Moderating at Alliance Francaise - Meylas Aflam
Meylas Aflam, is a new film community initiative founded by filmmaker Abdulrahman Al Madani that aims to promote Emirati films through screenings, workshops and talks.
Al Madani previously organised multiple screenings of a short film program titled Indie Shorts, and I moderated a post screening discussion at one of them, on June 14 at Bayt Al Mamzar, and the transcribed version of that discussion can be found here.
Meylas Aflam will launch on September 19 at Alliance Francaise in Dubai with the same line up of films from the Indie Shorts program and I’ve been invited back to moderate a talk after the screenings. I’m looking forward to continuing the discussion we started at Bayt Al Mamzar.
Meylas Aflam – A Celebration of Emirati Short Films
Saturday, September 19 at 7pm
Alliance Francaise Dubai, Oud Metha, 18th Street
Ticket: AED 35 ( AED 25 for members)
Buy your ticket here.
Noor (Thabit Al Mawaly,2024, 15 min)
In a small town in the early 2000s, Abdulrahman, a young Emirati boy, dreams of keeping pigeons. One day, on his way home, he finds a pigeon that cannot fly. As he tries to convince his traditional father to let him keep it, while facing the jealousy of the neighbourhood children, Abdulrahman forms a special bond with Noor and discovers the true meaning of love and loss.
The Battle (Eman Al Sayed,2023, 5 min)
A young boy uses his gaming skills to navigate the complex relationship between his parents – a mission with deeply personal motivations and unexpected consequences.
Unsaid (Mansour Ahmed, 2025, 15 min)
On a rainy evening, two old friends reunite over coffee, food and a game of chess. As memories resurface, their carefully arranged meeting gradually reveals a buried truth from their past – one that is communicated not through confession, but through the silence between them.
Yathoom (Hana Kazim, 2025, 15 min)
After a devastating car accident claims the lives of her father and brother, 18-year-old Layla is consumed by survivor’s guilt and struggles to reconnect with her grieving mother. Plagued by terrifying episodes of sleep paralysis, her memories begin to distort as the boundary between nightmare and reality dissolves, leading her towards a cosmic reckoning that could either shatter her world or set her free.
A Small Dream (Sarra'a Al Shehhi,2022, 15 min)
Maitha is obsessed with a simple dream: to swim. Torn between her awareness of social expectations and her own desires, she faces a series of obstacles. Yet, as the challenges grow, the voice of her inner child only becomes louder.
Oug (Abdulrahman Al Madani, 2025, 10 min)
A childless Emirati couple set out to buy a gift for their newborn nephew, only to find themselves caught between family expectations and social pressure to have children. When the husband’s overbearing mother arrives unannounced, long-buried tensions rise to the surface.