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.
Meet the UAE’s first female film-maker
By Shiva Kumar Thekkepat, Friday magazine Gulf News – PDF
Nayla Al Khaja is the most sought-after woman in the UAE film industry. The Doha Tribeca Film Festival has roped her in to moderate some of the celebrity-filled panels it’s hosting, while closer to home, she will be one of the headliners at Tropfest, billed the world’s largest short film festival, being held in Abu Dhabi this month.
My Travel Bag
Travel Arabia Article – PDF
Does travelling alone appeal to you?
I do not mind travelling alone as it can be very spiritual and a total self discovery process. It also means you are focused more on the city or area you are travelling to as there is more observing to do and less talking! But nevertheless I also very much enjoy travelling in a group of like-minded individuals.
When was the last time you traveled?
I’ve just unpacked my luggage coming back from Holland—Amsterdam. It was my first trip to Amsterdam and it was very pleasant. I went with my brother, so it was a good bonding process. My favorite artist is Van Gogh, so it was such a treat to visit the Van Gogh Museum. Chocolates and sweets are well known and the locally made ones are not to be missed.
More…
Dubai Modern Highschool Visit
Written by Rohan, Dubai Modern Highschool
“On Thursday, the 15th of September, we had an eminent personality visit Modern High, in the form of Mrs. Nayla Al Khaja, the first ever female Emirati filmmaker. With several awards to her name, Mrs. Khaja is known for her immense passion for filmmaking and directing – little did we realize that she was also amazing fun to listen to!
Mrs. Al Khaja held a talk with the students of Grade 9 to 12 for two hours on Thursday. Right from her description of the hierarchical structure of film sets, to the personal anecdotes that she narrated about the challenges she faced in reaching where she was, Mrs. Al Khaja had her audience rapt. In retrospect, the way in which Mrs. Al Khaja wove in meaningful instruction with corroborating personal tales, which managed to captivate an audience of 14-17 year olds, was quite remarkable.
Mrs. Al Khaja ended her informative talk by showing us one of her short films – Arabana. For many of us who had never seen a six-minute film before, it was quite amazing to see a film with so many motifs and themes, and a deep underlying message, all beautifully woven into such a short length of reel!
Truly, it was a pleasure interacting with Mrs. Al Khaja. Hopefully, we will be able to interact with and learn from other such eminent personalities in the future.”
Backchat with Nayla Al Khaja
- Backchat
What’s On Article - PDF
Abu Dhabi has a fast-growing movie scene, but the capital needs something beyond film festivals and big-screen blockbusters, says Nayla Al Khaja. So, she’s planning to launch an independent film club…
There are a lot of film clubs in the world. I was part of one in Canada when I lived there, but it’s something that’s missing here. I can’t understand why it’s never been tried before in Abu Dhabi. Film fever is catching all around the region, especially in Gulf countries. It’s fantastic that we have film festivals, but they only happen once a year, and once they’re over, they’re over. We need something more constant and consistent on a monthly basis for people with like-minded interests to come together, almost like a festival but spread out over 12 months of the year.
People in Film: Nayla Al Khaja
Doha Film Institute Article – PDF
Doha Film Institute
Nayla graduated from Dubai Women’s College with a degree in Mass Communication in 1999, during which time she also hosted a very successful travel show on the Arabian Radio Network. However, Nayla soon realised that her true calling was film, so she made the break and attended Ryerson University in Canada, graduating in 2005 with a Bachelor in Image Studies and Filmmaking.
Back in Dubai she found the resources to direct and produce her first documentary film, ‘Unveiling Dubai’, in 2004. The film went on to premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). In 2006, she produced and directed ‘Arabana’, a film that deals with child abuse, which received critical acclaim from the likes of Edward R. Pressman, the producer of ‘The Crow’ film series, ‘Wall Street’ and ‘American Psycho’, who described the film as “gorgeous and disturbing”.