The Dubai Film Connection, the co-production market of the Dubai International Film Festival, has selected 15 new regional film projects for potential production support from over 130 submissions from Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Algeria, Syria and Iraq, among other regional markets.

The 15 films selected for the 2010-2011 cycle include 12 projects in development and three works in progress. The former include: Ali the Goat and Ibrahim by Ibrahim El Batout (Egypt/France); The Eagle and the Butterfly by Philippe Aractingi (Lebanon/France); The Bag of Flour by Khadija Leclere (Belgium/Morocco/France); Housekeeping by Mazen Khaled (Lebanon/Egypt); Gulf entry I am Nojood, 10 years old and Divorced, directed by Khadija Al Salami (Yemen/France); One Day and 124 Nights by Sabine El Chamma (Lebanon); The Replacement by Gilles Tarazi (Lebanon) and Standstill by Majdi El-Omari (Canada).

The shortlist also includes Trempoline (The Tree) by Elie Khalife (Lebanon); and documentary Fidai by Damien Ounouri, the first co-production with China at the DFC and a joint Algeria/France/China production. Algerian director and Muhr Award winner Merzak Allouache returns to the Dubai Film Connection with The Time of the Concord, as does compatriot Abdenour Zahzah's documentary The River. The Dubai Film Connection, part of the Festival's Dubai Film Market, opens doors to directors of Levant, Maghreb, Gulf or North African origin.