Dubai director wins short film contest

Dubai-based filmmaker Kamil Roxas has been crowned the winner of The Reel Dubai short film contest for his film Hello World, which will now enjoy a screening at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The film is a poetic narrative on the rise of a city, its cultural landscape, the people and their stories. Roxas was mentored by acclaimed Emirati director Nayla Al Khaja (pictured) to develop the film.

The Reel Dubai competition, inspired by the #MyDubai initiative, was launched in February and invited filmmakers from across the UAE to create short films about the city. As part of the contest, six filmmakers were invited to create their own film with the help of distinguished Emirati filmmakers Ali F. Mostafa, Nayla Al Khaja and Mohammed Saeed Harib.

Other winners in the competition included Mohammed Njati for his film Within and Juleus Dmello for Coming Home.

To view the winning films, visit www.diff.ae