Masoud Amralla Al Ali, programmer of the Festival's "Arabian Nights" segment, said the inclusion of this film is a reflection of the festival's aims. Amralla, the founder-director of the Emirates Film Competition, is also the artistic director of the UAE Cultural Foundation.

"This is a great addition to our festival line-up, not only because it is a first for the Arab world, but also because we want to encourage Arab filmmakers to break new ground," Amralla said. "It is a well-crafted film, and is sure to have strong inter-generational appeal because of its story and its message."  

The film is based on the classic Arabic novel Hai bin Yaqzan by famous Arab writer Ibn Toufyl, and tells the story of an infant raised by a deer after being abandoned in the woods. Eventually, the young boy starts to examine the ways of nature and the universe around him and embarks on a search for the maker of all things.

The original 12th century story of Hai bin Yaqzan is believed to be one of the most popular pieces of literature to emerge from the Middle Ages, and is considered by many to have been the prototype for Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.

The 88-minute family film is the latest creation from the AGCC Joint Programmes Production Institution, a Kuwait-based group with a history of creating quality educational programming for Arabic-speaking children. The institution, which is jointly funded by all the Gulf states, earlier produced Iftah Ya Simsim, the Arab version of Sesame Street.

The Jungle Kid uses a combination of traditional 2-D animation and modern computer-generated 3-D animation, and the vocal talents of several Arab stars including Ghanim Al Suleity, Sanaa Younis, Fathiyya Ibrahim and Abdul Nasser Al Zayer. Completing the pan-Arab creative team is Iraqi director Thamer Al Zaidi, who will be in Dubai for the Festival.

"We do not have a history of animation like the Japanese or Americans, so we cannot really compare the first pan-Arab production with those established traditions," Amralla added. "But this is certainly a good beginning."

Three gold sponsors for film festival

DUBAI — Dubai Media City announced yesterday the three gold sponsors of the first-ever Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) — Dom International, The Kanoo Group and National Bank of Dubai.

The three Gulf-based companies according to festival organisers have made a significant contribution towards putting the event on the international and national cultural calendar. 

“We are very pleased to have this level of participation from corporations around the Gulf and the UAE,” said Abdulhamid Juma, CEO of Dubai Media City. “For us, it is a good indication of the regional community's long-term commitment to the Festival.”

The festival's aims to connect cultures and its potential to put Dubai and the UAE on the world cultural map have struck a chord with many regional corporations.

Mishal Kanoo, Deputy Chairman of the Kanoo Group, UAE and Oman, said the group saw the Dubai International Film Festival as a cultural movement in the right direction, and anticipated its growth  in stature to become a major institution comparable to the Cannes, Sundance and Venice Film Festivals.

“The Kanoo Group decided to support the festival not only because of our passion for fine arts, but also because we know that this Festival will help Dubai to be recognised worldwide as a cultural hub,” he added.

R. Douglas Dowie, General Manager of the National Bank of Dubai, said the bank's involvement with the Dubai International Film Festival is testament to its ongoing commitment to the international growth of the city.