Photo courtesy of Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

Doha Film Institute (DFI) will host an industry lunch at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival on 14 October in honour of GCC filmmakers and participants in the Emirates Film Competition.

The event is aimed at fostering a strong relationship between two of the Gulf’s key cultural organisations.

“We’re very excited about Abu Dhabi Film Festival this year,” said Mahdi Ali Ali, DFI’s Gulf Film Development manager. “With Doha Tribeca Film Festival around the corner, and the Dubai Film Festival coming up, it’s important to work together in encouraging the region’s filmmakers. The DFI lunch will provide networking opportunities and a chance for filmmakers to share their visions.”

DFI launched its new Gulf Development Unit (GDU) earlier this year with several programmes to provide the region’s filmmakers with courses, activities and material to enhance their skills.

In July, the GDU launched a screenwriting course – ‘Hezayah’. Lebanese director Ziad Doueri (‘West Beirut’) and script analyst Christian Routh lead the ongoing workshop. Last month, Emirati director Abdullah Hassan Ahmed taught a group of students, some from neighbouring GCC countries, how to produce a short film.