Dalma by Humaid Alsuwaidi

A screening of the film, Dalma, accompanied by a live conversation with Emirati filmmaker Humaid Alsuwaidi

An opportunistic woman disrupts the economy of a small traditional island in the UAE, gradually becoming its pariah. The film follows the story of Dana, an Emirati woman who moves to Dalma Island upon inheriting a decrepit house from her recently deceased father. Dana gets the house renovated and starts renting it out to tourists. An innocuous lunch at the only restaurant she finds sets her on a path of collision with many of the island’s inhabitants, namely Ghaith, a doctor who refuses to leave the island despite the many opportunities in the mainland.

The film was shot on location in Dalma Island, UAE over 49 days, with a skeleton crew that averaged 7 people. Most of the supporting cast consisted of non-actors from the island. Dalma is the first film from the UAE to receive a production grant from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC).

Biographies

Humaid Alsuwaidi (Writer / Producer / Director)

Humaid Alsuwaidi is a writer/director based in the UAE. Humaid’s second and most personal film, Musk (2018), tells the story of a cynical divorced man as he tries to reconcile with his 12 year old aloof son. The film  opened in 32 theaters across the Gulf in August 2019. Musk received a production grant from the prestigious Doha Film Institute.  

Hira Mahmood (Lead Actress)

Hira Mahmood is an Emirati actress based in Ajman. She is a graduate of the one year filmmaking course of New York Film Academy Abu Dhabi. She plays the lead role of Dana in Dalma. 

Rashed Hasan (Lead Actor / Co-Producer / Executive Producer)

Rashed Hasan was born in 1994 in Abu Dhabi. After receiving his Bachelor's degree in Media and Communications he moved on to the independent film scene. His debut as an actor was in the film Musk (2018) where he played Eisa, the family lawyer. The film was directed by Humaid Alsuwaidi. His first lead role is in Dalma where he plays Ghaith, a doctor who refuses to leave the island despite the many opportunities on the mainland.  

Osman Aboubakr (Supporting Actor / Executive Producer)

Osman is a Canadian/Egyptian actor based in Dubai. His feature film debut was in Musk, an Emirati relationship drama as a doctor; his earlier roles included various stage productions of RED (Mark Rothko), Venus in Fur  (Thomas Novachek) and Prisoner of Second Avenue (Mel Edison). 2020 was a busy year for Osman, starring in The Basement (an award winning Arabic language fiction podcast) and, of course, playing Fouad in Dalma. 

Kanat Rymtayev (Cinematographer)

Kanat was born in 1992, in the small industrial town of Ekibastuz in Kazakhstan and currently resides in Almaty. Kanat shot several documentary short films for TV such as a series about the Kazakh diasporas out of Kazakhstan and the hockey team Barys. He also shot a couple of TV shows: Detective Janro and Sketchcom. 

Bader Al Ketbi (Production Design)

Bader Al Ketbi is an Emirati filmmaker. He enjoys being involved in every stage of the filmmaking process, from devolvement to execution and delivery. Therefore, his experiences range from content development, to production management and post-production supervision.