Emirati Film The Waiting List, by director Hani Al Shaibani, will take part in the 10th edition of the online festival, Lift-Off Sessions (April 19-26). The films will be screened via Vimeo platform.

The Waiting List will have only one screening during the festival’s week. If the film successfully passed the first round of competition, it will move on to the second round where it will be a judged by a jury panel.

The film follows Khalid, Fatima, Ahmad, Shareefa and Bilal who experience life-changing moments that shift their lives over different routes. They live in a state of permanent waiting - for dreams and a sense of purpose. Some of them wait out of hope and optimism, while the others wait out of hopelessness.

The Waiting List world premiered at Dubai International Film Festival and is directed and written by Hani Al Shaibani who co-produced it with Ali Mohamed Al Marzouqi. The film stars Khalid Ali, Fatma Trabulsi, Ahmed Ragab and Shareefa Mohammed. MAD Solutions handles the film’s distribution across the Arab world.

Hani Al Shaibani is an Emirati filmmaker who holds an MA in Visual Media Arts, TV and Cinema major, from Griffith University, Australia. He has directed and produced numerous films and received several awards. His most recent film Khalek Shanab (2019) screened at all major box offices and currently streaming on Netflix. Also, his film Rahma's Heaven (2012) screened at DIFF.