Short Film News (SFN)- The Middle East International Film Festival announced that the annual event is adopting the new name Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

The festival also announced the launch of Sanad, a film fund to support outstanding productions from the Arab region through grants totaling $500,000 each year.

The fund, dubbed Sanad, after the Arabic word for support, will provide development grants of up to $20,000 and post-production grants of up to $60,000 for features and docs by filmmakers from the Arab world, Sanad also aims to build stronger networks within the region’s film industry. 

Applications for the fund are open until July 15.

The Middle East Film Festival, held each October, was launched in 2007, two years after the launch of the Dubai Film Festival, with the aim of creating a vibrant film culture throughout the region.

More info is available at festival's website: www.meiff.com