AUS student premiers at Dubai International Film Festival

The Forbidden Fruit, a short film directed by American University of Sharjah (AUS) student, Sarah Alagroobi, has been chosen as part of the Muhr Emirati Program at the Eighth Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF 2011). This is the first time a currently enrolled student at AUS has been selected to screen at DIFF.

Alagroobi, who is majoring in visual communication and minoring in film at the AUS College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD), chose to screen at her film at DIFF2011 despite the film also being accepted at the Abu Dhabi International Film Festival in October.

The Muhr Emirati Awards were introduced by the Dubai International Film Festival in 2010 in recognition of the local talent in the emirates. "This will truly be an experience which will open doors for young Arab film makers," said Alagroobi. "Being a part of this experience will build bridges between Arab film making and the West and I'm very excited because I don't know what to expect!"

"While CAAD has always strongly supported independent and student voices in regional cinema, it's important to note that the Minor in Film was a program that started just over a year ago," said Jack Swanstrom, Assistant Professor in Design at CAAD, and the instructor of the course in which the film was produced. "The recognition of Sarah's film by an organization as prestigious as the Dubai International Film Festival caps a semester of significant achievement for AUS film students. This is the tenth CAAD film chosen by an international film festival this academic year - and it's only the first semester," he added.

The Forbidden Fruit can be seen at Mall of the Emirates this evening at 5:15 p.m. in Cinema 12 and on December 10 at 6:30 p.m. in Cinema 7.