Tropfest Arabia, the short film festival set to open on 26 October in Abu Dhabi, announced its jury members on Tuesday.

Jury members include the Egyptian filmmaker, Amr Salama; Emirati animator and Chairman of Lammtara, Mohamed Saeed Harib; Kuwaiti film producer and director, Amer Al-Zuhair; Jordanian actress and producer, Seba Mubarak; Syrian actress and filmmaker, Kinda Alloush; Lebanese musician and composer, Khaled Mouzanar; and Saudi Arabia’s first female filmmaker, Haifaa Al-Mansour.

Tropfest Arabia “aims to become one of the most influential and popular short film events on the region’s film circuit; helping to nurture the region’s growing film-making community by taking a grassroots approach and supporting first time filmmakers that might otherwise feel excluded from the region’s more established film festivals,” according to the festival’s official website.

Shortlisted films will be announced on 30 September, and the finalists will be screened at the Tropfest Arabia festival in Abu Dhabi in October.

Tunisian actress Hend Sabry will act as co-director of the festival alongside Tropfest founder John Polson.

The festival is supported by a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Media Zone Authority, twofour54, which works towards developing sustainable Arab media and entertainment industry.