Emirati filmmaker debuts UAE’s first interactive film at Diff

Watching TV and films is a much more social experience in the age of social media. Many people now view a show on one screen, while simultaneously tapping on another about their reactions to what’s happening.

But what about a film that allows the viewer to pick their own beginning, middle or end?

That’s what the Emirati director Hassan Kiyany has just made.

His first interactive film, also billed as the country’s first interactive film, received its premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival and on Wednesday it went live for the world to see.

Zaabil iDoc, a documentary showing efforts to photograph the now abandoned Zabeel Secondary School for Girls in Deira, Dubai, allows viewers to pick and choose the order in which they watch the scenes, and to click through to extra content.

“We as viewers usually sit and watch the movies and shows,” says Kiyany, from Dubai. “But in the world of the internet there are many more possibilities. We don’t necessarily need to stick to the director’s choice of sequences. We can choose our own.”

Original article by Mitya Underwood

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Emirati filmmaker debuts UAE’s first interactive film at Diff