New venue for fifth Abu Dhabi film festival

The red carpet is about to be rolled out for the fifth Abu Dhabi Film Festival and for the first time, public film screenings will be held at the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr's open-air venue.

With space for 1,200 people, the manicured grounds of the hotel will also provide the backdrop for the glamorous opening night festivities. The hotel will also serve as the October 13-22 festival's headquarters.

The announcement moves the event from one of its previous venues, the Emirates Palace hotel, and it will continue to show films indoors at Marina Mall's VOX cinema as well as the Abu Dhabi Theatre.

In addition to screenings, the Abu Dhabi Theatre is the place to get up close and personal with your favourite Hollywood stars. Owing to its success in recent years, ADFF are bringing back the "Encounters" series, which allowed audiences to hear from leading actors such as Uma Thurman, Clive Owen and Arabic stars such as Khaled Abol Naga. This year's A-list celebrities will be revealed on September 21.

Tickets for the festival are available from all three screening venues. For more information, visit www.abudhabifilmfestival.ae

• Remittance charges will be tackled by blockchain

• UAE's monumental and risky Mars Mission to inspire future generations, says minister

• Could the UAE drive India's economy?

• News has a bright future and the UAE is at the heart of it

• Architecture is over - here's cybertecture

• The National announces Future of News journalism competition

• Round up: Experts share their visions of the world to come