This is Tropfest's second year in the Middle East, and it invites amateur and professional filmmakers from across the Middle East and North Africa region to submit their film, including nationals of Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Sudan, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

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 which will take place on 26 October in Abu Dhabi, alongside Tropfest founder John Polson. Sabry and Polson will work with a jury of renown filmmakers, actors, directors and producers from the Arab world to pick the winning film on the night.

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.

More info here.