Kanye West looking to shoot in Middle East

Reports are emerging of hip-hop star Kanye sending a team to scout locations in the Middle East for a new short film.

The New York Observer claims that West has sent reps to the Gulf to scout locations for a new short film to shoot in March.

A source tells the paper that members of Kanye's team have met with film companies and government officials in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha Qatar and will set up a base in the region to prepare an "authentic" depiction of Middle Eastern culture.

The paper quote a source saying "His reps seemed genuinely enthusiastic about creating a piece which highlights the culture accurately. There's a lot of preconceived notions and stereotypes about Emiratis and Qataris, which Westerners often play up. They discussed how Kanye is looking to bridge the cultural divide and break misconceptions."

This will effectively be a follow-up to the Runaway short film he released in the lead up to 2010's My Dark Beautiful Twisted Fantasy album

West recently concluded a run headlining the Big Day Out Festival across Australia and played his final side show in Melbourne on January 31.