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'The other Iftar': UAE documentary to be showcased at film festivals

Dubai - A locally created documentary on Iftar features blue-collared workers to high-level administrators of diverse faiths who observe Ramadan.

This year, we'll be celebrating Ramadan differently. A local cinema crew is highlighting not just this fact, but also the need to be utmost grateful during these testing times. Their 10-minute documentary titled 'The Other Iftar' cites the ever more prominent fact that not too long ago we had the privilege to socialise and break bread with our loved ones as we visited each others' home.



The documentary was completed in December 2019 and will now over the next 12 months be sent as an entry to local and international film festivals before making maiden premiere in UAE, soon after.

The documentary features subjects ranging from blue-collared workers to high-level administrators of diverse faiths who observe Ramadan. A local production, it was selected in Lift-Off film festival 2020 and has also been sent as an entry (UAE film category) for the Emirates Short Film Festival 2020. "The documentary examines how in today's highly commercial environment, the less fortunate and the well-off both break their fast. It explores the similarities as well as the differences. It shows how the experience is rooted in the same faith, the same fundamental concepts," shares Mir Imran Hussain, director. "I believe that this documentary now goes beyond the showcasing of simple ways to honour Iftar as a community, by indirectly highlighting the fact that we need to continue to be grateful for our time, freedom and opportunity in this country," says Joaquim Gonsalves, DOP.
purva@khaleejtimes.com