the esteemed jury members really had their work cut out in selecting the winners. On behalf of DIFF, I would like to extend our sincere congratulations to the deserving winners whose bold undertakings have told fascinating stories and shared regional perspectives with DIFF audiences. We are excited to see what is in store for these talented individuals, and will no doubt welcome them back to future Festival editions.”