Since the opening of the New York Film Academy’s Film School in Abu Dhabi last year, the growing film community in this area has been quick to recognize the potentials of film and acting schools and the impact they will have in an industry that is rapidly growing in the region.
In a place where just a few years ago, the film scene was almost non-existent, things are now moving at very fast pace. Before the opening of the New York Film Academy and other film schools in Abu Dhabi people mostly relied on the internet with some notable figures in the industry getting their start by creating web sites such as Emarat Films as in Nawaf Al Janahi’s case or starting film festivals such as the Emirates film competition back in 2001 headed by Masoud Amrallah Al Ali a former NYFA student who is now the creative director of the prestigious Dubai International Film Festival.
The new generation of filmmakers in the Emirates such as Janahi point out that productions can tap into the potential of new graduates in the field of sound engineering, editing and cinematography, to name a few. With students receiving first rate education, with a hands on approach in the field of cinema, this will have a significant impact in film and television productions in the middle east.
For productions in the area and from overseas, it is a sound decision to hire crew members locally rather than bring them over from abroad considering the economic situation globally.
Considering the growth of interest in studying cinema in the region, the long term effects of having schools such as NYFA in Abu Dhabi will be apparent within a very short time span.
