Ali Suliman, Actor, Abdullah Hassan Ahmed, Director, Olga Kurylenko, Actress and model, Georges Kern CEO IWC Schaffhausen
During this year’s Dubai International Film Festival, actress Olga Kurylenko presented the fifth IWC Schaffhausen Filmmaker Award to Abdullah Hassan Ahmed from the United Arab Emirates for his project ‘Sunrise’ during the ‘For the Love of Cinema’ gala event at the One & Only Royal Mirage in Dubai. The winner also received a grant of USD 100,000 for his project and an exclusive Portugieser Automatic from the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer at the 13th edition of DIFF.
‘Every year, we receive a diversity of excellent submissions for the IWC Filmmaker Award, and this year was no different. As always, it is our pleasure to support and encourage talented filmmakers from the region, in order for them to unleash their creativity and skill with their projects,’
comments Georges Kern,
CEO of IWC Schaffhausen.
This year, the film ventures were evaluated by a jury headed by American actor Ali Suliman. Other jury members included Georges Kern, DIFF Chairman Abdul Hamid Juma, and DIFF Artistic Director Masoud Amralla Al Ali. While the event’s master of ceremonies were IWC brand ambassador and television personality Raya Abirached, together with TV presenter Bassel Alzaro.
Hend Sabry, actress and IWC brand ambassador
The winner, ‘Sunrise’ tells the story of a worried father who receives tragic news about his son, who is fighting in a distant war. With a pregnant wife to take care of, he is unsure how to deliver the news without causing too much anguish. The two other projects shortlisted for the award were. ‘Salem’ by Arabic director Nujoom Alghanem, and ‘The Search for the Star Pearl’ by Qatari director Hafiz Ali Ali.
