Abu Dhabi was host to the MEIFF on Oct. 14th - 19th 2007 and took place at the Emirates Palace Hotel.

“The Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF) is a cultural event, a celebration of cinema, dedicated to bringing a diverse slate of international films to the community and to introducing filmmakers from around the world to the resources of the region.”**

The festival has 5 sections which include the official film competition, Bollywood showcase and the Hayah Film competition. The Hayah Film competition is pretty cool, it is for short films, (5 minutes max) open to anyone in the Middle East and must be in format viewable on iPod as that is how judges view the films. Overall, the MEIFF will show 103 screenings during the 5 day festival. Grand Jury prize winners receive awards packages and grants for their next productions.

Source:
http://www.meiff.com/