Cinema Akil presents Emirati Cinema Nights from 19 to 21 May 2026.
Screenings include Baab, Hoba (The Vile), Nearby Sky and Heen.
Director Q&As will feature Nujoom Alghanem and Saeed Rashed.
The three-day programme highlights homegrown films, director Q&As and the evolving language of Emirati cinema.
Cinema Akil is shining a spotlight on homegrown talent with the launch of Emirati Cinema Nights, a three-day programme dedicated to local storytelling. Presented in partnership with Alserkal Avenue, the celebration takes place from 19 to 21 May 2026, bringing together a compelling selection of Emirati films that reflect the range, ambition and emotional depth of the country’s growing cinema scene.
The programme opens with two exclusive Q&A sessions featuring acclaimed filmmakers Nujoom Alghanem and Saeed Rashed, the directors behind Nearby Sky and Heen. The conversations will offer audiences deeper insight into the creative process behind the films, while setting the tone for a programme rooted in powerful regional voices and personal perspectives.
Over three days, Emirati Cinema Nights will showcase four homegrown films, ranging from psychological horror and family drama to documentaries and intimate character studies. Together, the lineup captures the nuance of Emirati filmmaking today, while platforming stories that are both culturally specific and emotionally universal.
The programme begins with Baab, a psychological drama centred on Wahida, who discovers hidden cassette tapes concealed behind a green door. As she listens to their contents, she begins to uncover the truth surrounding the death of her twin sister. Struggling with tinnitus and drawn towards the mountains, Wahida’s journey becomes increasingly unsettling as buried memories and family secrets rise to the surface.
Also screening is Hoba (The Vile), which follows Amani, a wife and mother whose peaceful domestic life is disrupted when her husband brings home a second wife. As tension builds within the household, mysterious, sinister forces emerge, turning the family home into a place of unease and emotional fracture.
Nearby Sky offers a moving portrait of Fatima Alhameli, the first Emirati female camel owner to compete in camel beauty pageants and auctions. The documentary follows her as she carves out space in a traditionally male-dominated world, revealing a story of resilience, determination and quiet strength.
Completing the lineup is Heen, in which Khalid returns home after a decade-long disappearance. As he attempts to reintegrate into everyday life, buried secrets begin to surface, while doubt and envy reshape his understanding of reality.
Where: Cinema Akil, Alserkal Avenue, Al Qouz, Dubai
When: 19 to 21 May 2026
Contact: www.cinemaakil.com