Ms Jerusha's parents William Sequeira and Mary Sequeira, who currently residing in Dubai, hail from Suratkal in Mangalore tauluk.
Launched in 2008, the Diff Young Journalist Award programme is part of the Dubai Film Market, Diff's comprehensive script-to screen initiative.
The nine finalist media students were selected from applicants from around the UAE based on the strength of previous written work.
After much deliberation, the festival selected Areeb Adbaullah Al Shathri and Jerusha Sequeira of American University of Sharjah; Maha El Adaway, Nupur Jaisinghani, and Tahira Mehmood of Middlesex University; Aisha Yaqub of Murdoch University; and Srijita Chattopadhyay, Danielle Ferns, and Epitacio Lopes of Manipal University as the outstanding finalists.
All students are mid-way through their second or third year of undergraduate study.
The students were mentored by Colin Brown, a former editor of the prestigious trade publication Screen International, contributing editor to CNBC Business, and Editorial Director of Slated, a newly-launched online marketplace for accredited investors to track and back independent film projects.
Diff Chairman Abdulhamid Juma said: “There is no better preparation for a journalist-in-training than a thriving festival and we are delighted to have these budding talents with us to experience the broad variety of interactive experiences, the film forum, the multiple on-the-ground interviews and of course the unique Diff red carpet experience.
“We are delighted to offer such a unique learning opportunity to these students and hope they will use this as a platform to launch their careers.”
Throughout the festival, the finalists were expected to meet deadlines and develop an understanding of all aspects of reportage on cinema, from both creative and industry perspectives.
Their work was featured in the Diff Daily, a daily newspaper issued on each day of the festival and comprising interviews with celebrities and filmmakers, film reviews, exposes of international trends in cinema, and summaries of industry panels.
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