UAE Director Fadel Al-Mheiri to direct animated film 'Catsaway'

CAIRO – 26 July 2017: UAE film director and author Fadel Al-Mheiri will be directing a new animated film called ‘Catsaway,’ which explores a group of stray cats trying to find a new home in a rapidly changing Abu Dhabi. Director Al-Mheiri tells The National that he plans for the film to be animated in 2D, like traditional Disney, and will involve nostalgia as a central theme.

“We thought – aha, the nostalgia value. This is our selling point. Everyone was like ‘amazing. When’s this out? We need to tell our kids about it. You might say ‘so what? It’s just an old water fountain, just an old souk,’ but it’s more than that. It’s to do with culture intertwined with history. That weird effect you get when you see somewhere that you remember from high school, and also there’s a hidden story about that with the main character, but I’m not giving that away just yet."

Born in Abu Dubai, Al-Mheiri enjoyed filmmaking from a young page, eventually quitting his job at an oil company to pursue it full time. He founded Tent Pictures Productions in 2013, and released his debut film 'Abood Kandaishan' in 2014, which was nominated for that year's 'Muhr Emirati award.’