MEIFF 2008 Announces Winners of Black Pearl Awards

The official Black Pearl Awards ceremony for the second annual Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF), organised by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) was presented at Emirates Palace on Sunday 19th October.

The awards were the culmination of ten action-packed days of cinema, with 152 movies and 186 screenings shown in five Abu Dhabi venues. A total of 76 feature films and 34 short films from over 35 countries competed for the MEIFF 2008 Black Pearl Awards.

Winners of the US$1 million MEIFF 2008 Black Pearl Awards were announced at the festival’s closing night ceremony, directed and choreographed by Otis Sallid.

Director Ridley Scott’s latest film ‘Body of Lies’ made its Middle East premiere at MEIFF’s Closing Night Gala, attended by star of the film, Michael Gaston, along with British actor Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) and well-known French actress Eva Green (Kingdom of Heaven, Casino Royal). A host of Arabic personalities also attended including Yousra, Elham Shaeen, Solaf Fawakherji, Mostafa Shaban, Abdulaziz Al Jazem and Khaled Saleh.

MEIFF 2008 Black Pearl Award Winners:-

 The Black Pearl for Best Narrative Film – $200,000 Disgrace Director: Steve Jacobs. Producers: Anna Maria Monticelli, Emile Sherman, Steve Jacobs  The Black Pearl for Best Documentary – $150,000 Stranded Director: Gonzalo Arijon. Producer: Marc Silvera  The Black Pearl Special Jury Prize- $125,000 Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love Director and Producer: Elisabeth Chai Vasarhelyi  The Black Pearl for Best Actress – $75,000 Fawzia: A Special Blend Actress: Ilham Shaheen  The Black Pearl for Best Actor – $75,000 Wild Blood Actor: Luca Zingaretti  The Black Pearl for Best Artistic Contribution – $75,000 Laila’s Birthday Screenwriter: Rashid Masharawi  The Black Pearl Audience Choice Award Saving Luna Co-Directors: Suzanne Chisholm & Michael Parfit. Producer: Suzanne Chisholm  The Black Pearl for Best Narrative – Short Film- $75.000 The View Co-Directors: Hazim Bitar & Rifqi Assaf. Producer: Amman Filmmaker Cooperative  The Black Pearl for Best Documentary – Short Film- $75.000 Breadmakers Director: Yasmin Fedda. Producers: Jim Hickey & Robin Mitchell  The Black Pearl for Best Animation- Shot Film- $75.000 Jacinta Director: Karla Casteneda. Producer: Luis Tellez  Best Advertisement – Cultural Category – $25.000 Anti Slavery Director: Eric Lynne. Producer: Partizan Films – Midi Minuit  Best Advertisement – Consumer Category – $25.000 Battle Director: Traktor. Producer: Partizan Films – Midi Minuit  Best Advertisement – Artistic Contribution – $25.000 Great Pretender Director: Patrick Bergh. Producer: Partizan Films – Midi Minuit  The Black Pearl for Best Narrative – Student Films – $25.000 Illusion Director: Burhan Qurbani. Producer: Fabian Gasmia  The Black Pearl for Best Emerging Filmmaker – Student Films- $25.000 Lullaby Director: Serena Abi Aad. Producer: IESAV  The Black Pearl for Best Animation – Student Films – $25.000 Adherent Director: Julian Nazario Vargas. Producer: Rube Baggerud 

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