Dubai International Film Festival

Dubai Film Festival: 'The Attack', 'Winter Of Discontent', 'Death Metal Angola'

Matt Mueller — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 00:02:59 GMT

Perusing the Dubai programme deciding what to see when your knowledge of Arab and African cinema is on the rudimentary side can generate a fog of confusion, so a film titled "Death Metal Angola" stands out like a screaming neon sign.

Jeremy Xido, who directed this absorbing, beautifully shot documentary, which had its world premiere in Dubai, is a Detroit-born multi-talent (he has a European-based contemporary dance company and acted in "The Machinist") and was in Angola researching another documentary about a Chinese railroad when he discovered that the war-torn nation has a flourishing death-metal scene. An ex-Portuguese colony, Angola was wracked by civil war for nearly four decades (until the US, China and Russia stepped up to end the conflict, lured by the country's abundant natural resources); its people are haunted and scarred by their history; and the angry aggression of death metal offers an ideal outlet for expressing that angst. One Angolan musician describes the music as "a scream in revolt against what happened in our past that helps us remove the debris and suffering of war."

At the film's epicentre is a woman named Sonia Ferriera, a rock 'n' roll lover who not only acts as godmother to the nation's death and thrash metal scene but runs an orphanage in Huambo, a city that witnessed more horrors than most. The stories and experiences relayed in "Death Metal Angola" are unfathomable and devastating, but there is a sense of hope for the future; the music… well, not to my taste but you can't help feeling moved watching these musicians sing their pained lyrics. Xido couldn't finish his film in time to try for a Sundance slot but is hoping South By Southwest will go for "Death Metal Angola", which would be a stronger fit anyways because of the film's musical connections. I hope he makes the cut but even if he doesn't, I predict a long festival life, if not more, for Xido's superb film.

Talking of passions, "Winter Of Discontent," whose leading man Amr Waked was awarded Best Actor at Dubai's closing ceremony, is a heartfelt portrait of the 2011 Egyptian revolution. The film follows several characters, including Waked's activist blogger, a disillusioned newswoman (Farah Youssef) and a state security officer, in the month-long people's uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. Director Ibrahim El Batou largely improvised "Winter Of Discontent" with his actors (including all of the dialogue) but the film suffers from structural and pacing issues, not least a succession of awkward flashback sequences that unravel past connections but don't add a whole lot to the narrative. Unsurprisingly, the film's most powerful moments come towards the end, when El Batout's camera trails Waked and Youssef as they join the real-life protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Waked – who played the benevolent sheikh in "Salmon Fishing In The Yemen" and is a massive star in his home country – told me in Dubai that those scenes were the very first to be shot, with El Batout responding rapidly to history-changing events by pulling a story together and convincing the actor to take the leading role. It's this reactive, spur-of-the-moment authenticity that makes me forgive "Winter Of Discontent" its flaws.

One of the more controversial films to play in Dubai was "The Attack", Ziad Doueiri's drama about an esteemed Palestinian surgeon (played by Ali Suliman) who has assimilated into Israeli society but is forced to reconsider his identity after it appears his wife was the suicide bomber behind a murderous Tel Aviv attack. Suliman, who's appeared in "Homeland", "Body Of Lies" and "The Kingdom" (and says he's about to head to LA for pilot seaon), is a talented and charismatic actor and conveys a compelling emotional journey for his character without lapsing into the clichéd expectations that a role like this might carry (surely he's going to rediscover his Arab roots, right? It's not that simple...). Doueiri, who previously directed "West Beirut", strikes a fine balance, depicting sympathetic and unsympathetic characters on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide. "The Attack"'s message, that the two sides are so polarised there’s little hope for a resolution, made it a less cheery proposition than the many festival features celebrating Arab springs and Saudi girls riding bicycles - but it was also one of the most resonant and memorable films at the festival.

As for Saudi girls and bicycles, I was delighted that this year's Dubai jury awarded the Best Arab Film prize to Haifaa al-Mansour's 'Wadjda' and Best Actress to the film's delightful young star, Waad Mohammed. We'll be covering 'Wadjda' in greater depth when Sony Pictures Classics release the film in the US in early 2013.

Dubai Diary Four: 'Wadjda,' 'Hanyut,' "Television'

Meredith Brody — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 21:29:10 GMT

A gluttonous day of five movies, one after another: first, a press screening of “Wadjda.” There’s been some confusion as to whether it was scheduled to start at 9:30 or 10 a.m., and I arrive at the Mall of the Emirates multiplex to find that it did, indeed, start to screen at 9:30, but was halted and will start up again at 10. First instance of anything even approaching a glitch at this superbly-run Festival: everything starts on time, introductions are brisk, with talent on hand for virtually every screening, and end credits are silenced so Q-and-As can start while they’re still unspooling. I never have to wait for a shuttle between the several locations for more than a couple of minutes, and I also never stand in line at a box office for more than perhaps ten minutes. I couldn’t get a ticket only twice: both times for the same movie, the multiple-award-winning “My Brother The Devil,” set among Egyptian immigrants in London. Everybody has been preternaturally helpful and polite.

“Wajdja,” touted as the first movie shot in Saudi Arabia, as well as being helmed by a woman, is about a ten-year-old girl who wants a bike, a common-enough desire, but not permitted within the strictures of her society. She sets out to earn the money for the bike herself, weaving bracelets for sale (the bracelets themselves not to be worn at her traditional school), and entering a Koran competition in order to win the prize money. Her mother is coping with problems of her own: she can no longer bear children, and her handsome husband is being pressured by his family to take a second wife in order to achieve a male heir. There’s something of a twist ending. The story-telling is conventional but satisfying – the main pleasure and surprise of the movie is the compelling, even nuanced, performance of the young main actress, Waad Mohammed, handsome rather than cute or pretty. They got lucky when they found her.

At 12:15 I see “Hanyut,” by U-Wei Haji Saari, introduced as one of Malaysia’s most important and prolific directors, and the first Malaysian director invited to the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes, in 1995, with “Kaki bakar.” I see that it also played at Telluride, that year (why am I not surprised?). It might not only be the first time I’m aware of Saari’s work – this might be the first Malaysian film I’ve ever seen.

It’s based on Joseph Conrad’s “Almayer’s Folly,” and not for the first or last time I wish again that I’d caught Chantal Akerman’s version of “Almayer’s Folly” earlier this year, in Toronto. Saari’s melodramatic version of the story is handsomely mounted. A Dutch trader dreams of finding a mountain of gold in order to escape his expatriate life in the Malaysian jungle and return to Europe with the daughter he had with a local woman he has rejected. The atmosphere is properly sultry, thick, dense – there’s an inescapable sense of inevitable doom. The meaning of the title is revealed only at the end -- something about being lost, drifting, in peril. I ask Haji Saari which of the characters he thinks is referenced by the title, and he turns the question back on me: I think everyone.

3:45 pm finds me at a Bangladeshi film, “Television,” a comedy about the tensions in the family of the village elder who has banned television, photography, even mobile phones (but not landlines – business is business!) from his small rural village. The youth of the community – including his son, who is trying to conduct a love affair with a modern young woman – rebel against him. The very youthful, very Indian and Bangladeshi audience greets them film with hysterical enthusiasm – it’s like they’re at a different movie.

Just when I’m thinking that the film is overlong, uneven, and repetitive, I’m impressed by a surprising, powerful, even emotional ending. When the elder leaves his village in order to join a religious pilgrimage, his travels are abruptly ended because of an unscrupulous tour operator. He breaks down and hides out in a crummy hotel, where he finds to his surprise that he can join the celebration by means of the television he so feared. His religious fervor, even ecstasy, is something of a transcendental moment.

6:45 p.m.: “When Monaliza Smiled,” a slick chick flick from Jordan, about a repressed office worker finding true love with a younger, lower class, Egyptian boy who makes tea and snacks for her government colleagues, and who is threatened with deportation. Negligible, pleasant, but even so, a glimpse into another culture. Director Fadi D. Haddad enlivens the narrative with several amusing and jokey sequences alluding to traditional romantic movies from the Golden Age of Egyptian cinema, starring Omar Sharif and Faten Hammama, popular in Jordan, as well as a quick-cut opening introducing the main characters in silent-movie style.

9:45 p.m. – the classic film festival mistake. The day before, when turned down for a ticket for “My Brother the Devil” in this time slot, with the pressure of others standing in line behind me and breathing down my neck, I hastily scanned the list of possibilities and asked for ”Valley of Saints.” It’s not until the film begins that I realize I saw it, nine months ago, at the San Francisco International Film Festival. Oops. Unfortunately all the other movies in this time slot have already started. I consider just getting up and going home, but the beauty of its images – set on a lake in Kashmir – as well as its tender, elusive story of love and friendship, set against unsettling political unrest, keep me glued to my seat. It was a pleasant surprise in San Francisco, and I like it even more, this time around. There’s also the added pleasure of a Q-and-A with the young Indian American director, Musa Syeed [http://musasyeed.com/], as well as two of the non-professional stars of “Valley of Saints.” The sensitive, poetic lead, Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, has returned to his job of ferrying tourists around Dal Lake in his boat – this is only his second trip away from Kashmir; the first was when he saw the film in Hamburg.

He favors the rapt crowd with two songs. It’s a magical way to end the day. I’m happy I accidentally found my way there.

Dubai Fest: Michael Apted on Arab Docs, Women in Film, '7 Up' Series,' & Why 'Skyfall' Isn't a Bond Film

Matt Mueller — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 21:06:11 GMT

It seems a tad peculiar to find Michael Apted at the 9^th Dubai International Film Festival, but here he is, heading up the jury for the Muhr Arab Documentary section and collecting a Lifetime Achievement Award. (And that was his take when he playfully recounted the "strange order" his Dubai Festival invitations arrived in.) He also took part in a panel on non-fiction vs. fiction filmmaking, a natural fit for the prolific British filmmaker who has spent much of his career flitting between the two. "56 Up," the latest installment in his "Up" documentary series picking up on the lives of several British children at seven-year intervals, was broadcast in the UK earlier this year. And he stepped into the fray mid-shoot last year on the surf drama "Chasing Mavericks" after Curtis Hanson was forced to pull out with health troubles. Apted has 16 documentaries to watch in Dubai but did find time to chat on a terrace at the swanky Al Qasr hotel in the Madinat Jumeirah resort complex, which hosts the Dubai Fest each year (manfully ignoring the interruptions of an attention-seeking flock of squawking jays).

How is the documentary watching going?

It's what I'd hoped it would be coming here. You look at a lot of Western documentaries and they're straining for subject matter or are just incredibly narcissistic vanity pieces, and I come here and see these films that are raw and powerful and full of vitality. They're meaningful not just about the politics but about women's roles in society, the break-up of family life, parents and children. The context is so powerful. I'd love people in America to see some of these documentaries to reassure them that Middle Easterners don't have three heads or anything like that. I remember someone telling me when they knew I was coming here, "Don't go – they hate us!" And these are sophisticated people, but they really think the Middle East is just full of terrorists.

Had you been to the region before?

It's my first time this year. I’d been to North Africa and then I had a trip to Jordan and Saudi Arabia earlier in the year. There's a book I want to adapt about women in the Middle East.

What's the book?

"Eight Months On Ghazzah Street," by Hilary Mantel. It's an autobiographical story set in the '80s about going to the Middle East with her husband while he's working there. It's about the cultural divide between a Muslim woman and a Western woman, which I find very interesting. It's political with a small p but being here it feels like the social revolution that's been part of my life – the role of women in society – is happening here, and may even be beginning to rumble in Saudi Arabia. If I want to do another film about women in society, the Middle East might the place to do it.

You're known for drawing powerful performances from actresses, notably Sissy Spacek in "Coal Miner's Daughter" and Sigourney Weaver in "Gorillas In The Mist"...

Yes, but it goes deeper than that. Bearing in mind that I grew up in the United Kingdom, the greatest social revolution of my lifetime has been the changing role of women in society. That was vividly pointed out to me in the "7-Up" series because we didn't choose enough women. I can't beat myself up for it because when we started in 1964, it was inconceivable that Margaret Thatcher would exist.

Are you proud of the portrayal of women in your films?

I just think I've tried to avoid clichés. I've never allowed women to be ciphers or caricatures; I might have done that more with men than with women in my films.

"The World Is Not Enough" was the first Bond film to have a properly strong and well-rounded female villain…

Yes, that's true. When they asked me whether I'd like to do one, I thought it was a joke because why would they want me? But then I discovered it wasn't some great epiphany they'd had, they just wanted to get more women in to see Bond films. They couldn't really get beyond fathers and sons and wanted to see whether they could make it more friendly to young girls – which, when you look at "Twilight" and "The Hunger Games," is an even bigger audience than fathers and sons!

Did you enjoy "Skyfall"?

Yes I did, but it isn't a Bond film. I did [Bond] 19 and this is 23 and whoever plays Bond changes the whole tone of it completely. You go from Brosnan to Daniel [Craig] and it's different. As soon as Daniel started, it was much, much tougher. "Skyfall" is terrifically well done but it is different. There's a lot of competition in that marketplace for those kind of testosterone-driven action films. That whole business of the pretty girls and the double entendres – maybe those days are over for good and they're right to roll with the punches and move on.

Did you feel constricted by the formula and what you were able to do with Brosnan?

A little bit but you knew that going in. I'd suggest something grittier and they'd say, "Bond wouldn't do that." "Well, why not?" "He wouldn't." They'd done 19 so I figured they knew better than I. But it does change and that's what's allowed it be as successful as it is.

You're about to receive the Director's Guild of America's Robert B. Aldrich Award for services to the DGA. Are you proud of what you achieved there?

I was the first non-American president and I was the second longest-serving president in its 75-year history. I have done well there, navigating through very difficult times with the growth of new media and the issues of how do you monetise it and how do you deal with piracy, which are two huge issues that were launched on my watch. And whereas the Writer's Guild overreacted and went on strike about, you know, this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, well, it might have been but it's a very slow dawning.

Dubai Festival Diary 3: 'New Arab Films' Panel, 'Wadjda,' 'Detroit Unleaded,' 'Chaos Disorder'

Meredith Brody — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:25:00 GMT

There are only two screening slots scheduled for today, both in the evening, so in the afternoon I attend one of the industry panels that are part of the buzzing Film Market. This one is entitled “New Arab Films: A Story of Success,” although after listening to a broad spectrum of views, it seems that the panel could also have been entitled: “As William Goldman famously said, Nobody knows anything.” There’s Fadia Abboud, a director of an Australian Arab film festival; Rasha Salfi, who programs half-a-dozen Arab films for the Toronto International Film Festival annually; Anaïs Clanet, international film sales for Wide Management; Eve Gabereau, who buys films for exhibition, and Roman Paul, a German film producer who is at the Festival with “Wadjda,” which his company produced. The panel is moderated by Marion Masone of the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Clanet is blunt when she says that television channels only want movies that can fit a 90 minute slot. Gabereau points out that festival and critical success doesn’t always translate into financial returns – see “This is Not a Film,” by Jafar Panahi. Social media is lauded, but it remains to be seen whether VOD will be a savior, since even VOD seems still to be tied to a theatrical release.

At times it seems as though “Wadjda,” which premiered at Venice, and since has traveled the festival circuit, hitting Telluride and Toronto among others, has highjacked the conversation. It’s playing here as the Arab Programme gala. I learn it’s not only the first Saudi feature to be shot by a woman, but also the first feature shot inside Saudi Arabia, which, it seems, does not have a single movie theater (why do I not know this? Where have I been? I guess this is why they say travel is broadening). Paul tells us that the original title, “Wadja,” confused people who thought it was about Andrzej Wajda, the Polish film director. After trying to come up with another title – “The Girl with a Bike” was facetiously considered, to draft off the Dardenne brothers “The Kid With a Bike” – it was decided that adding a “d” to the name, i.e. “Wadjda,” would have to suffice.

The most important thing for me is that I’ve experienced one of those come-to-Jesus moments: I have to see more Arab films – and not just while I’m here, where they’re thick on the ground, but in the future. I’ve already internalized the sort of advice handed out by DIFF’s programmers in the Festival Guide: “watch as much as possible” from Nashen Moodley, Director of the AsiaAfrica Programme, “Pick ‘wildcards’ – never seen a Korean, Moroccan, or Senegalese film? Now’s your chance!” from Antonia Carver, programmer of Arabian Nights; “Don’t just watch the films you know you like, but choose one or two from left field,” from Sheila Whitaker, director of the International Programme; “Pick a film from a country you always wanted to visit,” from Dorothee Wenner, consultant to the celebration of Indian Cinema.

With that in mind, I pick out an eclectic and entirely non-Western slate for tomorrow’s films: from Malaysia, Bangladesh, Jordan, and India, as well as planning to see that first-ever Saudi film about the girl with the bike.

After I pick up my next-day tickets, I run into Peter Scarlet, veteran director of international film festivals including San Francisco, Tribeca, and Abu Dhabi. He’s en route to see “Moondog,” a 136-minute-long film billed as an experimental look into the psyche of the Egyptian filmmaker Khairy Beshara, shot over 11 years, mostly in the US. He introduces me to a beautiful young woman, Sara Al Qaiwani, telling me that she’s going to the London School of Economics, speaks uncounted languages, and is also an astonishing opera singer, about to burst upon the world stage. “Google Emirati opera singer,” he tells me, and I do.

I head off to see “Detroit Unleaded,” billed as “the first Arab American romantic dramedy,” which won the Discovery award in Toronto. It’s specifically Lebanese-American, and in a day of learning new things, I am told that Detroit has the largest Lebanese population outside of Lebanon.

It seems that a number of them – not just Lebanese now living in Dubai, but Lebanese who have lived in Detroit, or have relatives living there now -- have managed to find their way to this screening, as they attest during testimony during the enthusiastic q-and-a afterwards. They laud the director, Rola Nashef, who spent nine years in her quest to make it, and her three main actors: EJ Assi, a Detroit native in his feature film debut as the guy with ambitions beyond operating his family’s gritty gas station/convenience store; Nada Shouyahib, fresh out of college in her first-ever role as the middle-class daughter also eager to escape working in her brother’s cellphone business; and Mike Bateyeh, playing EJ’s cousin and co-worker, the veteran of the group, another Detroit native who’s knocked around LA as a standup comic and actor with a couple dozen credits, including an arc on “Breaking Bad.”

It’s not a flawless movie, but it has interesting and unexpected rhythms both in its dialogue and situations, and believable chemistry between the romantic leads. I’m not surprised when Nashef says her next film script, also set in the Lebanese-American community, revolves around a group of girlfriends: two of the best scenes in “Detroit American” involve the tight-knit group of Nada’s gal pals.

Segue from a interesting but conventional Hollywood-type film, however independently produced, to the world premiere of “Chaos, Disorder,” the debut feature film from a young Egyptian woman, Nadine Khan, who graduated from film school in Cairo, has worked as an AD and made short films. An isolated community, living among garbage is dependent on quixotic outside forces for food, water, and electricity, while a love triangle brews among the disaffected youth. You don’t have to be particularly sophisticated to see a political parable. It’s hard not to think of Samuel Beckett when you see people on top of garbage, and because of the enclosed setting and brisk 76-minute running time, I think that “Chaos, Disorder” could also be a satisfying play.

A guy asks me where the shuttle bus is, and he turns out to be a Tunisian film professor who has also just seen “Chaos, Disorder,” which he didn’t like – specifically because it was both a parable and theatrical. I tell him that I also found it theatrical, but that Samuel Beckett is very good company for it to be compared with.

What, I ask, have you seen that you liked? “Moondog,” he says. When I get back to my hotel room, I email Peter Scarlet : “How was Moondog?” “I ankled it after an hour,” he replies, in Varietyese. Knowing that not everybody watches everything all the way through, I ask: “I’m assuming you wouldn’t recommend it?” “Perhaps to curiosity-seekers with a strong masochistic streak…”

That’s what makes horse races.

Dubai International Film Festival: Arab Films Panel Hails 'Wadjda,' Laments Obstacles to Arab Film Success in North America

Matt Mueller — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 11:20:01 GMT

It was only shot last spring and premiered at Telluride and Venice a few months later, but already Haifaa al-Mansour's "Wadjda" is being hailed as a beacon for successful Middle Eastern filmmaking and a role model for other regional films and filmmakers. It dominated the discussion at New Arab Films: A Story Of Success panel at the 9^th Dubai International Film Festival, where the film is having its Middle Eastern premiere. That was partly powered by the fact that two of the panel's five participants had links with the film: Roman Paul was one of 'Wadjda''s two German producers (the film is a German-Saudi Arabian co-production), while Eve Gabereau, Managing Director of Soda Pictures, will be distributing al-Mansour's delightful debut in April 2013 in the UK.

Paul explained that when he and his partner at Razor Films, Gerhard Meixner, were first approached by al-Mansour, they took weeks to reply to her e-mail. But as she'd done development work on the script at the Sundance Institute's Screenwriter Lab, they finally agreed to meet her and came on board. According to Paul, it was Razor's suggestion to shoot the film in Saudi Arabia, rather than the alternative and easier option of the U.A.E., because they could anticipate that a narrative feature set and filmed in Saudi Arabia and directed by a woman (a first) would an instant media hook, as it has proved. The fact that al-Mansour has generated an amazing film, about a rebellious Saudi girl who enters a religious recital competition at her pious school so she can win the money to buy a bike, is not just a bonus but looks set to turn "Wadjda" into an international success story.

It's already put al-Monsour on the map as a figurehead for female Arab filmmakers, a position she told me that she's happy to assume while at the same time explaining that she doesn't want to feel it as a pressure about the kind of films she'll be expected to make in future. "But I do feel it's very important for Arab women to see stories like mine – people who break the norm and do things and get recognised for it," al-Mansour said. "Arab societies are very conservative and sometimes vicious when it comes to women. They always try to attack and set limits if women step out of line so it's very important for them to see that you can sometimes step out of line and survive it."

Also on the panel was Rasha Salti, a programmer for African and Middle Eastern cinema at the Toronto International Film Festival and thus a woman who knows how difficult it is for films emanating from the region to gain any sort of traction in North America. Salti admitted she feels extremely anxious every year when she's making her selections because so much is at stake for the chosen few. "I'm actually more anxious when they sell to Sony Pictures Classics than when they don't," said Salti, explaining that she worries about the disappointment buyers will feel when the films perform poorly no matter how positive their festival experiences. Nadine Labaki's "Where Do We Go Now?" and Elia Suleiman's "The Time That Remains" both performed badly at the US box office despite their positive receptions at TIFF.

Salti described Arab cinema as profoundly socially engaged and therefore able to exploit the world of bloggers and social media, an avenue she encourages producers and distributors to exploit more in the future as they attempt to elicit engagement with their films. But there is still a huge stumbling block: "US audiences," she said, "look at Arab cinema already hardened by the images they receive in the media. The cinema itself gets lost."

It remains to be seen how popular 'Wadjda' can be, but the signs are good and hopes high that it will go on to enjoy a very successful international run. "What's working with the audience," argued Paul, "is that we always said we weren't going to make – for lack of a better term – a Third World film. Investors kept saying, 'Do it cheaper.' But we made a film that the audience connects with and forgets where it was shot. It sounds easy, maybe it looks easy now, but it wasn't easy – it was ambitious and difficult."

Dubai Festival Day Two: Disappointing 3-D 'Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away,' Must-Sees 'Me and You' and 'Here and There'

Meredith Brody — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 06:08:53 GMT

After an unsuitably lavish breakfast, I catch a Mall of the Emirates-bound shuttle by the skin of my teeth and scuttle through the Mall --which looks just like a mall, only bigger, to paraphrase the well-known joke of what the unimpressed woman said to the flasher – arriving at the theater screening “Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away” in 3-D, just before it starts.

I’m underwhelmed. After Werner Herzog’s amazing 3-D “Cave of Forgotten Dreams,” exploring the 20,000-year-old paintings in the Chauvet caves of southern France, and Wim Wenders’ glorious 3-D “Pina,” featuring the dances of Pina Bausch, it seemed that 3-D had claimed its place as a valid art form. The presence of James Cameron as an executive producer of “Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away,” also seemed to indicate seriousness.

The film consists of acts from various Cirque productions, some of which I’ve seen in the flesh in Las Vegas and on tour, stitched together with a slender story of a young woman searching through a dreamlike underworld for an aerialist. Oddly the immersive properties of 3-D, as well as the projectile possibilities (which led to 50s 3-D movies being stigmatized as “asagai” or spear movies), seem minimized and underused – I was surprised when the occasional jellyfish costume or water seems to reach towards the audience. One entire sequence, in which warriors fight a battle on a vertiginously-inclined platform while dangling on ropes, is filmed in such a way that the essential anti-gravity trick is largely obscured.

On the shuttle ride back, I chat with a wordly young film critic for “Pravda,” Stas Tyrkin, who seems to spend more time out of Moscow at international film festivals than in it – especially now, when it’s winter there and summer here. He’s going to hit the beach.

After lunch at the Wharf’s dazzling buffet, where I dig into the roast chicken, couscous with vegetables, fish pie, and miniature pistachio éclairs, I see “Me and You,” the Bertolucci film, at the Madinat Theatre, which has become, after two days (!), my favorite venue: it’s got a great screen, the auditorium is properly raked, and the Moorish décor is just swell. I don’t catch the name of the affable presenter, who introduces the boyish young star, Jacopo Olmo Antinori, who wins my heart by saying that anything he did as an actor before “Me and You” was “just a joke,” that he learned to act from Bertolucci, and that he thinks the movie is “just a beautiful thing – and not just because I’m in it.” I’m shocked when the presenter reminds us to vote for the movie afterwards, from one to five – and he’s sure we’ll want to give it a five! The man sits down in front of me and I lean forward and tell him he’s succeeded in shocking me.

What shocks me even more is that I completely love the movie. It debuted at Cannes, I missed seeing it in Toronto, and it seems to have dropped off the radar entirely – if “Vogue” had a column called “People Aren’t Talking About,” “Me and You” would be a candidate. And yet it seems to me to be a small masterpiece, compelling in story, setting, acting – I’m reminded of “Les Enfants Terribles,” both novel and film, and that’s a good thing. Afterwards Antinori, now 15, who was 14 – the same age as the protagonist – when he did the film, speaks movingly of working with Bertolucci: “On his set there is a strange energy – everything is different – that’s art!...He wanted everything you could give. Lots of takes – sometimes 20 or 25, sometimes 5 or 3, it depends, (but) he wanted 2 or 3 good takes in every scene…he used 2 cameras, sometimes both at once.” I am also impressed with the work of the beautiful young actress Tea Falco (the photographs she’s supposed to have taken wittily and sadly seem to reference the work of the late Francesca Woodman), and Sonia Bergamasco, playing the mother. Even the eery cellar storeroom set is beguiling.From the sublime to the ridiculous: sometimes from the first shot of a film you feel like you’re in the presence of a stinker. “Berlin Telegram” begins with a scene of a woman singer fronting a rock band and crying as she sings. It’s a semi-autobiographical story of a self-conscious (not to say narcissistic and solipsistic) woman who moves to Berlin after her boyfriend dumps her (i.e., the end of the world) and works through her pain until she eventually feels better. Well, a little better.

I try to remind myself that I defended Nora Ephron’s novel “Heartburn,” about the breakup of her marriage to Carl Bernstein, by saying that she got art out of a messy situation, whereas some people just got the messy situation. (But “Heartburn” is funny!) I remind myself that Taylor Swift pleases (and makes) millions with similarly narcissistic and solipsistic works of art, about even less-deeply-felt relationships. And I listen as the audience tells the director how brave and intimate her sharing was. I’m still unconvinced.

Between “Berlin Telegram” and the last movie of the day I hang out in a huge and healthy-looking Borders bookstore – I guess they didn’t go bankrupt everywhere. This one is stuffed full of toys and tchotchkes as well as books and more magaxzines than I knew were still being published. It feels like the last century! Here in Dubai it seems there are several versions of Time Out being published: one on Style, another for kids, and I purchase this week’s Dubai city guide, featuring the 101 Best Dishes in Dubai, packaged with a Home & Garden supplement.

Then I see “Here and There,” winner of the Critic’s Week prize at Cannes, a fictionalized, low-key story of a Mexican man who returns to his wife and daughters in a small village after years of living alone in New York in the hopes of establishing a band and making a living there, made with unprofessional actors. The director, Antonio Mendez Esparza, got the idea for the film from the man who plays the lead role – his real wife plays his wife, but his two daughters were played by others (his two actual daughters were tested, but tended to hide from the camera!).

It’s a sweet, small movie, whose impact builds from its quiet repetitions and accretions of calm, almost monotonous dialogue, that still becomes heartbreaking. It’s a nice way to end the day.

Dubai International Film Fest Day 1: 'Bekas' & 'Life of Pi' Gala

Meredith Brody — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:17:54 GMT

The breakfast buffet at the Beachcomber restaurant just past the more impressive of the two impressive swimming pools of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel is overwhelming. My judgment collapses in the face of its multiple offerings -- Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, western. Somehow I find myself consuming excellent chicken curry, roti bread with sambal, dim sum, smoked salmon with garnishes, assorted French cheeses, fresh fruit with yogurt, a couple of tiny pastries – and I still only sampled a fraction of its possibilities.

I’m greeted by Dana Archer of the PR firm Dennis Davidson Associates, and join Variety’s Alissa Simon, who I just saw in Morelia. She’s a five-year veteran of the Dubai festival. She mentions that there is indeed a press screening of an Arab film this afternoon at 3. The only other scheduled event is the opening night film, Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi,” which I will attend even though I saw it when it closed the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 14. It’s a black-tie gala, complete with the de rigueur red carpet arrivals and separately-ticketed afterparty.

I shuttle to the Madinat Jumeirah, a hotel and conference center, designed to look like an ancient Arab town complete with souk, as opposed to the architecturally cutting-edge Burj Al Arab and the Vegasy Jumeirah Beach Hotel. It also houses the Madinat Arena, where the gala screenings are held, and the Madinat Theatre, another screening location. Most of the Festival screenings are held in a multiplex in the Mall of the Emirates (which famously holds the indoor ski resort that Tony Bourdain visited in “No Reservations,” which I re-watched as part of my Dubai research).

I stop at the box office, where you can request tickets for the next day’s screenings, and secure passes for each of the three time slots for the first full day: “Me and You,” Bernardo Bertolucci’s first feature in a decade; “Bekas,” the Gala representing the Arab film programme; and “Here and There,” a Mexican film which won the Critic’s Week prize in Cannes.

I have a bit of trouble finding the Press Office, and am aided by a towering glamazon who’s also en route there. I admire her flowing locks, expertly-applied makeup, and count-the-trend outfit: tight blue-jean pencil skirt, peplummed jacket, stiletto heels, designer handbag. She’s like a creature from Planet Vogue. Seeing her almost makes me want to sit down at one of the MAC makeup tables just outside the press room and request a free makeover. But the knowledge that long before the evening’s festivities, the makeup will melt away – plus the fact that you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear – deters me.

Instead I go to the lunch location, the hotel’s Wharf restaurant, picturesquely located on a man-made lagoon traversed by little poled boats. There’s another overwhelming multicultural buffet, coming hard upon the last, and I can’t quite rise to the occasion. I do sample delicious roast lamb, and another lamb dish, a stew more Frenchy than tagine, with a bit of cold corn salad, as well as two life-giving iced coffees. There’s a rumour that somebody heard Alicia Keys practicing during the sound check for tonight’s party. Wiser heads shake no, but hey, I figure anything’s possible.

I join my friend Shelly Kraicer, a Toronto-based writer and Festival consultant, and we go to the 3 p.m. press screening, one of only five scheduled during the entire week, it seems. It’s in the glamourous, vaguely Moorish, large Madinat Theatre – about 15 attendees in 432 seats. It turns out to be “Bekas,” about two young Iraqi Kurdish homeless orphan brothers, who set out on an impossible quest, inspired by a glimpse of a “Superman” movie: to travel to America, which is, after all, only “this far” (a few inches between thumb and forefinger) on the map.

It’s designed to be a heart-tugger – everything but the bloodhounds snapping at their rear ends, including random beatings, falls off high roofs and moving vehicles, evil smugglers, menacing border guards, and land mines. But I sit there relatively unmoved, partly because the young director, Karzan Kader, himself fled Iraq with his family at the age of six and ended up in Sweden. The movie, filmed in Iraq, is a Swedish-Finnish-Iraq co-production. Coca-Cola figures prominently as a plot point, more than once, which leads me to search the credits – in vain – for a thank you.

Afterwards I return my “Bekas” gala ticket to the box office and get one instead for “Berlin Telegram,” part of the Arab features selection. I’ve assembled something of a passable black-tie outfit from the venerable houses of Target, Forever 21, and Goodwill. The shuttle bus drops me at what turns out to be the wrong entrance for the Opening Night gala, and again, incredibly, I’m rescued by the glamazon of this morning, now wearing a truly incredible confection of flowing teal-colored chiffon, jeweled and embroidered from neck to hip and transparent below. Her name turns out to be Shireen, and we clomp around the hotel in our stilettos until we get to the checkpoint. I’m let through while Shireen argues with the guards – it seems her friend has her ticket and has already gone through.

I’m condemned to walk the endless red carpet. I know my editor would love it if I paused and took a picture of the hundreds of photographers that line the route, some of whom listlessly squeeze off a shot or two of me on the off-chance that I turn out to be someone (ha!), but I fear if I stop I will turn to stone.

Inside I’m given a glass of champagne and wait until the doors open, at which time I’m directed to the back half of the huge ampitheatre (1800 seats), a large portion of which is also already reserved. I sit next to a French couple, residents of Dubai for a few years; she works for Getty Images, and he for MBC, Arabic pay-cable movie channels that he paints a rather bleak programming picture of (“nothing before 2000, favorite stars Tom Cruise, Jackie Chan, Jean-Claude Van Damme”). Still he’s cheered and I’m impressed when they project an MBC commercial on the screen, and it turns out to be chic and impressively edited. I’d watch it! It’s a treat after watching silent footage of the red carpet arrivals and interviews– I only recognize Cate Blanchett, here as the head of the IWC Schaffhausen jury for an $100,000 award to a rising filmmaker from the Gulf region, in a rather unflattering grey-and-red gown with cap sleeves and a high neckline. Later I read that it’s a Rodarte Spring 2013 creation, and what reads grey-and-red onscreen is reported to be actually pale lilac and copper.

My French companions are cheered that the festivities actually start almost on time – last year, they told me, the program began an hour late, because Tom Cruise spent more than that signing autographs and posing with fans outside. Tickets for last year’s gala were being scalped at between $3000 and $5000 dollars, they say.

Onstage, after welcoming remarks, some translated, some not (we’re told to listen to simultaneous translations on headsets, which are not to be found) by various local dignitaries and Festival heads, Michael Apted is given a Lifetime Achievement Award, which he accepts with brief and graceful remarks, lauding the “colorful and cosmopolitan” Dubai Festival. He’s also the head of the Arab Documentary Jury. (I wish his most recent doc, this year’s “56 Up,” or indeed any of his films, which look great in the well-edited tribute clip reel, was being screened here.) And then the Egyptian actor Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, veteran of 48 different films, none of which I think I’ve seen, receives his Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ang Lee is not in attendance, but three stars of the film are: the young lead in his film debut, Suraj Sharma, Adil Hussan, who plays his father, and Shravanthi Sainath, also debuting as Pi’s girlfriend. The first time I saw the movie, I felt I was sitting a trifle too close. But in this huge amphitheatre, I’m too far away, both literally and figuratively. I’m a big Ang Lee fan, but on second viewing I’m less impressed by the technical achievement and more critical of the story. Still love the meerkats, however!

Afterwards there’s a trek down to the beach party, a white-on-white space with a loud overamplified cover band smack in the center of the room (the lunchtime rumour must have been sparked by overhearing the blonde English singer singing a Keys song; she also impersonates Beyonce). There’s easy access to multiple food stands dotted around the room, along with passed hors d’oeuvres: Mediterranean antipasti, two rich pastas, grilled steak and fish, Willy-Wonka-esque dessert displays. It’s the third overwhelming buffet of the day, and I’m not up to the task.

On the stroke of five minutes past midnight, too-densely-programmed fireworks go off above the ocean for about six minutes. I catch a golf cart (known here as “buggies”) up to the shuttle back to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. Inside my room a letter has been left on my bed, warning that “a short fireworks display [is] scheduled to take place for approximately 4 minutes shortly after 23:40 hrs.” Looking at it that way, I got 50% more fireworks than I would have expected had I read it before I left for the evening.

Tomorrow I can see four movies (not to mention the Mall of the Emirates), which seems even more festive.

ICE ICE Baby! En Route to the 9th Dubai International Film Festival

Meredith Brody — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 02:07:31 GMT

It might make sense to try to sleep as much as possible during the 16-hour direct flight from San Francisco to Dubai via Emirates. Especially since one hadn’t slept much the night before, and had dutifully arrived at the check-in counter three hours before departure time, as instructed on one’s e-ticket.

But that was before I was confronted by what an Emirates representative had proudly called their “insane inflight entertainment system called ICE which features over 600 entertainment channels.” The flesh is weak. ICE stands for “information, communication, entertainment” and predictably I went for entertainment. (Information, such as where we were on our flight route, appeared periodically anyway on the larger screens visible on the cabins’ bulkheads, and I welcomed the chance to not “phone, SMS, or email the world below” during my flight, despite the ability to do so. The world is too much with us. Give it a rest.)

Despite the famous Iyengar/Lepper jam experiment in which too much choice is shown to be demotivating, I had scrolled through dozens if not hundreds of choices in movies (in categories such as new, film club, world cinema, Bollywood) and was watching my first choice, “The Bourne Legacy,” ten minutes before we took off.

Within my range of vision, I could see that my seatmate to my left was watching a slate of Bollywood films, which gratifyingly offered me soundless glimpses of lavish dance numbers and adorably ungrammatical subtitles, and that the man across the aisle spent the flight alternating between cradling his adorable baby son and watching snippets of “Red Lights,” a psychic thriller with the intriguing cast of Cillian Murphy, Robert De Niro, Sigourney Weaver, Toby Jones, Joely Richardson, and Elizabeth Olsen, which had played in January at the Sundance Film Festival and whose admittedly limited U.S. release in July had escaped my notice.

“Red Lights” was on my very long shortlist. But after “The Bourne Legacy” (diverting action sequences, but Jeremy Renner is nowhere near as engaging as Matt Damon, even playing a cipher, and I detected no chemistry between him and Rachel Weisz) I segued to my admitted weakness, French cinema, watching in quick succession a double bill of movies directed by actresses: “Another Woman’s Life,” starring Juliette Binoche and Mathieu Kassovitz, directed by Sylvie Testud, and “The Adopted,” directed by and starring Mélanie Laurent. (Both of which had played in this spring’s “City of Lights, City of Angels,” festival in Los Angeles, but hadn’t made it to the Bay Area.)

Afterwards I perused the TV selection, and chose “Parade’s End,” a 2012 BBC miniseries based on the tetralogy by Ford Madox Ford, about a love triangle, set in England before, during, and after World War I. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Rebecca Hall, the Australian actress Adelaide Clemens (soon to be seen in Baz Luhrman’s “The Great Gatsby”) and a score of England’s best acting talent, and was brilliantly written by Sir Tom Stoppard. To say I enjoyed this experience is to seriously understate the case. I loved every minute of its almost five-hour running time, and fully intend to buy the DVD, read the novels, and annoy my friends by rhapsodizing about it until it shows up on HBO (it’s a joint BBC/HBO production).

It was a tough, not to say impossible, act to follow, and time was growing short. I sampled an insipid romantic comedy, “Love’s Kitchen,” in which restaurant chef Dougray Scott gets entangled with American food critic Claire Forlani, which I exited after twenty minutes, and then cynically opted for something that I knew would send me off to the land of nod, the starry, excruciating “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” which did the trick almost before all of its five oddly-assorted couples (OK, Jennifer Lopez and Rodrigo Santoro, and Cameron Diaz and Matthew Morrison. But Elizabeth Banks and Ben Falcone? Dennis Quaid and Brooklyn Decker?) were introduced.

I needed at least a little sleep before choosing what I was to see from the 158 films from 61 countries in 43 different languages unspooling over the next eight days in Dubai. Emirates’ ICE was a hard act to follow, but Dubai did have the advantage, the big advantage, of the big screen. (“Parade’s End,” after all, was made for the small screen.)

But I must say I was unexpectedly looking forward to the 16-hour return trip, entirely because of Emirate’s ICE inflight entertainment and the second chance to curate the Meredith Brody film festival.

Women to Watch: Halima Ouardiri

Sydney Levine — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 14:30:00 GMT

I met the young producer/ writer/ director Halima Ouardiri at TIFF 12 through their mentoring program. Born of a Swiss mother and a Moroccan father in 1977 in Geneva where she spent her childhood and adolescence experiencing various activities such as dressage of horses and close protection of Saudi Arabian princesses. She now lives in Montreal where she studied political science and then cinema at Concordia University. Working at EyeSteelFilm , she gained experience in the production of independent films. She wrote the screenplay and directed a fiction short, Au Sol in 2004 and La Robe in 2009, a documentary short. She won the Grand Prix of the 'Cours écrire ton court!' Competition organized by SODEC with the screenplay for Mokhtar which she then directed.

Her next project, Body, really sparked my interest. It tells the story of a young woman who enters a world of intrigue when she is hired as the bodyguard for a visiting Saudi princess. Body is drawn directly from her experience as a bodyguard. Back in 2003, she became the bodyguard of a Saudi princess on holiday in Geneva. She was only twenty-five years old and had taken the job to make some money over the summer. Halima told me, "The opportunity has since inspired me to make a film that offers a unique exploration into a closed and unseen world, where the ultra-privileged can escape reality, and as a result loose touch with humanity. I like to observe what makes us human today, and so I must look at concrete and extreme situations which society has constructed."

Halima just travelled back to Geneva where she is planning to shoot Body, in the Summer of 2014. She finds the city of Geneva very inspiring, a catalyst to finishing the script in the next 3 months.

Previously, Halima wrote, directed and produced the award winning short, Mokhtar. Based on a true story, it recounts the tale of a young boy who lives with his family of goat herds in a remote Moroccan village. One day, the boy finds a fallen owl and decides to keep it despite the fact that the owl is considered a bad omen. Mokhtar’s new pet becomes a symbol of rebellion against his family and an icon of his fledgling independence. Kinship, religion and spirituality are all confronted in this film that celebrates inner and outer strength.

Filming was no small feat. Halima shot on super-16 in the remote countryside of Morocco near Agadir casting local villagers, goats, and an owl to be the stars of the film. Of all the cast, only the owl was trained as an actor. Since its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (Canada Short Cuts), Mokhtar has traveled to a hundred international film festivals (Dubai, Rotterdam, Berlin, SXSW), and has won numerous awards for Best Short.

Blanchett Heads Dubai Fest Filmmaker Award Jury; Awards $100K to Arabian Peninsula Filmmaker Projects

Beth Hanna — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:30:00 GMT

Cate Blanchett will head the jury for the IWC Shaffhausen International Filmmaker Award at the Dubai International Film Festival (December 9-16). The shortlist for the award includes four feature-length projects from established or up-and-coming filmmakers in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.

The four shortlisted film projects are "Nothing Doing in Baghdad" by Maysoon Pachachi, "The Sleeping Tree" by Mohammed Rashed Bulali, "Girls in the Know" by Abdullah Al Kaabi and "From A to B" by Ali F. Mostafa. The winner will be announced on December 9, and will receive an impressive cash prize of $100K to help finance and transfer the winning filmmaker's vision to the screen.

IWC Schaffhausen CEO Georges Kern, DIFF chairman Abdulhamid Jula, DIFF artistic director Masoud Amralla and Arte-France Cinema general director Olivier Pere join Blanchett on the award jury.

Dubai Film Market December 9-16, 2012

Sydney Levine — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 20:30:00 GMT

The Dubai Film Market is the business centre of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). It is the leading industry platform in the world dedicated to Arab cinema providing unprecedented insights to the region’s trends and access to the Middle East’s leading industry personalities. In 2011, the Market welcomed over 1,500 industry professionals including key decision-makers and trendsetters from more than 80 countries. The Market is the destination to discover the best cinema from the Arab world, Asia and Africa and has established several pioneering initiatives to showcase and support Arab film-makers. Dubai Film Market runs concurrently with DIFF and is conveniently located in the heart of the Festival Headquarters. Don't miss the most exciting must-attend industry event in the region.

FILMMART

Filmmart, the festival’s sales and acquisitions platform, will once again welcome more than 240 companies and 1,500 sales agents, distributors, producers, film-makers and TV buyers from the region and beyond. Located within the Market, Filmmart is the leading marketplace for Arab, Asian and African films.

This year, Cinetech, Filmmart’s digital video library will feature more than 350 films. Selected titles will include films from the DIFF programme, the 2012 Gulf Film Festival, Market Recommended Titles, a selection from the Venice International Film Festival and Enjaaz supported Works in Progress. Cinetech allows viewers to contact sales agents, request screeners and above all, acquire films.

Sales agents attending DIFF with a film in the festival’s programme have the added advantage of presenting up to a maximum of 3 films in Cinetech.

For further information click here.

DUBAI FILM CONNECTION

The Dubai Film Connection is a co-production market that selects and invites 15 feature fiction and documentary projects in development from the Arab world looking for co-producers and financing. To date, 26 projects DFC projects have been completed and a further 10 are currently in production. Selected film-makers are presented with the opportunity to discuss their projects with producers, financiers, film funds, distributors, sales agents and broadcasters. Attendance at DFC is by invitation only. If you are interested in receiving information about DFC contact: dubaifilmconnection@tecom.ae

ENJAAZ

Enjaaz is the Market’s post-production support programme specifically designed to support Arab films. Since 2010, 45 films have benefited from Enjaaz support. . Successful applicants are eligible to receive funding up to a maximum of US $100,000 per film.

This year, 6 Enjaaz projects will be presenting their projects at the Market. Their films (works-in-progress) will be available for viewing at Filmmart’s Cinetech.

FORUM

The Dubai Film Market hosts the Forum, an invigorating series of international panels, workshops, master classes and ‘How to’ sessions presenting the most accurate and up-to-date information from the industry. The Forum also hosts invaluable networking opportunities during the Market.

EXCHANGE

The Festival’s training and partnership activities with leading international organizations and institutions include Interchange, a project development and co-production programme for European and Arab film-makers in partnership with EAVE and the TorinoFilmLab and supported by Media MUNDUS.

The Exchange also comprises partnerships with the Arab Fund for Art and Culture – Lebanon; IWC Schaffhausen – Switzerland; Royal Film Commission – Jordan; Beirut DC – Lebanon; DoxBox – Syria; CPH:DOX – Denmark; India Film Bazaar – India; IFP – USA and San Sebastian “Cinema in Motion” – Spain.

Selected film projects from our partners will participate at DIFF 2012.

DIARY DATES

December 10th -13th
Dubai Film Connection

December 12th
Interchange Projects Pitching Event

December 10th
Forum - Broadcasters Day

December 13th
Forum - Documentary Day

December 10th - 16th
Daily “How to sessions” 9.30 to 11.00

December 10th - 16th
Daily Networking sessions 16.30 to 18.00

THE TEAM

Jane Williams - Director Dubai Film Connection & Forum
Pascal Diot - Manager Dubai Filmmart

IN FOCUS

Fund for European Co-Productions selects Dubai International Film Festival to host 1st international meeting
Eurimages may open 129-year-old collaborative platform to Arab films

DIDN'T REGISTER YET?

Didn't register yet to attend the Dubai Film Market?

Register now!

Film Society of Lincoln Center and Dubai International Film Festival Team to Highlight Arab Filmmaking

Jay A. Fernandez — Sat, 19 May 2012 11:33:08 GMT

Film Society of Lincoln Center is partnering with the Dubai International Film Festival to create the DIFF Focus program that will concentrate on Arab filmmakers. It'scomprised of 10 features, short-film selections, Q&As and panels and will run August 24-30.

Among the films to be included are Susan Youssef’s love story “Habibi Rasak Kharban,” which gained support from DIFF’s Enjaaz post-production fund and had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and Ali Mostafa’s “City of Life,” which opened the Gulf Film Festival.

“We are delighted to present some of the best films from the Arab region, which we hope will give a flavor of the vibrancy and relevance of Middle Eastern cinema,” said DIFF chairman Abdulhamid Juma. “We look forward to working with the Lincoln Center and hope this will be a long and prosperous partnership.”

The films selected for the Lincoln Center program have been supported through the Dubai Film Market as part of DIFF’s effort to increase production and international co-productions in the region.

The ninth edition of DIFF will be held December 9-16.

Dubai International Festival Announces Award Winners and "Habibi" is Tops

Bryce J. Renninger — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:11:08 GMT

After hosting the world premiere of the new "Mission Impossible" movie as well as a wide variety of films from Africa, Asia and the Arab world, the Dubai International Film Festival ended today with a closing ceremony that announced Palestinian film "Habibi Rasak Kharban" by Susan Youssef as the fest's winner of the FIPRESCI award and best Arab feature award.

"Habibi"is a story of forbidden love and is the first feature set in Gaza in over 15 years. It's also the only Palestinian film release of 2011.

A complete list of the fest's winners is below:

Lifetime Achievement Awards:
Gamil Ratib
A. Rahman
Werner Herzog

The du People’s Choice Award:
ALS DER WEIHNACHTSMANN VOM HIMMEL FIEL (WHEN SANTA FELL TO EARTH) by Oliver Dieckmann – Germany

The annual ‘Prize of the International Critics’ for Arab films from the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), the world’s foremost body of film writers, academics and critics from over 60 countries, were awarded to:

Best Documentary: MARCEDES by Hady Zaccak - Lebanon
Best Short: SUR LA ROUTE DU PARADIS (THE ROAD TO PARADISE) by Uda Benyamina – France
Best Feature: HABIBI RASAK KHARBAN (HABIBI) by Susan Youssef - Palestine, USA, Netherlands, UAE

The Human Rights Film Network Award, aimed at encouraging and promoting films that address human rights issues, was won by SHOJI TO TAKAO (SHOJI & TAKAO) by Yoko Ide - Japan.

Muhr AsiaAfrica

Muhr Asia Africa Shorts:

Second Prize: MEHFUZ (SAFE) by Rohit Pandey - India
Special Jury Prize: TINYE SO by Daouda Coulibaly - Mali
First Prize: MO-EDON PAE-MIL-LI (MODERN FAMILY) by Kwang Bin Kim - South Korea

Muhr Asia Africa Documentary:

Special Mention: JAI BHIM COMRADE by Anand Patwardhan - India
Second Prize: ENDING NOTE (DEATH OF A JAPANESE SALESMAN) by Mami Sunada - Japan
Special Jury Prize: NEGERI DI BAWAH KABUT (THE LAND BENEATH THE FOG) by Shalahuddin Siregar - Indonesia
First Prize: IN FILM NIST (THIS IS NOT A FILM) by Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb - Iran

Muhr Asia Africa Feature:

Special Mention: Chandani Senevirathne for her role in NIKINI VASSA (AUGUST DRIZZLE) - Sri Lanka
Best Cinematographer: Gökhan Tiryaki for BIR ZAMANLAR ANADOLU'DA (ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA) - Turkey
Best Editor: Takashi Sato for KITSUTSUKI TO AME (THE WOODSMAN AND THE RAIN) - Japan
Best Composer: Christopher Khoo for TATSUMI - Singapore
Best Scriptwriter: Shuichi Okita for KITSUTSUKI TO AME (THE WOODSMAN AND THE RAIN) - Japan
Best Actress: Phung Ho Hai Lin for TÂM HÕN MĘ (MOTHER'S SOUL) - Vietnam
Best Actor: Kôji Yakusho for KITSUTSUKI TO AME (THE WOODSMAN AND THE RAIN) – Japan
Special Jury Prize: BIR ZAMANLAR ANADOLU'DA (ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA) by Nuri Bilge Ceylan - Turkey
Best Film: TATSUMI by Eric Khoo - Singapore

Muhr Arab

Muhr Arab Shorts:

Special Mention: ZAFIR (BREATHE OUT) by Omar El Zohairy - Egypt
Special Mention: MAKAN YOUA'AD (A PLACE TO GO) by Wajdi Elian - Lebanon
Second Prize: ARD AL ABTAL (LAND OF THE HEROES) by Sahim Omar Kalifa - Iraq
Special Jury Prize: BRÛLEURS (BURNERS) by Farid Bentoumi - France
First Prize: SUR LA ROUTE DU PARADIS (THE ROAD TO PARADISE) by Uda Benyamina – France

Muhr Arab Documentary:

Special Mention: LA KHAOUFA BAADA AL'YAOUM (NO MORE FEAR) by Mourad Ben Cheikh - Tunisia
Second Prize: ICI, ON NOIE LES ALGERIENS - 17 OCTOBRE 1961 (HERE WE DROWN ALGERIANS - OCTOBER 17TH, 1961) by Yasmina Adi - France
Special Jury Prize: HALABJA - THE LOST CHILDREN by Akram Hidou - Iraq, Germany, Syria
First Prize: SECTOR ZERO by Nadim Mishlawi - Lebanon, UAE

Muhr Arab Feature:

Cinematographer: Raphael Bauche for SHI GHADI OU SHI JAY (BOILING DREAMS) - Morocco
Best Editor: Susan Youssef and Man Kit Lam for HABIBI RASAK KHARBAN (HABIBI) - Palestine, USA, Netherlands, UAE
Best Composer: Le Trio Jubran for AL JUMA AL AKHEIRA (THE LAST FRIDAY) Jordan, UAE
Best Scriptwriter: Hakim Belabbes for SHI GHADI OU SHI JAY (BOILING DREAMS) - Morocco
Best Actress: Maisa Abd Elhadi for HABIBI RASAK KHARBAN (HABIBI) - Palestine, USA, Netherlands, UAE
Best Actor: Ali Suliman for AL JUMA AL AKHEIRA (THE LAST FRIDAY) - Jordan, UAE
Special Jury Prize: AL JUMA AL AKHEIRA (THE LAST FRIDAY) by Yahya Alabdallah - Jordan, UAE
Best Film: HABIBI RASAK KHARBAN (HABIBI) by Susan Youssef - Palestine, USA, Netherlands, UAE

Muhr Emirati

Special Mention: LONDON IN A HEADSCARF by Mariam Al Sarkal - UK
Second Prize: AKHIR DECEMBER (END OF DECEMBER) by Hamad Al Hammadi - UAE
Special Jury Prize: CHILDREN by Mohammad Fikree - UAE
First Prize: AMAL by Nujoom Alghanem - UAE

People Who Make a DIFFerence
Jafar Varzideh, for flying out from Los Angeles since the inaugural edition of DIFF to volunteer at the festival

Dubai Film Festival: A Gilded Event Spotlighting the Good, the Mediocre and the Fundamentalist

Brian Brooks — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:32:30 GMT

After about 24 hours in Dubai attending the 7th annual Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), I realized that the trip was going to redefine three words, minimum: Surreal, contradiction and ironic. At that was before I'd seen a film.

Like any other festival in the world, there are things to be critical about at DIFF and I'll get to them later, but their hospitality cannot be beat. Due to their relative remoteness from Europe and the US, the festival is forced to fly in and host many guests and journalists which is the only way they could likely get as much coverage as they do. There is also a longstanding tradition of hospitality in the Arab world as well as in Islam, and DIFF embraces that tradition.

We were greeted at the gate and ushered to a lounge to wait while our passports are checked and bags collected, and while I am not sure doing it myself wouldn't have been quicker, the offer of juice and pastries in a quiet setting at the end of a long flight was welcome. The hotel at which most of the industry are billeted, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, seems to be modeled on a Vegas-style family hotel (sans gambling, of course) and is loaded with Brits, Aussies, Chinese and seemingly most of all, Russians. In fact, it's such an international crowd that each day the hotel's daily info sheet states how many different nationalities are staying (and working) at the hotel. Every day each count was in the 60s!

DIFF's opener this year was the perfect film to kick off a festival. "The King's Speech" is well made, well acted, fun and leaves the audience in a good mood which is more than I can say for most openers. The opening night party on the beach was my first exposure to the customer service that would inform the entire 9 day stay and which fellow journalists, jury members and filmmakers would remark upon.

DIFF is the kind of festival where complaining about something like a press screening being cancelled for technical reasons (it was) or a spectacularly botched awards ceremony (more on that later) seems petty when your glass of Moet et Chandon never runs dry and the supply of prawns and cheesecake seem endless. I often think the best festivals at which to see films would be in cold, barren wastelands (Siberia International Film Festival, anyone?) not where the choices are between swimming in the Persian Gulf, a world record water slide, having your feet exfoliated by toothless fish (I shit you not) or an excursion to Old Dubai. Faced with these options, one might be forgiven for being tempted.

That said, there were films on offer and many of them unseen by me or most Western audiences. The fest is heavy on Arab world cinema (natch) as well as a large selection of African and Asian cinema, giving attendees a huge choice of films to see that they've probably not seen before. DIFF is the launching point for many of the Middle Eastern films seen around the festival circuit and according to DIFF Managing Director Shivani Pandya, the festival has an arrangement with Sundance wherein Dubai is essentially treated as a "home country" screening, even for non-UAE films.

Photo by Mark Rabinowitz

One of this year's world premieres is Mohammed Hushki's excellent "Transit Cities," a story of a young woman (Laila, played by the stunning Saba Moubarak) returning to Amman, Jordan after 14 years in the United States only to find that the society has moved significantly to the right and that Islamic fundamentalism is on the rise, something that Hushki told me is most certainly true. "It's been going on for a while...since the Iranian Shah fell." He also pointed out that Islamic fundamentalism isn't necessarily something that comes from the top down, politically. "It's not just one opinion. It's not like the government comes out with a press release saying 'we're conservative, now.' It depends on ministries, it depends on institutions and usually it depends on personal beliefs of individuals. The higher you get in the authority, you have certain powers and you use them. It could be a school principal and it could be a (government) minister."

As for how it's affecting the ability for filmmakers to do their work, Hushki says that he's not worried about government censorship. "The biggest problem is when the public becomes self censoring because then there's no one to fight with." The Royal Film Commission (RFC), on the other hand, is very helpful to filmmakers, adds "Transit Cities" producer Rula Nasser. Their programs are free, including placing filmmakers at USC and Sundance, as well as providing hands on help. "They are giving us equipment, editing suites and sound studios," says Nasser, all at no cost. Additionally in 2006 the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts opened as a joint effort of Jordan's RFC and USC's School of Cinematic Arts which Hushki says is scholarship-based.

One of the consequences of the public move toward fundamentalist Islam, according to Hushki is that artists and intellectuals are no longer seen by the public as important members of society, a point addressed in his film. Laila's father is a former well-respected professor who has been completely broken by the country's move to the right and his daughter's absence.

L to R: "Transit Cities" Producer Rula Nasser, actors Mohammad Al-Qabbani and Saba Mubarak and director Mohammed Hushki. Photo courtesy of Dubai International Film Festival.

The main theme of the film, that of people being unable to adjust when they return to a changed homeland, is being experienced not only by young people in Jordan but by expats in Dubai, as well. When the film screened at DIFF, Hushki says, the reaction from Dubai's expat population was similar to the reaction they expect from Jordanians. "They feel that being away for a while and going back home messes with your view of what home is and you're stuck with these memories [of what home was like] because you're not there, you're not adapting so the change is very abrupt. A lot of people come back to Jordan and they can't cope. The choice that Laila was left with was either that she copes and changes who she is to fit into the society, or she becomes a rebel and she's rejected by the society (and this happens a lot) or she just goes back to the States and stays there, even though she knows that it's not home."

The fundamental question of "where do we belong?" is what Hushki says is being asked by a generation of young Jordanians. "Are we Muslims and part of a bigger nation called the Nation of Islam? Are we Arabs? Are we global citizens? Are we more Western than Eastern? It's a mess and it's partly because of this huge revolution in communication. It's like we're all going through a midlife crisis from the age of twenty." "Transit Cities" has yet to screen in Jordan and Hushki is excited to see the reaction.

On the documentary side is Norma Marcos' "Fragments of a Lost Palestine," a film that takes a little while to reveal its true nature but once it does, it's an entertaining, original and even funny look at some of the frustrations facing modern Palestinians, both within and outside of Palestine. Marcos is a Palestinian by birth and holds passports from both Palestine and France. Wanting to visit her ailing mother in Palestine, Marcos is denied entry by Israel despite their treaty with France because Israel views Marcos as Palestinian, not French because she is "not of Franco-French origin." Some of the films laughs come watching Marcos try and deal with the well-meaning but overly bureaucratic French government employees as they try to help her get permission to enter Israel.

Khaled Abol Naga as Khaled in Ahmad Abdallah's "Microphone." Image courtesy of Dubai International Film Festival.

Finally gaining approval, the rest of the film initially feels like almost random fragments of footage of Marcos and her friends and family in both Palestine and Israel but random they are not and a pleasant feeling of family and community emerge from the experience. This is a series of stories, of vignettes of life within the occupation. As in any state of war or, as Jimmy Carter called it, apartheid, life must go on. Children go to school and run for class representative (like Marcos' precocious and intelligent niece Yara), people have to share their showers because of water rationing and even have festivals. "No one mentions our beer festival," grouses one of Marcos' Palestinian friends, when he is pointing out that all anyone talks about is war and struggle when discussing Palestine, ignoring the fact that they do in fact have lives. It's a humanizing and illuminating documentary.

Arguably the titan of Arab cinema is Egypt. According to the Dubai Film Market's Focus 2010 World Film Market Trends book they produce the most films in Africa and Egyptian films count for the most box office dollars in several Arab and Middle Eastern countries. Egypt's film industry is traditionally Cairo-centric which is one of the things that sets Ahmad Abdalla's Alexandria-set "Microphone" apart. A flawed but interesting film, "Microphone" follows a similar theme to "Transit Cities," that of the native returning after years abroad in the US. In this case it's Khaled (Khaled Abol Naga) returning to Alexandria to find that the ex that he's been carrying a torch for is emigrating because she finds life in Egypt stifling and oppressive and his father, with whom he lives, is uncommunicative.

Depressed by what has greeted him upon his return, Khaled wanders around the city in a funk and stumbles upon the city's underground scene of skaters, hip hop performers and graffiti artists. Feeling like he has discovered a new and vibrant part of his hometown, Khaled sets about trying to promote this counter culture as a way to counter his ex-girlfriend's insistence that Alexandria is a conservative and oppressive society.

While the film is full of vibrant performances (both acting and musical) and the story is interesting, overall it's a mixed bag. The editing is clever, jumping between a single coffee shop conversation between Khaled and his ex-girlfriend, and Khaled's time with the musicians, skaters, etc. but several moments at the coffee shop are repeated throughout the film, giving the feeling that there wasn't enough to that storyline and they were trying to flesh it out artificially. Some of the most interesting things about the film are its likely unintentional parallels with Charlie Ahearn's seminal pseudo-documentary, 1983's "Wild Style," with its look inside the rising subculture of graffiti art and hip hop. A perfect film this is not, but a worthwhile look inside contemporary Alexandria culture, it is. It's too bad the ending falls so flat. Khaled spends the whole film passionately trying to help these artists and in the end, I was left with a feeling of abject failure.

More than films and parties, DIFF is a full-fledged market, Filmmart, with the Film Forum series of seminars and the Young Journalism Award competition, The Dubai Film Connection co-production market (since its launch on 2007, 50% of the 46 projects have been made) and a post-production funding initiative called Enjaaz. There were hundreds of delegates from all over the world in Dubai to do business, including distributors, producers and filmmakers looking for funding.

Of course DIFF isn't without its problems, no festival is. I thought their English-language film selection could use some brightening up, especially the American indies. "Winter's Bone" was really the only US indie "favorite" that screened at the fest and while I understand the need to cater to the audience, I'm reasonably sure there were better films available than "Tron: Legacy" with which to close the festival.

Photo by Mark Rabinowitz

Then there was closing night. I've been to a lot of closing ceremonies, but none quite as odd as DIFF's. On the one hand, there was a nicely designed set and video screen on a wide stage in the festival's largest venue. On the other hand there were four presenters, alternating the announcements awkwardly in English and Arabic off of a teleprompter that seemed to be continuously giving them the wrong information. Either that or they were going "off book."

Either way, several times during the evening the films announced on the video screen didn't match the announcements and the presenters' attempts at ad libbing were...odd. As jarring as it was for the audience, I can't imagine what it was like for the filmmakers who initially didn't know if they'd won an award or not. Considering the amount of money at stake, it must have been excruciating. Then there was the policy of not allowing any of the winners to speak from the microphone. I understand that it saves time, but it made for an uncomfortable spectacle, with each winner collecting their awards and shaking the hand (or sometimes not) with DIFF Artistic Director Masoud Amralla Al Ali and various members of Dubai's royal family and walking off.

Even surprise honoree DIFF programmer Sheila Whitaker didn't say a word. In the grand scheme of things it wasn't that big a deal, but I can only imagine that the winning filmmakers might have wanted to say a few words. This is a problem easily fixed by a veteran awards producer. Drop me a note, guys. I'll point you in the right direction!

My only other real complaints about this overall excellent festival were the relative lack of morning press screenings (a measly one/day) and the timing of the awards vs. the closing night party. I would urge the organizers to consider moving everything up by about 5 hours. An afternoon awards ceremony followed by a closing party that runs from 5:00pm to 9:00pm makes much more sense (and allows for a desert sunset) than the party that started at 9:30pm when so many guests had flights home starting at midnight, making it necessary for many attendees to either miss or cut short their experience and this party was not one anyone should have to miss.

45 minutes out into the desert at Jumeirah's Bab Al Shams resort, the place was tricked out into some sort of an acid trip version of a Bedouin camp....in a very good way. There were pyramids of fruit, grilled crabs sliding into a bowl, an army of prawns, brigades of various meats (I was told there would be camel, but I didn't see any), sausages, sweets, breads, etc., etc. Along with Shisha pipes for the asking, camel rides and the best fireworks display I've ever seen, it made for a magical evening that I, alas, had to cut short due to my impending early morning flight.

All in all, Dubai is a festival that everyone in the film industry, regardless of their position, should experience at least once. My personal list of things I wanted to see and do in Dubai in addition to the festival was overly ambitious, but I expect I will return in the coming years to tick things off on my list and to learn more about Arab cinema, which from what I have seen may very well be a fertile ground for some of the more imaginative and interesting films in the years to come. As the saying goes, there's gold in them thar hills!

41 World Premieres Set for 7th Dubai International Film Festival

Nigel M Smith — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 09:11:50 GMT

The upcoming seventh edition of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), that runs from December 12 - 19, promises to be the biggest one yet with a total of 41 films making their world premieres, out of the 157 film lineup - representing a 30 percent growth from last year. In addition, 70 of the films hail from the Arab world.

As previously announced, Tom Hooper's "The King's Speech" will kick off the festival, with Colin Firth in attendance, while Joseph Kosinski's "Tron:Legacy" will serve as the closing gala film. Other red carpet screenings slated to take place over the course of the festival include Peter Weir's "The Way Back," Mohamed Diab's Cairo set "678," Hesham Issawis Egyptian love story "Cairo Exit," "Tomorrow Will Be Better" from Polish director Dorota Kędzierzawska, and the Chinese martial arts film "Reign of Assassins" from Chao-Bin Su and John Woo.

Expected guests confirmed to appear at the festival include Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Peter Weir, Jean Reno, Carey Mulligan, Africa’s Souleymane Cisse, Arab stars Khaled Abol Naga, Bushra, Nelly Karim, Saba Mubarak, Ayman Zeidan, Samar Sami and Raghda, as well as Sean Penn who will be on hand to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Of the Arab films screening at the festival, most of them are primarily distributed among the in-competition Muhr Arab and Muhr Emirati Awards segments, and the out-of-competition Arabian Nights and Gulf Voices segments.

Masoud Amralla Al Ali, DIFF’s Artistic Director commented on this year's lineup in a statement, "I believe that our programming this year not only offers something for everyone, it also offers new, very interesting, unusual and surprising films. If I could choose one word to describe our 2010 programme, it would be 'discovery.' We have discoveries of new talents, new styles and new collaborations. I am proud of the fine crop of Arab cinema we have this year and the exceedingly talented UAE filmmakers included in our line-up, and I wholeheartedly recommend that anyone who wants to better understand this country and our region experience it."

For more information on this year's lineup, visit DIFF's website.

Dubai to Honor Sean Penn with Lifetime Achievement Award

Nigel M Smith — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:56:16 GMT

Sean Penn has been chosen as the Western honoree for the 2010 Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). The Academy Award-winning actor will be presented with the DIFF Lifetime Achievement Award at the festival's opening ceremony on December 12.

During his visit to the seventh edition of DIFF, Penn will also participate in a public 'In Conversation with Sean Penn' Q&A session. His film "Into the Wild," and Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown" will also screen as part of a tribute to the actor.

Festival Chairman Abdulhamid Juma commented on the the festival's decision in a statement, "Sean Penn is without a doubt one of the finest talents of our generation, an outstanding and versatile actor, gifted director and accomplished producer, and it is our privilege to add the DIFF Lifetime Achievement Award to his extensive list of accolades. His tireless work on behalf of the people of the world from Haiti to the United States to Iraq and Iran, and his use of the celebrity spotlight to assist humanity, is an example to us all. We look forward to welcoming this culture-bridging icon to Dubai."

Penn joins leading African director Souleymane Cisse and Egyptian-Lebanese actress Sabah as the Lifetime Achievement recipients for 2010. Previous honorees include Egyptian director Daoud Abdul Sayed, India’s Amitabh Bachchan and Oliver Stone.

"Tron: Legacy" To Close Dubai Fest

Indiewire — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 07:04:43 GMT

"Tron: Legacy," a 3D high-tech adventure film set in a digital universe, will be the closing gala film of the Dubai International Film Festival 2010. Disney's long-awaited, stand-alone follow-up to its 1982 classic "Tron" will screen at DIFF on December 18, 2010, a day after its release in the United States and Canada. The film follows last year's closing night film "Avatar," as the second high-profile 3D film to shut down Dubai.

The film has actor Jeff Bridges returning as Kevin Flynn (who he played in the first "Tron"), the world's leading video game designer who was digitized into a computer grid where programmes living on pure energy take on human form. Flynn's son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) is looking into his father's disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same grid where his father has been living for 25 years.

DIFF Artistic Director Masoud Amralla Al Ali said the selection of Tron as the closing gala "demonstrates the eclectic range of films being screened at the Festival and its offer of cinema for all."

"Just as DIFF places emphasis on bringing the finest arthouse movies from around the world, we also incorporate the most modern trends in filmmaking to provide a total cinema experience for film enthusiasts," he said in a statement. "Tron: Legacy, presented in 3D, will be a revelation for filmgoers at DIFF."

Sheila Whitaker, Director - International Programme, DIFF, said: "Tron set benchmarks in computer-generated imagery back in 1982, and was a film ahead of its time, pushing the frontiers of visual effects. Since its release, the film industry has witnessed revolutionary changes, especially in special effects. Tron: Legacy is expected to set another milestone in computer-generated filmmaking," he said.

The seventh edition of Dubai International Film Festival 2010 will be held from December 12 to 19.

Dubai Film Festival to Honor Arab Icon Sabah

Nigel M Smith — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 08:38:06 GMT

One of the Arab world's most prolific and popular actresses and singers, Jeanette Gergi Fighali (better known as Sabah) will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the upcoming Dubai International Film Festival.

A star of more than 98 movies, Sabah has also gone on to release 50 albums and acted in 20 stage plays. Sabah's work is noted for being a bridge between two centers in the Arab world: Egypt and Lebanon. Although a Lebanese national, the majority of her films were co-produced with or focused on Egypt. Popular films her hers include "How Can I Forget You," "The Street of Love," "Al Layaly Al Dafiaa," and "Layla Baka Fiha El Kamar."

"For more than six decades, Sabah has inspired generations to aim high and break new ground," said Abdulhamid Juma, Chairman of the Dubai International Film Festival in a statement. "She is one of the hardest-working entertainers of our time, and continues to give of herself even today. She is an icon for the Arab world, a trailblazing and enduring achiever who carved a niche in a challenging industry. By honouring her, we celebrate women in Arab film and music everywhere."

On receiving the award, Sabah said in a statement: "I have won plenty of awards, but this one means the most to me. I am very honored to be part of the Dubai International Film Festival, and I know that audiences all over the Arab world support DIFF. DIFF has boosted my confidence, especially for an artist of my age to be honoured at such a prestigious festival."

"King's Speech" To Kick Off 7th Dubai Film Festival

Peter Knegt — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 10:52:27 GMT

Tom Hooper's Oscar frontrunner "The King's Speech" is set to open the seventh Dubai International Film Festival on December 12, 2010. Starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter, the film is based on the true story of King George VI, father of Queen Elizabeth II, who reluctantly and unexpectedly becomes king following the death of his father and abdication by his brother Edward VII. Plagued by a debilitating and lifelong speech impediment and considered unfit to be king of a country on the brink of war, George (Firth) employs an eccentric speech therapist (Rush) to help him find his voice in order to lead Bri

"DIFF has always sought to bring the best cinema of the world to Dubai and the greater Middle East, and 'The King's Speech' certainly fits that bill," Festival Chairman Abdulhamid Juma said in a statement. "The film has scooped up the People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival and earned rare standing ovations wherever it has been seen. We are excited to begin our programming on such a high note."

Juma added that "the world's leading studios and filmmakers are increasingly placing their trust in the professionalism, the business potential and the achievements of our Festival, and that is reflected in our ability to secure world-leading titles and talent early in the season."

In 2009, DIFF managed to secure both James Cameron's "Avatar" and Rob Marshall's "Nine" and their closing and opening selections, respectively, both prior to their openings in the United States.

With the 2010 edition less than seven weeks away, DIFF Artistic Director Masoud Amralla Al Ali said nearly all the DIFF programming is in place and will be announced shortly. The seventh edition of Dubai International Film Festival 2010 will be held from December 12 to 19.

Dubai Doles Out Awards

Andy Lauer — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:32:55 GMT

The sixth edition of Dubai International Film Festival wrapped up Wednesday with an awards ceremony where Michel Khleifi's "Zindeeq" took the Muhr Arab award for best film and Brillante Mendoza's "Lola" received the Muhr AsiaAfrica award for best feature.

In all, 28 prizes were distributed for achievements in acting, cinematography, editing, music and scriptwriting in addition to the jury awards. The entries came from more than 62 nations in three categories: documentaries, short films and feature films.

"The increased participation and the quality of participating films underscores the fact that DIFF has helped drive regional talent in cinema, offering filmmakers in the Arab world, Asia and Africa a definitive platform to showcase their creativity," said DIFF Artistic Director Masoud Amralla Al Ali in a statement.

In addition, Merzak Allouache's "Harragas" won the inaugural DIFF Human Rights Film Network Award for its depiction of emigration in the Third World as well as the FIPRESCI "Prize of the International Critics" for Excellence in Arab Cinema. The People's Choice Award for 2009 went Zeina Daccache for the documentary "12 Angry Lebanese."

The Muhr Arab and Muhr AsiaAfrica award winning films will be screened at Cinestar cinemas at Mall of the Emirates on Friday, Dec 18.

A partial list of the Muhr Arab and Muhr AsiaAfrica award winners:

Muhr Arab Feature – Best Film
Michel Khleifi for "Zindeeq"
Palestine, United Kingdome, United Arab Emirates

Muhr AsiaAfrica Feature – Best Film
Brillante Mendoza for "Lola"
France, Philippines

Muhr Arab Documentary: First Prize
Zeina Daccache for "12 Angry Lebanese - The Documentary"
Lebanon

Muhr AsiaAfrica Documentary: First Prize
Tokachi Tsuchiya for "Futsu no shigoto ga shitai" ("A Normal Life, Please")
Japan

Muhr Arab - Feature
Best Actor
Said Bey for "The Man Who Sold the World"
Morocco

Best Actress
Nisreen Faour for "Amreeka"
USA, Canada, Kuwait

Muhr AsiaAfrica - Feature
Best Actor
Hasan Pourshirazi for "Keshtzarhaye Sepid" ("The White Meadows")
Iran

Best Actress
Denise Newman for "Shirley Adams"
South Africa

For the complete list of recipients, including second place winners, special jury prize winners, and nods in other categories, visit the DIFF's official website.

Building Cultural Bridges in Dubai

Peter Knegt — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:45:26 GMT

Dubai appears to have an almost fanatical prediliction for world firsts and records, and on Sunday they added an unlikely honour to an ever growing list, when their film festival apparently became the first ever “to feature a queen and a neuroscientist on the same stage”.

Such was the claim of Shamil Idriss, CEO of Soliya, a non-profit organization working to empower young people to achieve social change through new media, as he chaired a genuinely diverse “Cultural Bridge Panel," gathered to discuss the topic of media and social change. He was joined by Mike Medavoy, current CEO of Phoenix Pictures and former chairman of TriStar, MIT professor Rebecca Saxe, and Julia Bacha, young director of the Cultural Bridge gala film "Budrus," a documentary which screened immediately prior to the panel.

The panel was introduced by Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, delivering a keynote address (her husband and Jordan's ruler, King Hussein, died in 1999). Queen Noor has been involved for a long time in sponsoring research into cross-cultural relations at Harvard and MIT. The Cultural Bridges panel provided an unusual opportunity to bring some of that research into the context of the film festival, with the research translated and published in tandem with the forum event.

Noor detailed her experience in using the arts as a tool for cross-cultural understanding. In Jordan she had instituted an arts and cultural festival that brought together musical dance and theatrical performers from around the world, as well as a program that allowed exchange between Arab children from various nations on an arts/cultural level, as well as regional and global issues, such as environment or security. While one can imagine such events paying as much lip service as actual investigation into the slippery concept of cross-cultural understanding, there was no denying Queen Noor’s personal commitment to the matter.

This was exemplified in her address which introduced the Cultural Bridge panel, where she spoke of using film "as a knife to break bread." She concluded by proclaiming allegiance to "film which makes a profit while at the same time profiting humanity." The statement seemed particular resonant at a festival such as this, as Queen Noor's attendance allowed its headline-grabbing to take a turn from screenings of Hollywood fare such as "Avatar" and "Nine" to a genuinely interesting and worthy cause.

Following Noor's address, Idriss initiated the discussion with Julia Bacha, visibly delighted to have just screened her film "Budrus" for the first time. According to her, "film has the potential to create little cracks, but the change starts when the lights go up." For this reason, she was thrilled that her screening had been immediately followed by the panel, as she felt it was the perfect forum to put the issues it raised - the film follows a Palestinian community organizer who unites Fatah, Hamas and protesting Israelis in a struggle to save his village from destruction - into circulation.

Rebecca Saxe was able to offer an entirely different perspective through her work investigating the elusive concept of empathy. She described an intriguing research experiment where Israelis and Palestinians were asked to engage in fifteen minute Skype conversations about their countries' conflict. However, rather than enter into debate, they were only allowed to respond by summarising their counterpart's thoughts without adding their own. Participants were then asked whether they felt more empathy and trust had been gained by hearing the other side's point of view, or by having theirs heard, with results showing that Israelis were more likely to opt for the latter, while Palestinians the former. Saxe's research added an interesting angle to the idea of audience reception and empathy in cinema.

Mike Medavoy made no apologies on Hollywood's behalf when asked to "be brutal" in discussing what Idriss described as a very negative and simple view of the Arab world presented in recent US cinema. Medavoy felt that America's educational system - at least until university - was to blame for failing to educate young people about the experience of other nationalities and cultures. As for Hollywood, he put it simply: "in the rules of the game, you gotta have a bad guy," and that bad guy is currently very frequently Arabian. He claimed that "extremism of all types has influenced this thinking," apparently including the hysteria towards the Middle East engendered among North Americans by 9/11.

There is always a risk that a discussion based around such concepts as "cultural bridge building" could tend towards idealism rather than practical solutions. However, the adroit selection of panelists, each of whom was able to illuminate the potential for progression in his or her very different field of expertise, meant that the panel avoided this pitfall for the most part. At the very least, it sent out an appropriately inspiring message from a festival whose country is not often associated with political ideals. As Saxe stated in summary to a question;"“Is it reasonable to hope? What can we do but hope?"

[Update: The Dubai Film Festival unveiled its winners Wednesday evening. View the main winners at indieWIRE.com]

"Life" in Dubai: Controversial Premiere Marks First Major Emirati Feature

Peter Knegt — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:49:49 GMT

The very first big-budget feature to come out of the United Arab Emirates, Ali F Mostafa's "City of Life"'s world premiere was the talk of the Dubai International Film Festival this weekend. While the country turns out 60-70 short films a year, and seven domestic features are screening at DIFF, none of them have been close to the budget of "Life" (Dh26 million, or US$7 million), or its potential for controversy. The festival was vocally supportive despite the film taking on topics like alcohol, sex out of marriage, and gangs - each considerably taboo for this country and the region generally.

"He's the son of the Dubai International Film Festival," festival head Masoud Amralla Al-Ali said of Mostafa at a press conference prior to the screening.

Dubai audiences seemed equally interested. The first screening - as the festival's Arabian Nights Gala - was completely sold out, and left festival organizers scrambling to find seats for people with official invitations.

Mostafa - who showed his first film at the Dubai's inaugural fest six years ago, has become quite the name in the UAE film industry. After attending London Film School, his student short "Under The Sun" showed at festivals worldwide, and in 2007 he was named best Emirati filmmaker here at DIFF. Just prior to "Life"'s screening, he sat down with indieWIRE at the Al Qasr Hotel in Dubai to discuss the film, certainly one of the most anticipated films of the festival.

"My inspiration for this film was from films that I like with this formula, and at the same time, the city of Dubai itself, which is perfect for that formula," Mostafa said. "Which is the same as in films like 'Crash' and 'Magnolia' and 'Amores Perros.' I love those type of films, where there's a lot of coincidences and a lot of serendipity."

Like those films, "Life" - with the tagline "Everything Happens For a Reason" - follows various folks from various walks of life: A privileged Emiraiti man (Saoud Al Kaabi), a disillusioned Indian taxi driver (Sonu Sood), a Europrean flight attendant (Alexandra Maria Lara)... All of whose lives end up colliding and impacting one another.

A scene from Ali F Mostafa's "City of Life." Image courtesy of the Dubai International Film Festival.

"If I wanted to make a film in Dubai, that type of formula suits this city best. Because the amount of nationalities that we have here - we end up connecting in each other's lives, without even knowing it - it is a fantastic thing. That's where the inspiration came from."

Mostafa said that financing the film was quite difficult. "No one in Dubai is going [to throw] money at film," he explained. "It's never really been done here. They don't know what to expect or not to expect. Their best bet is real estate and things like that."

So Mostafa tried to "use what was in the script to his advantage," and sought out product placement deals.

"Dubai spends a lot of money on advertising," he said. "So I said 'hey, I'm shooting in so-and-so location and your corporation is gonna be on screen... would you invest in this film?' So the idea was getting this brand placement in the film and at the same time having them get the exposure of supporting what this film means. It was almost like a win-win situation."

Mostafa managed to find 25-30% of the budget from these deals, with the rest of the budget made up from "silent investment."

He also admitted that while the film certainly contained content that pushed UAE boundaries, he held back to a degree.

"Especially with your first film, you can't go as deep as you would like," he said. "Number one, it's the first film and you want to make more. I scratched the surface a little bit. The surface of controversy. You don't necessarily have to make a film more real than what I tried to portray here."

When asked about Dubai's much-reported migrant-labour underbelly - a topic the film has been criticized for not delving deeply enough into - Mostafa was much more reserved.

"No comment," he said after a long pause. "Sorry... I'm not a diplomat. I'm not going to be saying the right things, so I'm not going to comment."

[The Dubai International Film Festival continues through Thursday. indieWIRE will continue reporting on the scene.]

Financial Crisis Proof (So Far) Dubai Fest Turns Six With "Nine"

Peter Knegt — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:00:39 GMT

Amidst a financial meltdown that put its city atop headlines around the world, the Dubai International Film Festival debuted its sixth edition last night with no sign of anything remotely resembling a financial struggle. Boasting more sponsors than any of its previous editions, the festival kicked off with an over-the-top opening night celebration culminating with champagne, live performers and fireworks on the beach below the city's trademark Burj Al Arab - the world's second tallest hotel (behind only another Dubai structure, the Rose Tower).

Prior, hundreds gathered in Dubai's Madinat Jumeirah Arena for a screening of Rob Marshall's "Nine" - the first and presumably only film festival screening of the big budget musical, which opens in North America next Friday. After a festival trailer that looked like it cost a $1 million to produce, Dubai festival chairman Abdulhamid Juma took the stage to introduce the film and the festival itself.

"Since 2004, this festival has established a policy to encourage filmmaking newcomers who are here to stay," Juma said via a translator. "Therefore, we have developed a problem of diversity appreciated for their openness and originality. We constantly interact with the filmmakers, giving them the breathing space and room for creativity. What is extremely important is the process of interaction that DIFF brings in, which is genuine and continuous. The expansion of the culturally rich program to cover all these films reiterates that cinema has the power to establish dialogue between culture and nations."

Three Arab-focused competitions - for narrative, documentary, and short films - will unspool over the next eight days, providing a truly unmatched showcase for Arab cinema. With a lineup of more than 60 films directed by Arabs - most of them world premieres despite DIFF being at the end of the region's festival calendar.

"I don't want people to look at DIFF only for its red carpet, its stars and its awards," Juma said prior to the opening night festivities. "But to see DIFF as an engine for holistic industry development. For the first time, I am confident that engine is in place."

But tonight, it was all about "Nine," which went along with Juma's hopes that DIFF wouldn't be known for its red carpet or stars, as - despite a rolled out red carpet comparable to the Oscars in size - none of "Nine"'s star-studded cast was on it.

"In the initial years of DIFF, we sought to bring in the world's leading stars to put Dubai on the map," Juma was quoted as saying in the festival's daily newspaper. "This year, we only wanted stars who have who have something to do with the festival. We lost the talent for 'Nine,' for example - they were to come here but went to Los Angeles. We had a chance to shift the screening date and keep the stars, or keep the screening intact with no stars. We made a conscious decision to lose the talent. This is a film festival, not a star festival."

Juma introduced the film by noting that Marshall "brings back the brilliant blend of Fellini's movie '8 1/2' and its hero Mastroianni through 'Nine''s narration." He thanked The Weinstein Company for helping bring the film to the festival, inviting two representatives from TWC up on to the stage. Noting it was only the second time the film has screened for a public audience, they thanked DIFF, Marshall, and "the unbelievable cast," forgetting Kate Hudson's name (but remembering Fergie's) as they listed them all aloud. Marshall, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Daniel Day-Lewis and Penelope Cruz then all appeared on screen via satellite.

"I'm here with some of the gorgeous cast of 'Nine,'" Marshall said on screen, as the four actors all smiled silently. "We're so thrilled to be chosen by the Dubai Film Festival. We're incredibly honored and we wish we could be there. But we're in Los Angeles as we speak, opening the film here. This film's for you, please enjoy."

As it turns out, the film wasn't quite for everyone there. It quickly became apparent it was a rather bold choice for Dubai, which - while regionally known as a relatively liberal oasis, remains a significantly conservative political and social culture. Sex outside that that occurs in a heterosexual marriage is strictly illegal, so for the festival to open with an film like "Nine," which centers Day-Lewis's sexual and emotional infidelity, is really quite something. More over, the cut that the festival screened sets a standard for all of the region, and thus "Nine" - complete with Penelope Cruz's lingerie clad, gloriously erotic musical number (by far the film's high point, and one that resulted in more than a few walkouts) - will soon be screening across the United Arab Emirates censorship free.

The Dubai International Film Festival continues through next Wednesday, closing off with another major Hollywood release, James Cameron's "Avatar."

"Nine," "Avatar" Heading To Dubai

Peter Knegt — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:34:16 GMT

While the city-state of Dubai might have had a rough weekend, the Dubai International Film Festival came out of it with an impressive lineup of films for its sixth annual event, which runs December 9-16, 2009. The festival completed its 170 film and 55 country wide lineup, which includes a high profile opening night event in Rob Marshall's "Nine," which will screen at Madinat Arena on December 9th. The film - featuring a ridiculously star-studded ensemble including Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Marion Cotillard and Sophia Loren - will open in limited release stateside nine days later.

Other high-profile films set for the fest include James Cameron's long-awaited "Avatar," which will screen on December 15th as a gala, three days before it takes on the rest of the world. In conjunction with Lightstorm, Twentieth Century Fox and Empire International, the festival will present the film "as the spectacular finale to this year's festival."

DIFF Artistic Director Masoud Amralla Al Ali said the Galas at DIFF capture "the soul, spirit and spectacle of the festival." “These screenings define DIFF – in terms of the power of film content, diversity of films with an international outlook and the sheer enthusiasm of the audience. This year, our Gala screenings will span the globe in an unprecedented range of offerings; showcasing the creative brilliance of industry frontrunners to sensational young talent. DIFF is a meeting ground for international filmmakers that is increasingly respected around the world, and we hope to engender fruitful relationships between thriving film cultures."

Additionally, Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox," Jim Sheridan's "Brothers," Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces," Raoul Peck's "Moloch Tropical," Rodrigo Garcia's "Mother and Child," Philippe Lioret's "Welcome," Francois Ozon's "Le Refuge," and Drew Barrymore's "Whip It" will all make their Middle East debuts at the fest.

The festival is best known for its wide range of Arab cinema that often make their debut at the festival. Three previously announced programs - Muhr Arab Documentary, Muhr Arab Feature and Muhr Arab Short - will showcase this. Check out the complete lineups for each at the following links: features, documentaries, and shorts.

It was also announced this weekend that Faten Hamama will be feted with the festival's Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished Egyptian producer and actress, 77-year-old Hamama becomes the first ever woman recipient of the honour in the festival’s six-year history.

“Arab film lovers will forever recall the powerful performances of Ms Faten Hamama, who has been associated with some of the all-time great movies in Egyptian cinema," DIFF Chairman Abdulhamid Juma said in a statement. "She endeared herself to audiences during a time when only singers, dancers or theatre professionals were offered acting opportunities, that too in nominal, poorly written roles. It is our privilege to honour such a distinguished artist and human being at DIFF."

For a full list of films screening at the festival, check out the festival's website. indieWIRE will be on the scene in Dubai next week.

Dubai Readies for 6th Outing with World Cinema Focus

Brian Brooks — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:00:01 GMT

Twenty films will screen in the upcoming Dubai International Film Festival's "Cinema of the World" line up. "Gritty dramas" and "controversial documentaries" from Denmark, France and Peru are part of the roster, fest organizers unveiled. The sixth DIFF takes place December 9 - 16 in the United Arab Emirates. Among the films offered will be the red carpet gala screening of "Mother and Child" by writer-director Rodrigo Garcia, with Naomi Watts, Annette Bening and Samuel L. Jackson expected.

Peruvian entry "The Milk of Sorrow" is also slated. The film is the story of Peru’s civil unrest in the 1980s and winner of the Golden Bear for Best Picture at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival, directed by Claudia Llosa Bueno; and "Welcome," a French drama by Philippe Lioret, depicting the controversial story of an Iraqi-Kurdish asylum seeker trying to reach the United Kingdom from France by swimming across the English Channel.

Denmark’s "The Little Soldier," directed by Annette K. Olesen, which takes on the issue of human trafficking through the story of a young female soldier who works as a chauffeur for her father’s Nigerian girlfriend and escort girl is on tap as is investigative documentary "Picture Me: A Model’s Diary," a backstage expose of life in the Paris, New York and Milan fashion industry and "Moloch Tropical," the French-Haitian critique by Raoul Peck on absolute power and political madness.

War drama "Brothers," directed by six-time Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan, starring Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman will also screen in the section. Director Tarik Saleh’s Metropia, a dark futuristic animated Swedish feature voiced by Vincent Gallo and Juliette Lewis, tells the story of a post-oil Europe connected by a vast subway system. Director Tarik Saleh’s "Metropia," a dark futuristic animated Swedish feature voiced by Vincent Gallo and Juliette Lewis, tells the story of a post-oil Europe connected by a vast subway system, and Pedro Almodovar's latest, "Broken Embraces" will also screen in Dubai. Chris Rock's "Good Hair," which recently opened in the States, will screen in Dubai, as will London and AFI Fest opener, "Fantastic Mr. Fox" by Wes Anderson.

The Cinema of the World segment also features five music-themed films including director Gergely Fonyo’s "Made in Hungaria," the story of a U.S.-raised teenybopper who teaches his Communist-era peers about rock ‘n’ roll when the family moves back to Hungary in the 1960s. "Zanzibar Musical Club," is described by the fest as "a superb documentary exploration of Zanzibar’s rich musical heritage by Patrice Nezan," while "Oil City Confidential" is Julien Temple’s "loving and amusing documentary on Dr. Feelgood," the 1970s UK band which revolutionised rock music with energy, passion and excitement. "The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights," meanwhile, is a road movie and concert tour film that follows the legendary band across their Canadian expedition, filmed by Emmett Malloy.

"Bran Nue Dae," director Rachel Perkins’s film version of the acclaimed Australian stage musical, will also be screened at DIFF in December ahead of its theatrical release in Australia in January 2010. The well-received film made its international premiere in Toronto in September and has won audience awards at both the Toronto and Melbourne International Film Festivals. DIFF 2009 will also premiere "Woodstock," the restored and extended version of the award-winning 1970 rock documentary directed by Michael Wadleigh charting the performances and events of the legendary three-day festival.

“We are very pleased to once again offer an outstanding slate of feature films, documentaries and shorts from around the world to our diverse audience groups across the UAE,” commented DIFF Artistic Director Masoud Amralla Al Ali in a statement. “Despite the intense competition this year and radical changes in our industry, the stronger and larger DIFF 2009 programme is a measure of our global reach and reputation and the unmatched calibre of our team.”

[For more information, visit the DIFF website.]