UAE’s Al Kaabi to helm new series

Emirati director Abdullah Al Kaabi said his next project is going to be a big one. He’s working on a series for an unidentified video-on-demand (VOD) platform.

VOD platforms in the region include Netflix, Shahid, and Starz Play, among others.

“It’s going to be big news, this series,” said Al Kaabi. “[It’s in] Arabic, but for an international audience.”

The director, who was honoured on the opening night of the Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival (SICFF) on Sunday, said he’s also in the middle of writing his next feature film.

“I took a few months this summer to get it together,” he said.

Al Kaabi’s film Only Men Go to the Grave was an award-winning submission at Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) two years ago. It walked away with the Muhr Emirati prize.

Al Kaabi said he was inspired by Indian films growing up, which were popular in his home emirate of Fujairah.

“I love the explosion of colour. So that’s really it, the colour was what got me into this field, and all of the dances and all that,” he explained.

He also praised SICFF for exposing filmmakers to another important point of view — one that is ‘untainted, pure and innocent’.

“The reason we’re here is to celebrate children’s perspective and how they see the world. There’s much more for us to learn, rather than to see here, as filmmakers who have been working for a while,” said Al Kaabi.