City of Life is a 2009 multilingual Emirati film written, directed, and produced by Ali F. Mostafa. Set in the United Arab Emirates, the film revolves around three parallel lives, amongst many cultures in one city, namely, Dubai.
According to the director Ali F. Mostafa, the inspiration for producing City of Life came from his frustration with people comparing Dubai to a Disneyland. According to the director, "Most of them take one look at the glitzy buildings and assume it’s an artificial place. My film has none of that. It has real people with real problems. Like any other city in the world, my film shows both the positives and the negatives."[1]
According to data produced by Italia Film International the movie ranked second in the local box office and successfully made over 500,000 dirhams in its first weekend.[2]