Barriers to the dreams of individuals is dominant theme of films from Bahrain to be screened at the 5th Gulf Film Festival

At least six films from Bahrain will make their world premiere in the fifth Gulf Film Festival (GFF), the home of bold, contemporary and innovative cinema from the Arabian peninsula, to be held from April 10 to 16, 2012 at different venues in Dubai Festival City. The six films, and a seventh film making its Middle East premiere, are part of a 14-film tranche shortlisted from Bahrain at GFF. 

The Bahraini selection of films at GFF 2012 cover different genres including comedy, adventure, docudrama and experimental, highlighting the creative diversity that marks filmmaking in the Gulf island nation today. The remainder of the Bahraini films will be announced shortly. 

The dominant theme of the selection of short films, chosen from more than 21 submissions from Bahrain, is the barriers that individuals face in their quest to accomplish their dreams, and how under different situations – some as simple as the mischiefs of a rodent to others more complex that involve the society at large – they respond to the challenges. 

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Majid Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), GFF 2012 will screen the films for free to the public. 

The films from Bahrain that make their world premiere at GFF 2012 include Movement directed by Aisha Almuqla and Noora Kamal; Be a Man by Osama Al Saif; Gouli Ya Helou by Mohamed Janahi; Sokoon by Ammar Abdulla Al Kooheji; 301 by Mahmood Alshaikh; and the UAE-Bahrain co-production This is London by Mohammed BuAli. Mohammed Jassim’s The Last Drop of Oil will make its Middle East premiere. 

Movement is an experimental comedy portraying how family and society may control an individual’s decisions thus creating a barrier to fulfilling one’s dream, while Be A Man is the story of a man who must get away from his daily routine and take a decision that will help him achieve his goals. 

Gouli Ya Helou is a docudrama about a blind poverty-stricken musician, whose life is being researched by a young university student; and Sokoon is the gritty tale of two young girls who must face a tough destiny in a male-dominated society. 

How two people of different personalities and viewpoints react to the same test resulting in an inevitable conflict forms the theme of 301, while This is London is a comedy about a rodent that gets into the way of a couple’s mission to send a photograph of theirs to their son in London. This is London is the first film from the Festival’s Enjaaz Gulf shorts production support programme. 

The experimental movie, The Last Drop of Oil follows the trail of a man who has conserved a barrel of oil a long time ago. He recalls the place where he hid it but is surprised to find that it is empty. 

Masoud Amralla Al Ali, Festival Director, Gulf Film Festival, said: “Bahrain has witnessed sporadic experiments in filmmaking in the past. The industry is now emerging from the shadows and the evidence is in the number of submissions we received from the country, which demonstrate the growing interest in filmmaking in Bahrain. We are privileged to offer the platform for Bahraini filmmakers to showcase their films at GFF.”