In its 7th edition running between 22 and 30 January, the Reel Palestine Film Festival brings numerous features, documentaries and short films to the audiences of Dubai, UAE.

Many of the films screened this year make their UAE premiere, showcasing the programme at arthouse Akil Cinema, an independent venue located in Dubai.

They include films either directed by Palestinian filmmakers or tackling issues of Palestinian people, including features such as 200 Metres by Ameen Nayfeh, Between Heaven and Earth by Najwa Najjar, Mayor by David Osit and Kamal Boullata: Stranger at Home by Rudolf van den Berg.

Among the highlights of the section 'Touch - Shorts', dedicated to short films, is the multi award-winning short film The Present by Farah Nabulsi.

The segment, 'Lights of Gaza' presents three short documentaries: Tour de Gaza by Flavia Cappellini, When Things Occur by Oraib Toukan and To My Father by Abdel-Salam Shehada.

Other short films are screened within 'Through the Wire shorts' focus on experimental films such as Give Up the Ghost directed by Zain Duraie, The Silent Protest: Jerusalem 1929 by Mahasen Nasser-Eldin, The White Elephant by Shuruq Harb, Moonscape by Mona Benyamin, The Children & The Wolf directed by Omar Jabareen, and The Return of Osiris by Essa Grayeb.

Finally, a series of shorts is also showcased within Third Eye, a diverse mix of five short documentaries and one-stop motion short films.

"Reel Palestine is an annual film festival in the UAE bringing Palestinian stories in the artistic form of independent and alternative cinema.

First held in 2015, Reel Palestine is ever growing as a result of the labor of love driven by the community for sharing stories and heritage primarily through film," the festival organisers explain on the website.

The website adds that this community-driven film festival is run by "volunteers and a passion for cinema. Reel Palestine’s 7th edition takes place in collaboration with our long term partner Cinema Akil, the GCC’s only arthouse cinema. We have been building a community in the United Arab Emirates and around the world by bringing the best of cinema from Palestine and its diaspora."

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