Archive for December, 2011
The New Arab Woman Forum 2012
Nominate a Female Figure at The New Arab Woman Forum 2012 – PDF
“At 33 Nayla is the first female film producer in the UAE. The fact that there was no film industry to speak of in the UAE did not slow Nayla down. After graduation she went about making short films and hit the jackpot with her first, Arabana (2006), which won a lot of praise for its dark overtones and controversial subject matter. It touched on the sensitive topic of child abuse, and was used by UNICEF in one of its awareness campaigns.
Her short film, Malal (Boredom) won Best Script Award in the Gulf Film Festival in 2010 and shortly after became the first Emirati-Indian film shot in Kerala. The film debuted at the Dubai International Film Festival in December of the same year and won first place in the Muhr Emirati category.
She is also winner of the British Council’s International Young Screen Entrepreneur Awad (2010), after competing against ten other finalists from around the world.
Nayla is CEO of her own production company D-SEVEN Motion Pictures, and D-SEVEN FZ LLC, a marketing and design agency.
She’s the guiding force behind The Scene Club, the UAE’s first official film club featuring independent cinema.
In short, she has a hand in every film pie in the UAE, and is now slowly spreading her wings in the region.”
UAE film industry suffers from a shortage of qualified production teams
Variety Arabia – by Cherbel Gabro – PDF
Nayla Al-Khaja is an Emirati director who has proven herself in the local and regional arena, and was named one of the 50 most powerful personalities in Arab cinema. She is the first Emirati director and film producer to win the International Prize for Young Entrepreneurs from the British Council. She has also been recognised with other awards, including the Best Script Award at the Gulf International Film Festival and the Muhr Emirati Gold Award from Dubai International Film Festival for her film “Malal” (Bored). Al-Khaja is the first female film producer from the United Arab Emirates and is the CEO of D-SEVEN Motion Pictures.
Variety Arabia met with Al-Khaja at her office in Dubai Media City to talk about local talent, expectations, Emirati cinema and future plans.