top of page
.png)
.jpg)
ABOUT THE FILM FESTIVAL
The Al Sidr Environmental Film Festival, led by artistic director Nezar Andary, is an educational film festival dedicated to environmental cinema in the United Arab Emirates. Created for the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi and held since 2020, it is hosted by NYU Abu Dhabi and extends through venues, schools, and landscapes across the emirate. The fifth edition runs from October 9 to 11, 2026, under the theme Mend, and brings international documentaries and short films on ecology, conservation, climate and water together with panels, exhibitions and guided ecological activities. Previous editions have drawn more than 5,000 attendees and reached 2,000 school students across more than twenty Abu Dhabi schools.
ABOUT THIS YEAR'S THEME
Mend, in Arabic رَمِّم, is the verb used for the restoration of a building, a manuscript, or a piece of heritage: the careful repair of something valuable that has been damaged. Applied to the environment, it turns the festival's attention from the documentation of loss towards the practical work of restoration; habitat rehabilitation, species recovery, mangrove and coral restoration, water stewardship, the repair of degraded land, and the transmission of ecological knowledge between generations. It is a deliberately constructive frame. It asks what is being repaired, by whom, and with what knowledge, and it places conservation practice in the Emirates at the centre of the programme rather than at its edges.
ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY-ABU DHABI
The Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi regulates and enforces Abu Dhabi's environmental laws to protect biodiversity and preserve the quality of life for a sustainable future. Starting as a small group of pioneering ecologists in 1996 working in the harsh desert environment, we have grown – breaking down barriers and pushing the limits of science and conservation. We are now the largest environmental regulator in the Middle East, continuing the strong legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan by exemplifying his values of conservation.
ABOUT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY ABU DHABI'S ARTS CENTER
Situated in Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi’s cultural hub, The Arts Center is a vibrant laboratory for performance that both presents and develops work. The Arts Center fosters a dynamic relationship between the arts, scholarship, and the community. Its range of public programs animates and enriches the cultural life of both Abu Dhabi and the university, presenting distinguished professional artists from around the world alongside student, faculty, and community productions.
The Arts Center is home to NYU Abu Dhabi’s Theater, Music, Film & New Media, Visual Arts, and Interactive Media departments, bringing all the arts under one roof. Its resources include a complex of theaters and performance venues, a project space gallery, rehearsal rooms, film editing studios, classrooms, and workshop spaces.
BACKGROUND PHOTO CREATED BY TIRACHARD AT FREEPIK
HOME PAGE VIDEO BY DANIEL TOROBEKOV
© 2024 AL SIDR ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
bottom of page