MINI FILM FESTIVAL 2006 WINNERS ANNOUNCED -Iranian director declared overall winner with short animation film Zero Degree.

Dubai, UAE. BMW Group Middle East announced the winners of the MINI Film
Festival 2006 during a gala event held at the XVA gallery in Bastakiya
last week. Omid Khoshnazar from Iran was the winner with his short
animation film Zero Degree; with Lonely Bench by Yousef Khowes (UAE) in
second place; Zeina Aboul Hosn's I Remember Lebanon (Lebanon) in third
place; and Buzz of Dubai by Ziad Oakes (UAE) winner of the 'People's
Choice Award'. "The inaugural year of the MINI Film Festival 2006
was a resounding success, and we were all impressed by the high caliber
of the 55 entries received from across the Middle East," said
Guenther Seemann, Managing Director, BMW Group Middle East.
"From the positive response we have received from participants,
judges and the regional film industry, this is definitely an event we
would like to support to grow and flourish over the coming years.
"We would like to congratulate the winners of the MINI Film
Festival 2006, and look forward to watching the development of their
film careers." The four winners were selected from a short-list of
ten finalists, whose films were shown at the MINI Film Festival at the
XVA Gallery in Bastakiya on the 23rd of November 2006. A team of
professional industry judges - Antonia Carver, Nima Abu Wardeh, Marcus
Webb, Lotfi Bencheikh, and Masoud Amralla Al Ali - deliberated the
merits of the ultimate winners based on criteria of creativity and
originality. Zero Degree, a short animation film by Omid Khoshnazar from
Iran, depicting a soldier caught in a camera cadre, was judged the
first winner. Courtesy of the MINI Film Festival 2006, Omid has won
tickets for two to fly to the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, which will
provide him with valuable industry networking opportunities.
Khoshnazar, a participant in over 60 international film festivals,
expressed his personal satisfaction in taking part in the MINI Film
Festival 2006, "I am very happy to have won the first prize for
the Inaugural MINI Film Festival 2006. This award means a lot to me in
terms of recognition and I am thrilled that MINI has created an
atmosphere for creativity. If all goes well, I will definitely be back
next year with new projects." Yousef Khouwes (UAE) fought off
stiff competition to take the second place with his film, Lonely Bench.
The short film explores the plight of people who play an important part
in our society but remain ignored. A fine arts graduate from Damascus
University, Yousef honed his skills while studying film-making in
Hollywood and is now the proud recipient of an Apple Mac Pro. Zeina
Aboul Hosn's film, I Remember Lebanon, took the third place with her
portrayal of the country and its tryst with wars. The film dwells on how
the people of Lebanon were just coming to terms with the nation's past
and how all that changed in a matter of weeks earlier this year. Zeina
wins a full-time three month internship at Filmworks, a well-known film
production institute. The 'People's Choice Award', made possible by SMS
voting on the night, was awarded to Buzz of Dubai, a snapshot of
popular culture in Dubai. Ziad Oakes and his partners, Jad and Maurice
combined their creativity and filmmaking skills to complete their film
in just two days. "It was a real buzz to be selected to be part of
the MINI Film Festival 2006, and an even bigger buzz to be voted the
'People's Choice' winners!" said Zaid Oakes. "The festival
gave us aspiring film makers the opportunity to showcase our work,
gauge the talent in this region, and also gave us an opportunity to get
audience feedback on our work. Even better, it has provided us with the
inspiration and motivation to continue making films, and hopefully we
will see our names on the big screens in the near future." -
Ends - For more information please contact: Rana Jones, Corporate
Comm. Manager, BMW Group Middle East Telephone: +971 4 3132615 or fax
+971 4 3300120 Email: Rana.Jones@bmw.com OR Suhaib Abdullakutty,
MCS/Action Telephone: +971 50 685 8834 Email: suhaib.a@actionprgroup.com