HOMEGROWN STORYTELLERS WHO ENRICHED UAE CULTURE
Directors Ali Mostafa, Nayla Al Khaja and actors such as Fatima Al Taei make their mark
When talking about the cinema of the UAE, Mostafa’s name is often uttered — and for good reason. The prominent filmmaker helmed the first Emirati feature film, 2009’s City of Life — a touching movie that looked at the city through a lens that was devoid of glamour. He said it was an effort to tell stories of regular people, such as an Indian taxi driver (played by Bollywood star Sonu Sood) and a former Romanian ballet dancer turned flight attendant. “It’s stories that I came up with, some from personal experience, but mostly fiction. That’s what films are about. It’s about escapism, it is a journey for the audience and it’s you who need to create their vehicle,” he wrote for Gulf News in 2010.