Spotted: Ali Mostafa driving a Ferrari California

07/05/2011

Spotted: Ali Mostafa driving a Ferrari California

If there’s one eye to trust on matters of aesthetics and quality, it is filmmaker Ali Mostafa. Recently seen driving a Ferrari California around, Ali is the man behind Dubai’s first feature film, City of Life.

City of Life is a story of accidental meetings revolving around 3 central characters: a privileged young Arab male at odds with his cultural identity and his less fortunate street smart friend; a disillusioned Indian taxi driver who bears an uncanny resemblance to a famous Bollywood star; and a former Romanian ballet dancer now working as a flight attendant and searching for love and companionship.

A film shot in 42 locations, it paints not only Dubai’s positive aspects but also its negative ones.

“I was tired of people comparing Dubai to a Disneyland. Most of them take one look at the glitzy buildings and assume it’s an artificial place. My film has none of that. It has real people with real problems. Like any other city in the world, my film shows both the positives and the negatives,” says the director in an interview.

Ali dabbled with film at an early age, shooting his toys and creating special effects with air sprays. In 2003, he pursued this childhood passion when he enrolled at the London Film School to obtain an M.A. of practical training in film technique. When he came back to the UAE, he set up AFM Films, his very own production company, and worked on short films and TV commercials for 6 years.

Under the Sun, Ali’s short graduation film, won ‘Best Emirates Film 2006′ at the Emirates Film Competition and caused a stir in various international festivals across the world. In 2007, Dubai International Film Festival hailed Ali as ‘Best Emirati Filmmaker’.

Ali currently has 2 film projects under his wing, both set to take him to greater heights. Follow Ali’s Twitter for further updates.

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