The inaugural Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF) has unveiled the full line-up for its Competition programme. The festival takes place in Abu Dhabi between October 14 -19.

Presented by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), the Festival also hosts the inaugural Film Financing Circle (FFC), which will become an annual conference on the subject of international co-productions. FFC runs between October 15 -17.

The Official Competition is primarily comprised of films by emerging directors.

Filmmakers will compete in three sections: Fiction, Documentary and Short Films. The Fiction section features 12 films; the Documentary section is comprised of six films; and the Short Film section features 18 films. Filmmakers compete for the festival's 'Black Pearl' trophy.

The Black Pearl trophy is a handmade sculpture representing the exquisite black pearl, a rare and precious jewel originally discovered along the shallow waters of the Abu Dhabi coastline.

'We are thrilled with the line-up of films we have in Competition,' said Festival Director Jon Fitzgerald. 'They represent world-class talent, a terrific combination of critically acclaimed films, award winners and crowd pleasers.'

The 12 films in the Fiction competition programme are:

Ben X, dir Nic Balthazar (Belgium).

Caramel, dir Nadine Labaki (France/Lebanon)

The Counterfeiters, dir Stefan Ruzowitzky (Germany/Austria)

Echo, dir Anders Morgenthaler (Denmark)

The Good Night, dir Jake Paltrow (USA/United Kingdom)

Grace Is Gone, dir James Strouse (USA)

La Zona, dir Rodrigo Plá (Spain/Mexico)

Lucky Miles, dir Michael James Rowland (Australia)

The Milky Way, dir Lina Chamie (Brazil)

Not By Chance, dir Philippe Barcinski (Brazil)

The Owl And The Sparrow, dir Stephane Gauger (United States/Vietnam)

Persepolis, dir Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud (France)

The 6 films in the Documentary competition programme are:

Hear And Now, dir Irene Taylor Brodsky (USA)

I Love Hip Hop In Morocco, dir Joshua Asen And Needleman (Morocco/USA)

New Year Baby, dir Socheata Poeuv (USA/ Cambodia)

The Power Of The Game, dir Michael Apted (USA)

Salata Baladi, dir Nadia Kamel (Egypt/France/Switzerland)

We Are Together, dir Paul Taylor (United Kingdom)

The 18 films in the Short competition programme are:

And Life Went On, dir Maryam Mohajer (United Kingdom)

Aquarium, dir Rob Meyer (USA)

Avatar, dir Lluis Quilez (Spain)

Bawke, dir Hisham Zaman (Norway)

Bende Sira (It's My Turn), dir Ismet Ergün (Germany/Turkey)

The Brass Teapot, dir Ramaa Mosley (USA)

Hoy No Estoy, dir Gustavo Taretto (Argentina)

I Met the Walrus, dir Josh Raskin (Canada)

I Want To Be a Pilot, dir Diego Quemada-Diez (Kenya/Mexico/Spain)

Juanito Bajo El Naranjo (Juanito Under the Orange Tree), dir Juan Carlos Villamizar (Colombia)

Kemo Sabe, dir Rana Kazkaz (USA)

Lightning Doodle Project Pikapika, dir Takeshi Nagata, Kazue Monno (Japan)

The Luminary,dir Nicholas Kallincos (Australia)

Manon on the Pavement,dir Elizabeth Marre, Olivier Pont(France)

The Phone Keeper,dirStine Michelsen (USA)

The Tale of How, dir Ree Treweek, Marcus Smit (South Africa)

Tanghi Argentini, dir Guy Thuys (Belgium)

Tatoo, dir Parviz Safadel (USA)

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