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There will be two screenings: Friday 25 October, 6pm and Monday 28 October, 3:00pm at Vox Cinemas, Marina Mall, Abu Dhabi. In total, ‘Daddy ABC’ has now been nominated at festivals in eight countries and has received two awards. The charming six minute comedy about an Emirati father and his trials with a new baby, is the product of Emirati director Hamad Al Awar who was given the opportunity to turn his script into a film by the Abu Dhabi Film Commission (ADFC). ‘Daddy ABC’ was produced by UAE production house Blink Studios and supported by twofour54 ibtikar. twofour54 intaj handled the audio production.

The short film is an exaggerated rendition of the comedic situations an Emirati husband faces when his wife decides to leave their new-born child at home in his care. It is one of the first animated shorts from the UAE to tackle local subject-matter using animation and audio to bring out the comedy instead of dialogue. In making the film, Blink Studios applied a simple art direction style for the characters with a distinctive 3D animation treatment.

Khalid Khouri, Head of ibtikar commercial, twofour54, said:

“It’s fantastic to see yet another home-grown and award-winning production from Blink Studios. For twofour54, with its vision to build the media and entertainment industries in the region, ‘Daddy ABC’ is a wonderful example of the coming together of the Abu Dhabi Film Commission, twofour54, its partners and local talent to produce world-class Arab content. For everyone else, ‘Daddy ABC’ is simply great fun and definitely worth watching.”

Hamad Al Awar, Director, ‘Daddy ABC’, added:

“I feel very honoured to have been given the opportunity to turn this script into a short film by the Abu Dhabi Film Commission. Through this journey I have worked with a lot of people who were creative and hard working. I enjoyed every step in the production with UAE born-and-grown Blink Studios. I am also grateful that the film has been received at so many festivals. It’s great to know that many people around the world have had a chance to see the hard work put into making ‘Daddy ABC’ a reality.”

Hani Kichi, Producer, ‘Daddy ABC’, added:

“This is yet another step for Blink Studios in achieving wide acclaim for great animated content that can travel beyond regional borders. Following the resounding success of Ostora with 34 international nominations and three wins, ‘Daddy ABC’ is paving the way even further.”

Submissions to film festivals for ‘Daddy ABC’ began in March 2013. To date, it has been nominated for the following: Gulf Film Festival (World Premiere) – UAE; Blue Plum Animation Festival (nominated for an award) – USA; Los Angeles Reel Film Festival (Winner: 1st place Animation Award, Best Sound Design) – USA; Chicago International Children’s Film Festival (the only Oscar nominating festival for children’s film in the world) – USA; California International Shorts Festival ( Winner: Best Short Animation award) – USA; Harlem International Film festival – USA; Lahore International Children Film Festival – India; Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival – UAE; Philadelphia Film And Animation Festival – USA; Balinale International Film Festival- Indonesia; Whitelights International Short Film Festival – Ireland; International Film Awards Berlin (Nominated for Best Animated Short) – Germany; Abu Dhabi Film Festival (in competition) – UAE; Doha Ajyal Festival for Children Related Films – Qatar; Southampton International Film Festival (Nominated for Best Director, and Best Screenplay) – UK; London City Film Festival – UK; Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) – USA.

Follow ‘Daddy ABC’ on facebook and watch the film at: www.facebook.com/filmDaddyABC

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