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Eclectic mix of films at MEIFF

THE MAIN COMPETITION for feature movies at the Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF) this year is packed with Arab productions, as opposed to mostly Western ones last year.

During the 10-day festival, October 10-19, the narrative competition will feature 15 movies, many of them world premieres.

'Beirut: Open City' (Lebanon) directed by Samir Habachi tells a political story about an Egyptian film director who goes to Beirut to shoot a movie about repression in the Arab world.

'Fawzia: a special blend' (Egypt) directed by Magdi Ahmed Ali is a social drama, about four poverty-stricken women.

'Gulabi Talkies' (India) directed by Girish Kasaravalli tells the story of Gulabi, a midwife, who is passionate about watching films.

'Hasiba' (Syria), directed by Remon Butros has a feminine story, but with a historical background, as several women from Damascus aspire to a better future after the 1927 and 1950 historical events.

'Henna' is a UAE production directed by Saleh Karama the film tells the story of Henna, who suffers because of her parents' divorce.

In 'Laila's Birthday' directed by Rashid Masharawi a father struggles to reach his daughter's birthday party on time.

'Mermaid' (Russia) directed by Anna Melikyan tells the fantastical tale of Alisa, who believes she can make wishes come true.

'O'Horten' (Norway) directed by Bent Hamer examines the challenging times of Horten, who has reached retirement and doesn't know what to do next.

'On a day like today' directed by Amr Salama tells the story of May, whose life falls apart when her fiancée is killed in a tragic accident caused by her brother.

'Wild Blood' (Italy) directed by Marco Tullio Giordana is the story of Osvaldo Valenti and Luisa Ferida, a famous (or rather infamous) couple on and off screen, whose lives have a tendency towards promiscuity.

'Terra Nova' directed by Alexander Melnik is set in the year 2013, when the death penalty has been abolished all over the world.

'Terribly Happy' (Denmark) directed by Henrik Ruben Genz is about Copenhagen police officer Robert Hansen, who is transferred to the small suburban town of Skarrild.

'Time of Comrades' directed by Mohamed Chrif Tribak tells the story of Rahil, who decides against her family's will to go on with her studies at a university.

'Yellow Handkerchief' (USA) directed by Udayan Prasad is about three strangers from two generations, bound by loneliness, who embark on an emotional journey through Louisiana.

The last movie in the competition is 'Zara' directed by Ayten Mutlu Saray where two friends, Mirka and Nursa, set out to find Mirka's home village of Zara in the Kurdish heartland.