Written by Reem Saleh, New Media, DFI

The 5th edition of the Gulf Film Festival kicks of tomorrow until the 16th of April in Dubai’s Festival City. This year, the festival will showcase 155 films from 40 nations, aiming at celebrating the highest standards of Gulf cinema. The objective, as always, is to develop local and regional film culture and allow filmmakers to screen their films and develop future projects.

The festival will open with the Kuwaiti feature “Tora Bora” directed by Walid Al Awadi. The film revolves around a young man’s decision to join extremist forces in Afghanistan, and his parents’ agonising search for him. The film is competing in the festival’s Gulf features competition. “Tora Bora” which debuted at the Cannes Film Market and was screened to critical acclaim in Kuwait, will make its international premiere in Dubai.

There are a number of films we’ll be reviewing over the course of the festival. These include the Iraqi feature “In My Mother’s Arms”, directed by Array Array and “Halabja – The Lost Children”, about a young man called Ali who, twenty-one years after Saddam Hussein’s gas attack in 1988, returns to Halabja looking for his lost family. The United Arab Emirates is represented by several promising films, including “Amal” directed by Nujoom Alghanem.

As each year, the Doha Film Institute will be present at the festival, attending films, industry panels and meeting up with filmmakers to share the best of the films on offer.

For a full list of films, please visit http://www.gulffilmfest.com/.