Submissions for the prestigious Muhr Awards, the in-competition honours at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) 2010, will close on August 31.

Filmmakers from across the Arab world, Asia and Africa can submit their entries at www.dubaifilmfest.com. This year, DIFF has also introduced the Muhr Awards for Emirati filmmakers to recognise UAE-based filmmaking talent.

The entries will be evaluated by a jury of eminent film professionals during DIFF’s seventh edition to be held from December 12 to 19, 2010. In all, the Muhr Awards carry a prize money of about $600,000, which will be distributed at the closing ceremony of DIFF 2010.

DIFF artistic director Masoud Amralla Al Ali said that the response to the Muhr Awards has been overwhelming. “We have received entries from around the world, highlighting the increasing appeal of DIFF’s in-competition awards as a mark of excellence in filmmaking in the UAE, Arab world, Asia and Africa. The Muhr Awards have been a stepping stone to global recognition for its past winners, and open new windows of opportunity and a flourishing film career for the filmmakers.”

The Muhr Awards are presented in three segments: Muhr Arab Awards honouring the finest features, documentaries and shorts from the Arab world; the Muhr AsiaAfrica Awards for the best in cinema from Asia and Africa, and the Muhr Awards for Emirati filmmakers.

Cash prizes and the coveted Muhr trophy will be handed over in the categories of Feature, Documentary and Short films. Entries towards the Muhr Arab competition are also eligible for the Prize of the International Critics offered by the prestigious International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), a DIFF partner. 

The Awards for features include: Best Film, Special Jury Prize, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Scriptwriter, Best Editor, Best Composer and Best Cinematographer.

The Awards in Documentary are: First Prize; Special Jury Prize and Second Prize; and the awards in Short Films are: First Prize; Special Jury Prize and Second Prize.

For the Muhr Awards for Emirati filmmakers, 15 Emirati films including feature, short and documentary will be short-listed for the first, second and third prize from any of the three filmmaking categories. The segment has a total prize money of Dh75,000.

Films eligible for the Muhr Arab and AsiaAfrica Awards must be directed by an Arab, Asian or African filmmaker and the subject and storyline of the film must be centered on the Arab, Asian or African world and/or history and culture for the respective competitions.

They must be produced after September 1, 2009 and must not have been screened in the Gulf region for any audiences before DIFF, with the exception of projects that have participated in the third edition of the Gulf Film Festival (GFF).

Films from outside of the Gulf region must be Gulf premieres and films from the Gulf region must be UAE premieres. Until the end of DIFF, films must not have been broadcasted via television, internet, mobile phone or any other public viewing platform.

Shortlisted projects will be announced in November 2010, and films that do not meet with the competition criteria and have not been screened in the UAE can be submitted for consideration in DIFF’s ‘Out of Competition’ segments.

Last year, DIFF received over 900 entries from more than 62 nations across Asia, Africa, the Americas, Australia and Europe in three categories for the Muhr Awards.

DIFF 2010 is held in association with Dubai Studio City and supported by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority. Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Pearl, Emirates Airline and Madinat Jumeirah are the principal sponsors of DIFF.  -TradeArabia News Service