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MAD Solutions unwraps its DFM slate BY LIZ SHACKLETON
Cairo-based MAD Solutions is presenting a slate of 10 highprofile Arabic-language pictures at this year’s Dubai Film Market (DFM). MAD will handle regional and international distribution, as well as serve as marketing consultant, on the slate, which includes DIFF Muhr Arab feature competition titles Factory Girl, directed by Mohamed Khan, and The Mice Room, from a collective of six Egyptian directors. The slate also includes three DIFF Muhr Arab documentary and short competition titles: Mais Darwazah’s creative doc My Love Awaits Me By The Sea, Emirati film-maker Ali Mostafa’s short film Don’t Judge A Subject By Its Photograph and Lebanese film-maker Toufic Khreish’s short Troubled Waters. MAD is also handling Ayten Amin’s Villa 69, which recently won a special jury prize at Abu Dhabi Film Festival; Hany Fawzy’s gay-themed drama Family Secrets; and Hala Lotfy’s award-winning narrative feature Coming Forth By Day. Rounding out the slate are documentary In Search Of Oil And Sand, co-directed by Wael Omar and Philip L Dib, and Sanctity, a short film by female Saudi film-maker Ahd, which became the first Saudi film to compete at Berlin. The 10 titles will be presented at MAD’s pavilion in Dubai Film Market, which is expanding this year from eight to 30 exhibition booths. “The several pavilions that will be hosted at Dubai Film Market will definitely increase the chances of Arab films to be professionally promoted across the world,” said MAD Solutions CEO and cofounder Alaa Karkouti.
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Egypt’s independent film scene will be the subject of a documentary being produced by Amr Waked and Salah Al Hanafy’s Cairo-based Zad Communication. Entitled The Cat’s House, the film revolves around the shoot of Ibrahim El Batout’s organ-trafficking thriller The Cat over the summer. It will be directed by Bahaa Talees, who was on the set of The Cat. Zad is covering 50% of the budget of The Cat’s House and looking for co-production partners to fund another eight days of
shooting and post-production. The film combines footage from the set of The Cat, interviews with independent film-makers and a major Egyptian distributor, and archive footage of Egyptian classics. “The ongoing struggle between the distributors and independent producers will be the main focus in the documentary,” said Al Hanafy. The Cat, which is in post-production, is a suspenseful thriller about a Cairo gangster who goes head-tohead with a trafficking mobster. Zad’s upcoming slate also includes Ossama Fawzy’s Rosy
Jason Reitman’s mature examination of an unusual family unit. » Page 7
Black, which is in development, and Atef Hetata’s The Exile. Rosy Black, revolves around an Arabic translation of a work by Galileo Galilei that exerts a strange power over its reader. Mustafa Zikry wrote the script. “It’s sort of an Arabic Tim Burton film,” said Waked. Zad will continue financing on Hetata’s $2.2m The Exile, which already had Paris-based production house Mact attached. El Batout’s debut feature Winter Of Discontent, which is Egypt’s Oscar submission, screens at Palm Springs film festival in January.
AL SHEHHI’S DOLPHINS SCOOPS IWC AWARD
Egyptian star Bushra has signed up to play opposite compatriot Sayed Badreya in English-language thriller Bride Of The Nile, about the trafficking of young girls in the region, which Badreya will also direct. Bushra, who won a best actress prize at DIFF in 2010 for her performance in sexual harassment drama 678, will play a US journalist investigating human trafficking who
FORUM EVENTS 9:30 - 11:00 How to create brand and content with iconic locations Location The Forum Room Presenter Yann Marchet, Ile De France Film Commission Panelists Jamal Al Sharif, Dubai Film and TV Commission, Sharif Al Majali, Royal Film Commission of Jordan
11:00 - 12:00 Palestinian film – a new phase Location Press Conference Room Panelists Rashid Masharawi (Palestine Stereo), Cherien Dabis (May In The Summer), Mais Darwazah (My Love Awaits Me By The Sea), Jinan Coulter (Searching For Saris)
11:30 - 13:00 Beyond the Oscars Location The Forum Room Presenters Vicangelo Bulluck, AMPAS; Sid Ganis, former AMPAS president; Ellen Harrington, AMPAS
14:00 - 15:15 Filming in Dubai & networking session
Cate Blanchett at last night’s award ceremony
Bushra, Badreya head trafficking drama BY MELANIE GOODFELLOW
NEWS Bangla boutique
REVIEWS Labor Day
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Emirati film-maker Waleed Al Shehhi has won the $100,000 IWC Filmmaker Award for his project Dolphins. The prize was presented by jury president Cate Blanchett at a red-carpet ceremony at the One&Only Royal Mirage in Dubai last night. Written by Ahmed Salmeen, the project tells the story of an ambulance driver who is divorced and has one son who lives with his mother. Unnerved by the separation of his parents, the boy embarks on an unusual adventure. Al Shehhi’s credits include acclaimed 2004 short Aushba’s Well and documentary Ahmad Suliman (2006), which won best documentary at Jordan Short Film Festival. Liz Shackleton
Mostofa S Farooki
Mostofa S Farooki shows support for first-time Bangladeshi film-makers » Page 5
Egypt’s Zad to let Cat out of the bag BY MELANIE GOODFELLOW
TODAY
swaps places with a teenage victim destined for Saudi Arabia. Badreya, who is attending Dubai Film Market with his Santa Monica-based company Zoom In Focus, plays a notorious smuggler who discovers the journalist’s ruse. The Egyptian-born, US-based actor is best known for his roles in more than 30 Hollywood pictures including The Insider, Iron Man and The Dictator. Executive produced by Bel-
gium-based Sameh Sobhy, Bride Of The Nile will shoot in Chicago, Egypt and either Morocco or Nevada for the desert scenes. Badreya plans to shoot the $2m production in the spring. He is also working on documentary The End Of Brotherhood, probing the roots of the Muslim Brotherhood, their links with president Barack Obama’s administration and brief rise to power after the toppling of Hosni Mubarak.
Location The Forum Room Panelists Nayla Al Khaja, filmmaker; Phil Alberstat, legal adviser, Ammar Al Khrisat, producer, Alkatraz Prods; Jamal Al Sharif, chairman, Dubai Film and TV Commission; Julien Khabbaz, head of investment banking, FFA Private Bank
15:30 - 16:30 Selling your project and your brand: a B2B strategy Location The Forum Room Presenter Sarah Calderon, CEO, The Film Agency
17:00 - 18:00 Networking session: meet the UAE film industry Location The Forum Room Participants Dubai Film and Television Commission, Dubai Studio City, Filmworks, AM Studios, HCT, Dhabi Gulf Film, Canon, Veritas Films
To know more about our services Call: 04 3602871 Mail: info@reddoorproductions.net
NEWS
BY NANDITA DUTTA
Principal photography has started on the first two features from Boutique Cinema Project, which was initiated by Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa S Farooki in March to support first-time filmmakers in Bangladesh. The planned slate of five features, which Farooki has selected and will executive produce, are produced and financed by Bangladesh’s leading production company Impress TeleFilms. The two films in production are Abu Shahed Emon’s Jalal And His Fathers, about a boy’s search for a father figure, and Akram Khan’s Wild Flower, about the relationship between a grandmother and her grandson who suffers from dementia. Next up is Golam Kibria’s Universal Touring Theatre Company, which starts principal photography next month. The other two projects on the slate are Amitabh Reza’s Proxy and Adnan Ad Razeev’s X. “If we want to see a new Bangladeshi cinema that is not a copy of Bollywood or arthouse Bengali films from India, we have to support first-time film-makers,” Farooki said. The director’s latest feature, Ant Story, receives its world premiere at DIFF tonight. His next project, Aquarium Town (aka Biscuit Race) will start shooting in February.
DIFF shows Passion for cinema BY LIZ SHACKLETON
Leading figures of Arab cinema including Yousry Nasrallah, Mohammad Malas, Ezzat El Alaili and Yousra attended an event to celebrate DIFF’s new book, Cinema Of Passion, at the festival yesterday. Wadjda director Haifaa Al Mansour, Hany Abu-Assad, Mohamed Khan and veteran film critic Samir Farid, who is receiving DIFF’s lifetime achievement award, were also present at the unique gathering of cinematic talents. Edited by film critic Ziad Abdullah, Cinema Of Passion profiles the 100 best Arab films of all time. The list was selected through a survey of 475 critics, writers and academics, who each voted for 10 films. It marks the first ever comprehensive overview of the history of
Neha Kalvani
Farooki primes Boutique titles for first-timers
(From left) Ziad Abdullah, Ezzat El Alaili, Ahmed Bedeir, Tareq El Telmissany and Mohamed Khan
Arab cinema. “This is a first for the Arab world. There have been surveys of Egyptian cinema in which a group of critics decide the best Egyptian films, but it’s never been done across the region,” said Abdullah, who is also DIFF’s content development manager.
Chadi Abdel Salam’s The Mummy (1969) tops the list, which also includes recent titles such as Ziad Doueiri’s West Beirut (1998), Elia Suleiman’s Divine Intervention (2001) and Abu-Assad’s Paradise Now (2005). Syria’s National Film Organiza-
tion is the most prolific producer in the list with 10 titles including Dreams Of The City (1983), Al Yazerli (1974) and Stars In Broad Daylight (1988), which was banned in Syria despite being backed by a government body. Other producers with more than one title include Egypt’s MISR International Films and Humbert Balsan with five titles each and Hussein El Qala with four. The book also includes analysis of the history of Arab cinema. “We can look back at the entire history through this list and examine the contribution of DoPs, actors, editors and film critics, as well as directors,” Abdullah said. DIFF is also creating a searchable database of the films and people featured in the book.
Yousafzai doc takes shape for Parkes + MacDonald BY MELANIE GOODFELLOW
US director Davis Guggenheim heads to the UK this week to continue shooting his documentary about Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, who hit the headlines last year after an assassination attempt by the Taliban. “We already interviewed her during her trip to America and the UN earlier this year, and the next step is to follow her in the UK,” US producer Walter Parkes told Screen at the Cinematic Innovation Sum-
mit earlier this week. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald, his partner in production company Parkes + MacDonald (The Kite Runner), are producing the work with Abu Dhabi’s Image Nation. An outspoken advocate for education for girls, teenager Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck as she travelled in a school bus in the Swat Valley in north-west Pakistan in October 2012. After receiving medical treatment in the UK, Malala and her family moved to
the city of Birmingham where she is continuing her education. Parkes said he and Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) will hold production meetings at Image Nation this week to discuss how to frame the documentary. “We will be discussing whether to focus purely on Malala — who is an amazing subject in herself — or to broaden the documentary to include other activists and examples of education being denied,” said Parkes.
Malala Yousafzai
ONE ON ONE MOHAMED KHAN, FILM-MAKER, FACTORY GIRL backed by seven international funds. Scripted by Khan’s wife, Wessam Soliman, the film receives a gala screening at DIFF tonight. What gave you the inspiration for the story? The desire to portray the life of a working-class girl — her family surroundings, life at work and with friends — in what’s basically a story of love that is denied in a tense city.
Mohamed Khan’s Factory Girl tells the story of a young factory worker, Hiyam, who falls in love with her boss but is rejected by him due to their social differences. Khan worked with first-time feature producer Mohamed Samir on the film, which is
How did Wessam Soliman research the script? To understand Hiyam’s world, she worked incognito at a clothes factory with the co-operation of the owner. She was able to mingle with the other women working in the factory and listen to all sorts of
tales that eventually inspired her to write the script. How does the character of Hiyam compare to the female characters in your previous films? She is completely different to all the other female characters I’ve presented. She comes from a working-class background while the women in my previous films were either middle class or extremely poor. Hiyam and her sister, although they have different fathers, are breadwinners who work in a factory to support their family — a typical working-class family where the mother is a house-to-house vendor, stepfather is a van driver and aunt is a phone-centre receptionist and parttime servant in upper-class homes.
What convinced you to work with a first-time feature producer? Once in a while you follow your instincts and I felt that working with a young, ambitious film-maker with a passion for films is an ideal choice to bring the project to life. Mohamed Samir’s experience through editing features and producing short films, alongside my own long experience as a film director, created a natural exchange of experiences that I felt would help move the independent spirit of our movie away from mainstream dogma. How did you find starting production on the film without having the full budget in place? Working under enormous budget stress that relies on sporadic
funding was a new and exhausting but challenging experience, which turned out to be most rewarding once the film was complete. Even with my own past experiences, finding solutions to daily problems was itself exhilarating, learning to cope with what’s available without compromising one’s own vision. Do you think your next film will also be an independent production? Most probably my next film will go through similar phases, and I accept that in an economically ailing film industry. Acknowledging independent production is an inevitable solution to supporting ambitious cinema. Liz Shackleton
December 8, 2013 Screen International at Dubai 5 ■
REVIEWS
Features, from page 8
Reviews edited by Mark Adams mark.adams@emap.com
The Railway Man Reviewed by Allan Hunter The healing power of truth and reconciliation is touchingly affirmed in The Railway Man, a satisfyingly old-fashioned drama. The true story of a Second World War survivor confronting the horrors of the past is handled with tact and sensitivity by director Jonathan Teplitzky and a star cast. The story has a relevance to bitter divisions created by all global conflicts but will have the greatest resonance for the generation and their families most closely touched by events of 70 years ago. The film’s greatest appeal will lie with an older demographic drawn to dramas of substance, the very audience that has supported the likes of War Horse or The King’s Speech. There should be substantial theatrical returns and potential awards consideration for the title in the UK, where Eric Lomax’s memoir was a bestseller and his story is well known (he died last October at the age of 93, when the film was in post-production). Lomax was a captive of the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in 1942 and suffered harrowing treatment as part of the slave labour force used in the construction of the ‘Death Railway’ from Thailand to Burma. His fate was all the more ironic because of his lifelong enthusiasm for railways. The film begins on a train in the 1980s where Lomax (Firth) has a brief encounter with the kindly Patti (Kidman). He charms her with his knowledge of timetables and trivia, and they are soon married. It is only afterwards that former
Labor Day Reviewed by Tim Grierson A mature and assured examination of an unusual but highly functional family unit, Labor Day works best when it allows the mystery at the heart of its narrative to take centre stage. Based on Joyce Maynard’s novel about a divorced mother and teen son who are taken hostage by a dangerous escaped felon, writer-director Jason Reitman’s fifth feature builds on the promise of his earlier work, showing him delve more confidently into ambiguous character studies and nuanced emotional terrain. Set in 1987 in New England, the film takes a few moments to deftly establish its two central characters: Henry (Griffith), a sensitive 13-year-old (who narrates the story from the perspective of his grownup self, voiced by Tobey Maguire), and Adele (Winslet), his depressive mother who has had a tough time navigating through life since her husband left. Henry is his mother’s constant companion, but their bond is sorely tested when a stranger named Frank (Brolin) approaches them at the store. Recently escaped from prison, Frank demands that Adele takes him back to her house where he will stay until nightfall. He will then make his getaway. Labor Day sets up a touching two-character dynamic between Henry and Adele before upending that tender, melancholy tone with the appearance of Frank. A desperate, muscular man, Frank is
Cinema of the world Aus-UK. 2013. 116mins Director Jonathan Teplitzky Production companies Railway Man Ltd, Pictures In Paradise, Trinifold International sales Lionsgate, www.lionsgate. com Producers Andy Paterson, Chris Brown, Bill Curbishley Executive producers Claudia Blümhuber, Ian Hutchinson, Zygi Kamasa, Nick Manzi, Daria Jovicic, Anand Tucker Screenplay Frank Cottrell Boyce, Andy Paterson Cinematography Garry Phillips Editor Martin Connor Production designer Steven Jones-Evans Music David Hirschfelder Main cast Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Jeremy Irvine, Stellan Skarsgard, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tanroh Ishida
Dubai film festival in brief The Selfish Giant
nurse Patti learns how deeply Lomax is trapped and traumatised by the war and unable to share anything of his experiences. The film moves between past and present as we learn more of his torture at the hands of Japanese interrogator Nagase (Ishida) and of Patti’s determination to help him find a way to reconcile himself with what happened. The news that Nagase (now played by Hiroyukie Sanada) is alive and well and working as a tour guide inspires Lomax to return to Burma and confront him. Colin Firth is well cast in a role that plays to his strengths of emotional reserve crumbling towards catharsis, and some of the best scenes in the film are when he comes face to face with Nagase in search of revenge. Nicole Kidman offers warm support as the sketchily drawn Patti and builds some genuine affection into the relationship with Lomax.
Cinema of the world US. 2013. 111mins Director Jason Reitman Production companies Indian Paintbrush, Right Of Way Films, Mr Mudd Distribution Paramount Pictures, www.paramount. com Producers Lianne Halfon, Russell Smith, Jason Reitman, Helen Estabrook Executive producers Steven Rales, Mark Roybal, Michael Beugg, Jeffrey Clifford Screenplay Jason Reitman, based on the novel by Joyce Maynard Cinematography Eric Steelberg Editor Dana E Glauberman Production designer Steven Saklad Music Rolfe Kent Main cast Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith, Tobey Maguire, Clark Gregg, JK Simmons, Brooke Smith, James Van Der Beek
Dir/scr: Clio Barnard. UK. 2013. 91mins. Cinema Of The World The Selfish Giant, the fiction debut of UK filmmaker Clio Barnard is a powerful contemporary fable about friendship, greed and exploitation, and is likely to be compared to the compassionate drama of Ken Loach at his best. The film has its origins with the characters and environment of the housing estates of Bradford, in the north of England, that Barnard came across when researching her award-winning 2010 documentary The Arbor about local playwright Andrea Dunbar. Taking Oscar Wilde’s fairy tale The Selfish Giant as her inspiration, Barnard reimagines the story against the backdrop of a tough, modern setting. The film follows 13-year-old Arbor (Conner Chapman) and his friend Swifty (Shaun Thomas). Excluded from school, they try to make some money by collecting scrap metal. Here they fall under the influence of Kitten (Sean Gilder), a greedy and exploitative scrap dealer who begins to drive the friends apart. Mark Adams
CONTACT PROTAGONIST PICTURES www.protagonistpictures.com
Thou Gild’st The Even
Dir/scr: Onur Ünlü. Turk. 2013. 107mins. Muhr AsiaAfrica For the benefit of the bewildered viewers unfamiliar with Shakespeare’s 28th sonnet used for this film’s title, director Onu Ünlü also provides a motto that is easier to handle: ‘Man is created by anxiety’, a line he attributes to Euripides. All this is to confirm his intentions are earnest, despite the series of improvised visual gimmicks that adorn the film from beginning to end. Outstandingly shot and framed in black and white, Thou Gild’st The Even is a collection of whimsical, often ironic but also sad, musings on human foibles of every kind, mixing fairy tales with social comment and satire with poetry. Dan Fainaru
CONTACT EFLATUN FILM sebnem@eflatunfilm.com
Tim’s Vermeer
a criminal, but at first we are not sure exactly what is his crime. But to his captives’ surprise, he begins to show a gentler side, teaching them how to bake pies and becoming quite comfortable around the lonely, repressed Adele. At its strongest, Reitman’s film casts a non-judgmental eye on the proceedings, showing with small but telling moments how these three characters begin to form an ad hoc family. There is a slight degree of preposterousness that hangs on the edges of this narrative, but such is Reitman’s control of the material — which he explores with steady, observant understatement — that we are willing to meet the characters halfway in their difficult attempt to make this relationship last.
Dir: Teller. US. 2013. 80mins. Cinema Of The World What’s the secret of Dutch master Johannes Vermeer’s radiant painting style? Magicians Penn & Teller seek out one contentious possibility in their first film, an engagingly lightweight documentary about Tim Jenison, a successful inventor and visual-effects pioneer, who set out to recreate Vermeer’s famous painting The Music Lesson. Narrated by Penn, Tim’s Vermeer elaborates on a theory— put forth most famously by UK professor Philip Steadman in his book Vermeer’s Camera — that Vermeer’s paintings were so photorealistic that he must have used early technological tools such as the camera obscura. Anthony Kaufman
CONTACT SONY PICTURES CLASSICS www.sonyclassics.com
December 8, 2013 Screen International at Dubai 7 n
FEATURE FOCUS
Show of strength
What is the best way for Arab film-makers to tap into France’s lucrative state subsidy system and find the right French co-producer? Melanie Goodfellow reports rance is putting in a high-profile showing at DIFF 2013. Alongside the six French films playing across the festival, a raft of international titles in the 10th anniversary line-up also received the country’s support. Several Arab films in the selection are minority French productions including Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi’s Palestine Stereo and Algerian director Amor Hakkar’s The Proof (La Preuve), which are screening in the Muhr Arab feature competition. Both films secured funding from the CNC’s World Cinema Support (Aides aux Cinemas du Monde), which launched in 2012 to replace the Fonds Sud and the Aid to Foreign Language Films (AFLE). The fund invites international productions to apply for up to $340,000 (¤250,000) for a pre-filming subsidy and $70,000 (¤50,000) for a post-filming grant. The amount cannot exceed 50% of the funding provided by the French co-producer. Further MENA projects have recently accessed
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the CNC fund including Palestinian director Najwa Najjar’s Eyes Of A Thief, Iranian director Hiner Saleem’s Aga, Tunisian director Walid Tayaa’s Fataria, Lebanese director Mai Masri’s 3000 Nights, Algerian director Merzak Allouache’s Les Terrasses, Lebanese director Ghassan Salhab’s The Valley and Tunisian director Leyla Bouzid’s God Protect My Daughter. The latter is being presented at Dubai Film Connection. France’s generous state subsidy system as well as long-entrenched post-colonial connections between France and the MENA region means French co-producers are usually the first to whom MENA film-makers turn when in search of international financing. “Historically and linguistically there are strong ties,” says Tunisian producer Habib Attia, who produced the Arabic-language Palestine Stereo with France’s Mille et Une Productions. “A lot of filmmakers from the region have also spent time in France, which cements the connections. Beyond
‘A lot of MENA film-makers have spent time in France, which cements the connections’ Habib Attia, producer
this, France still has the best state-backed film funding in the world.” Crucially, France also has official co-production treaties with a number of MENA territories, including Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and, most recently, Palestine. If a co-production is correctly structured, film-makers from these countries can tap into France’s subsidies in the same way as a French national. CNC’s head of international co-production, Julien Ezanno, is at DIFF this year to meet filmmakers and producers selected for the Dubai Film Connection (DFC) financing event and participate in some of the panels. A number of the DFC and Interchange projects already have French producers attached. Former EuropaCorp TV executives Thomas Anargyros and Edouard de Vésinne’s Incognita Films are co-producing Casting, the debut feature from Gazan film-makers Ahmed and Mohamed Abu Nasser (aka Tarzan and Arab). Incognita connected with the directors after watch-
Profiles, from page 10
Gallic flair: France in Dubai Catherine Breillat, Mohamed Hamidi, Thierry de Peretti, Tahar Rahim and Tewfik Jallab are among the French film-makers and actors attending DIFF this year. Breillat is presenting her semi-autobiographical Abuse Of Weakness, a drama that recreates how Breillat was swindled out of large sums of money by a known con-man. The film is screening in the Cinema of the World section alongside Emmanuelle Bercot’s road movie On My Way (Elle S’en Va), starring Catherine Deneuve as a grandmother who sets off across France after the failure of her relationship and business. Many of the French films at DIFF tap into the experiences of the country’s Arab immigrant population. Mohamed Hamidi’s comedy Homeland (Né Quelque Part) stars Jallab as a young Frenchman who returns to his father’s native village in Algeria for the first time. While there, a cousin desperate to
move to France, played by Jamel Debbouze, steals his passport, preventing him from returning home. The film was co-produced by Quad Productions, whose credits include Intouchables, and popular comedian Debbouze’s company Kiss Films. De Peretti’s The Apaches is a drama set on Corsica that has been inspired by real events. Screening in the Arabian Nights section, the film tells the story of the murder of a teenager from the island’s Arab community. Until now, DIFF and other regional festivals have been the only way for Gulf audiences to watch French films at the cinema. From January, local distributor Gulf Film is dedicating one of the screens at its Ibn Battuta Mall multiplex to European cinema. At least one day a week will be reserved for French films. Unifrance, the French embassy in the UAE and DIFF are supporting the initiative.
“This is the first time in Emirati history that a screen has been devoted to foreign cinema not hailing from Bollywood or Hollywood,” says Mohamed Bendjebbour, the French audiovisual attaché for the Gulf region, who helped devise the scheme. The dedicated screen will be known as Ciné 13 in honour of French film-maker Claude Lelouch’s production company, Films 13. The long-term plan is that the films will go on to play in cinemas in Abu Dhabi and possibly Qatar and Kuwait. Bendjebbour hopes the screenings will attract the local population as well as members of the 200,000-strong French-speaking community in the Emirates and Doha. “It might take time to take off because people here aren’t really used to cinema that’s not from Hollywood or Bollywood,” says Bendjebbour. “But we think there is a market.”
Palestine Stereo
Les Apaches
World Cinema Support fund. A representative of La Femis is at DIFF. Bastard is another DFC project with a French coproducer. Directed by French-Moroccan film-maker Uda Benyamina, it is being produced by MarcBenoit Creancier of Paris-based Easy Tiger.
DIFF presence ing their short film Condom Lead when it played at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. “We’ve just signed the contract and now they’re applying to the French funds,” reveals producer Rashid Abdelhamid. Casting has also secured an award in the form of a $9,600 (¤7,000) development grant, sponsored by the CNC, at Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival — Cinemed in southern France in October. The event is an increasingly popular destination for MENA film-makers. France’s prestigious film school, La Femis, is also attracting a greater number of film-makers than ever before from the region. Tunisia’s Leyla Bouzid is a recent alumnus. Her graduation short film Soubresauts (Mkhobbi Fi Kobba) has won awards and attracted the attention of Sandra da Fonseca of Paris-based Blue Monday Production. Da Fonseca is now producing Bouzid’s feature debut, God Protect My Daughter, which is being showcased in DFC. It has already secured a grant from CNC’s
“There’s always a big French contingency at DIFF but this year it’s larger than ever,” suggests Mohamed Bendjebbour, the French Audiovisual attaché for the Gulf region. For the first time, there is a French Pavilion in the market, sponsored by film export body Unifrance, Ile de France Film Commission and the international French-language TV channel TV5. Ile de France Film Commission’s Support Fund for Film and Audiovisual Technical Industry has backed a number of Arab films, usually through grants destined for a post-production spend in the Ile de France region. After The Battle, by Egyptian director Yousry Nasrallah, received an $80,000 (¤60,000) grant for post-production work carried out by Paris-based company Poly-Son. Further recipients include Egyptian director Namir Abdel Messeeh for The Virgin, The Copts And Me, who was granted $60,000 (¤42,500), and Franco-Lebanese director Wissam Charaf secured $40,000 (¤29,400) in aid for his documentary It’s All In Lebanon. Messeeh’s
(Top) CNC’s Julien Ezanno, and (above) Ile de France Film Commission’s Yann Marchet
film also won a grant from the Lower Normandy Regional Film Fund for post-production work in the Normandy region. As well as direct grants, Ile de France Film Commission provides advice on affordable post-production solutions to be found in and around Paris. Yann Marchet, the commission’s director of marketing and communication, is at DIFF for a panel on how to create brands and content using iconic locations. He will be joined by representatives of the film commissions of Thailand, Algeria and Jordan. The other French guests at DIFF this year include Georges Goldenstern, general manager of Cannes Film Festival’s Cinefondation, who is scouting for projects for its L’Atelier co-production event. “I have been attending Dubai Film Connection since it began. I come to look for new talents from the Middle East,” says Goldenstern. This year’s L’Atelier selection, which had a strong Middle East focus, featured two DIFF finds: Jordanian director Yahya Alabdallah’s Me, Myself And Murdoch, and Jasmina Metwaly and Philip Rizk’s Out/In The Streets from Egypt. A number of sales agents and distributors are also at DIFF. They include Grégoire Melin of Kinology, and Premium Films’ Bruno Costa. Eurozoom, Wide Management (which sold Condom Lead) and Urban Distribution International will also be at the s market. n
December 8, 2013 Screen International at Dubai 9 n
DUBAI FILM CONNECTION The seventh annual Dubai Film Connection is spotlighting 16 dynamic new projects being developed by directors from across the Arab world. Melanie Goodfellow and Louise Tutt ask the film-makers for the stories behind the pitches
Firas Khoury
Ghada Terawi
Bavi Yassin
The Flag
Forgotten
Illusion
Dir Firas Khoury
Dir Ghada Terawi
Dir Bavi Yassin
The Flag is set against the backdrop of the 1 millionstrong Palestinian community living within the state of Israel. The action unfolds around the time of Israel’s annual 1948 independence celebrations during which Palestinians mark Nakba, commemorating the ‘national catastrophe’ of losing the land. The film’s lead character, Tamer, lives in an Arab village within Israeli borders just outside Nazareth. A group of his friends plot an audacious operation to swap the Israeli flag flying over their school for a Palestinian one on the eve of an official visit by an Israeli government official. Tamer initially signs up because a girl he likes is joining the operation. But he is torn between a desire to rebel and wanting to withdraw safely back into the shell of home-life and obedience. Film-maker Firas Khoury says he too wanted to rebel as a youth but lacked the courage. Teenage rebellion goes beyond a simple rite-of-passage for 1948 Palestinians, he says. “In this political reality the educational institutions confiscate your collective narrative at an age when you most need to be building an identity,” says Khoury. “In this film I want to do now what I was afraid to do then.” The Flag is Haifa-born Khoury’s first feature-length film after several acclaimed shorts, including documentary Seven Days In Deir Bulus and drama Yellow Mums. Palestinian film-maker Hany Abu-Assad, whose feature Omar was DIFF’s opening night film, is producing The Flag with the support of French producers Pascal Judelewicz and Nadim Cheikhrouha. The project secured a development grant, supported by France’s National Cinema Centre (CNC), during Cinemed International Mediterranean Film Festival of Montpellier in 2011. It was also granted the ALECSO grand development prize at Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia in 2012.
Palestinian film-maker Ghada Terawi’s documentary project Forgotten follows the fascinating story of Kozo Okamoto, a Japanese left-wing radical who attacked passengers and killed 24 people as they disembarked from an Air France flight to Israel, in support of the Palestinian liberation movement in 1972. The sole survivor of a three-person mission, Okamoto spent 13 years in Israeli jails, before being freed as part of a prisoner exchange with the Popular Front For The Liberation Of Palestine in 1985. He now lives in obscurity in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. “I stumbled on Okamoto by chance,” says Terawi, who was born in Beirut the same year as the attack. His parents were deeply involved in the liberation movement. “Reading about him, I thought, ‘How come I don’t know more about him given my background?’ “He’s forgotten,” the director continues. “As I was reading his story and how he got involved I started to see parallels with the Palestinian cause, the way the energy of the 1960s and 1970s has changed and the Palestinian cause has been forgotten internationally.” Terawi tracked down 66-year-old Okamoto and interviewed him in preparation for the documentary. Terawi’s next step is to go to Japan and meet people who knew him. “The documentary will combine interviews with Okamoto and footage of him in Lebanon going about his everyday life, and interviews with people who knew him at different stages of his life,” Terawi explains. The project is being produced by Odeh Films, a Ramallah-based production house founded by filmmaker and producer May Odeh, whose credits include the documentary Diaries.
Film-maker Bavi Yassin, who left Iraqi Kurdistan aged 13 for Belgium with her mother and two younger sisters in 2002, is going on a deeply personal journey for her debut documentary feature, Illusion. The film will capture her return to her country — after finally receiving Belgian nationality and a passport in her 20s — and explore what it means to live between two cultures and pasts. “I spent my life between two worlds — Iraq, where I was born and grew up, and Belgium, a country I fled to with my family and where I feel lost,” Yassin explains. “I was snatched away from my house, school and familiar environment to be dropped off in a country where I had to start again, among strangers who speak a foreign language and have strange, unfamiliar habits. My family is happy but I feel trapped and lost.” Yassin recently graduated from the prestigious Flemish RITS film academy. Her haunting graduation film The Lost Voice will screen at DIFF. The theme of leaving one’s native land also looms large in this work. The film revolves around a former Iraqi diva and supporter of Saddam Hussein who flees to Belgium following the fall of his regime. As she sits in an immigrant detention centre awaiting her fate, she becomes aware that other inmates recognise her and memories of her past flood back. Flemish producer Jan Roekens of Brussels-based Sophimages is producing. He has already raised some finance with the support of the Flemish Film Fund and Iraqi telecommunications company Asiacell, which Yassin linked up with during a research trip over the summer. A teaser trailer featuring footage from the trip as well as interviews back in Belgium is being shown at Dubai Film Connection.
The Flag
Forgotten
Illusion
Producer Hany Abu-Assad Production company Ayloul Film Productions Budget $953,000 Contact Hany Abu-Assad h.abuassad@gmail.com
Producer May Odeh Production company Odeh Films Budget $380,000 Contact May Odeh may.odeh@gmail.com
Producer Jan Roekens Production company Sophimages Budget $547,000 Financed raised so far
■ 10 Screen International at Dubai December 8, 2013
$100,000 from the Flemish Film Fund and Asiacell Contact Jan Roekens sophimages@skynet.be
SCREENINGS, PAGE 14
Yanis Koussim
Leyla Bouzid
Joyce A Nashawati
Mohamed Hirech
Even To China
God Protect My Daughter
Heatwave
Dirs Yanis Koussim, Mohamed Hirech
Dir Leyla Bouzid
Dir Joyce A Nashawati
Yanis Koussim’s debut feature is a 52-minute documentary following a young woman and her family as she seeks treatment for breast cancer in Algeria and China. Wassyla, the sister of co-director Mohamed Hirech, was originally treated by a Moroccan witch doctor on the advice of her father. When the treatment ultimately failed, her father is wracked with guilt and sells all his property to fund his daughter’s trips to Guangzhou province in China to search for experimental immunotherapy. By focusing on a very personal journey, Koussim aims to highlight the pitiful state of the Algerian healthcare system. Some 80% of cancer patients in Algeria die before starting chemotherapy. Those who can afford treatment are forced to go abroad. “In this film, I’m not answering any questions, I’m just asking them indirectly,” says Koussim. “What I want to capture is the commitment, the faith in life at any cost, by following a family who would not give up. But also the distress of Algerians who are facing such a lack of healthcare. We’re convinced the story had to be recorded, whatever the outcome.” Koussim’s short film Khouya (Mon Frere) won the best international short-film prize at Locarno International Film Festival in 2010. Even To China is produced by Claire Mazeau-Karoum’s Une Chambre A Soi Productions, a progressive Algerian production house that promotes and develops all forms of Algerian cinema.
God Protect My Daughter is about a rebellious 18-year-old girl who challenges Tunisian societal norms by joining a politically engaged band and ends up in the hands of the police in the lead-up to the popular uprising in the country. “The film is set six months before the revolution,” Bouzid explains. “It’s a coming-of-age story about a girl who wants to be involved in the music scene but faces opposition, first from her family and then the police. It doesn’t talk about the Tunisian revolution but rather the time of Ben Ali, which gave birth to the revolution.” She is referring to Tunisia’s former president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was ousted after a 24-year dictatorship in 2011. “It’s important to talk about the climate in which Tunisians lived under Ben Ali,” continues the filmmaker. “The way in which censorship worked at the time, the fear… methods that still exist, and we should continue to fight against.” God Protect My Daughter is Bouzid’s first feature film after a number of award-winning shorts. Sandra da Fonseca of Paris-based Blue Monday Productions is producing. She approached Bouzid after seeing her award-winning short Soubresauts (Mkhobbi Fi Kobba), the film-maker’s graduation film from Paris’s prestigious Fémis film school. Imed Marzouk of Tunisia’s Propaganda Production, whose recent credits include by Nejib Belkadhi’s Bastardo, which screened at Toronto, is co-producing. The production has already secured $577,750 of the $1.2m budget through production grants from the Aide aux Cinémas du Monde fund of France’s National Cinema Centre (CNC), the Tunisian Ministry of Culture and Switzerland’s Visions Sud Est. Bouzid and da Fonseca hope to start shooting in the spring of 2014.
Joyce A Nashawati’s debut feature is a mystery thriller set during a long, hot summer in Greece. Ashraf is a foreign drifter, working as a security guard at the isolated holiday villa of an expat family. But the heat brings water and power shortages and Ashraf ’s grip on reality begins to loosen. When a policeman confiscates his papers and he is plunged into a bureaucratic nightmare, Ashraf is consumed by paranoia and fear. The young film-maker says she is keen to explore issues of self and identity. “Ashraf is a stranger to himself and to society,” Nashawati explains. “What if heat could create a monster? A familiar world becomes ambiguous and dangerous in his feverish mindscape. Ashraf ’s disarray and repressed anger will simmer progressively until the cathartic, destructive climax.” Nashawati grew up in Beirut, Accra, Kuwait and Athens. She studied film in the UK before moving to Paris where she now lives and works. She has made three short films, all variations on a mystery theme. Her first short, Le Parasol, premiered at DIFF in 2008. La Morsure won the grand jury prize at Gerardmer Fantastic Film Festival in 2010 and her third short, La Permission, is in post. Heatwave is produced by experienced European coproducer Fenia Cossovitsa of the Athens-based BLONDE production outfit. Her eclectic list of credits include Peter Bogdanovich’s The Cat’s Meow, Menelaos Karamaghiolis’s J.A.C.E. and Yorgos Servetas’s Standing Aside, Watching. Marie-Pierre Macia and Juliette Lepoutre of France’s MPM Film are co-producing. Their recent credits include Teona Grenade’s Dzma and Panos Koutras’s Zenia. They are also developing Zama, the new feature from Argentinian auteur Lucrecia Martel.
Even To China
God Protect My Daughter
Heatwave
Producer Claire Mazeau-Karoum Production company Une Chambre A Soi Productions Budget $60,000 Financed raised so far $8,000 Contact
Producer Sandra da Fonseca Production companies Blue Monday Productions, Propaganda Productions Budget $1.17m Financed raised so far $577,750 Contact Blue Monday bluemonday@bluemonday.fr
Producers Fenia Cossovitsa, Marie-Pierre Macia, Juliette Lepoutre Production companies BLONDE, MPM Film Budget $1.2m Financed raised so far $180,000 Contact Fenia Cossovitsa fenia@blonde.gr
Claire Mazeau-Karoum
Claire@ucasproductions.com
December 8, 2013 Screen International at Dubai 11 ■
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INTERCHANGE
SCREENINGS, PAGE 14
The 10 enterprising film-making teams chosen for this year’s Interchange programme are working on projects that span the genres, encompassing comedies, thrillers and sci-fi. Profiles by Melanie Goodfellow and Louise Tutt
Koutaiba Al Janabi
Julian McKinnon
Rebecca Lloyd-Evans
Daoud’s Winter
#Fierce (working title)
Holy Braille (working title)
Dir Koutaiba Al Janabi
Dir Julian McKinnon
Dir-scr Rebecca Lloyd-Evans
Origin Iraq
Origin France
Origin Lebanon
Daoud’s Winter explores the impact of the decade-long Iran-Iraq war on ordinary people through the eyes of a young man determined to return home the body of a dead friend. “I am interested in the aftermath of conflict, not in the bloody battles,” says Iraqi film-maker Koutaiba Al Janabi. “I am with the soldier behind the front, with the families suffering the consequences, with the dust of war affecting normal life.” Al Janabi’s credits include the feature-length Leaving Baghdad about the flight from Iraq of Saddam Hussein’s personal cameraman. Daoud’s Winter draws on the film-maker’s own experiences. He lost a brother in the war and is haunted by the image of his mother, swathed in black, waiting for her son to return. “I left Iraq when I was 18, when I should have gone to the front to fight for an unjust cause and for Saddam. I lost my family by leaving the country,” says Al Janabi. “I started processing these experiences in my short films and in Leaving Baghdad.” Al Janabi has teamed with Dutch producer Trent of NFI Productions, who he met through International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund. Trent’s credits include Sander Burger’s Hunting & Sons and Gonzalo Tobal’s Villegas. The project has received backing from Torino FilmLab, Hubert Bals Fund and Abu Dhabi’s Sanad Fund. The production is looking to shoot in winter 2014. “The budget will largely depend on where we shoot,” says Al Janabi. “I would love to shoot on location in Iraq but we will have to see how the situation develops as it might be too difficult to have cast and crew with us in the country. That will have an impact on the budget.”
Arabist and film-maker Julian McKinnon’s first feature project, the working titled #Fierce (formerly Niqab Ninjas), revolves around four feisty, Niqab-clad sisters — a computer geek, a kickboxing champion, a beautiful social networker and a courageous tomboy — who unite to foil a plot to blow up the Dubai Shopping Festival retail event. British-Italian McKinnon says he wants to challenge Western stereotypes of Muslim women, especially those depicted wearing a niqab, as being oppressed and the victims of a patriarchal society and religion. The idea came to him while he was living in Cairo from 2009-11, researching Egyptian contemporary visuals arts at the American University in Cairo. “My goal is to write a mainstream chick-flick action film,” says McKinnon. He is developing the project with Paris-based actress and producer Judith Lou Lévy of Les Films du Bal. They were introduced by a mutual friend who “knew Judith and I were daydreaming about what we saw as a possible renewal of Western iconography concerning Arab countries”, explains McKinnon. “We explored this possibility, finding mystery and drama in the veil as a possible variation of the super-hero trope.” Lévy, who created Les Films du Bal in 2011, has a penchant for projects that challenge preconceptions about women’s lives in non-Western societies. She is also developing French-Senegalese Mati Diop’s comingof-age tale Fire Next Time about a young Dakar woman who flies in the face of society to change her destiny. The Interchange meeting will mark #Fierce’s first outing. McKinnon and Lévy need an initial $80,000 to kickstart development.
Producer Edward Hallett and writer-director Rebecca Lloyd-Evans are both UK-born, Lebanon-based filmmakers. Lloyd-Evans has worked with leading documentary film-makers Kim Longinotto and Penny Woolcock as an assistant producer and camera operator. Hallett is a former investment banker who set up the Beirut-based Ariadne Films in 2011. “Lebanon has a diverse and fascinating range of human stories, stunning locations and natural light, and a pool of creative talent that is exceptionally open to collaboration,” says Hallett. Holy Braille, which will be the feature debut of both, follows Colette who lives with her ageing parents and spends her time with the lonely inhabitants of a rundown home for elderly people. Through her friendship with Samir, a former literature professor, Colette finds a book of erotica. She reads it to the home’s inhabitants and awakens something in them and in her. “The idea for this film sprang from a real experience,” explains Lloyd-Evans. “I discovered my aunt reads vivid erotica to a group of elderly blind people in New York. A drab community centre was transformed into an electric atmosphere, alive with the laughter and gripped attention of everyone present.” Colette’s character is based on the many unmarried adult Lebanese women who live at home with their parents. “I was struck by the existence of a rich canon of Arabic erotica,” says Lloyd-Evans. “Using this will not just enhance the poetic impact of the film, it will also help challenge common assumptions about sex and the Arab world.”
Daoud’s Winter
#Fierce
Holy Braille
Producer Trent Production company NFI Productions Budget $2m Contact Trent trent@nfi.nu
Producer Judith Lou Lévy Production company Les Films du Bal Budget $8m Contact Judith Lou Lévy judithloulevy@gmail.com
Producer Edward Hallett, Cathrine Pryser Production companies Ariadne Films, Fredrik Fiction Budget $600,000 Contact Edward Hallett edward@ariadnefilms.com
edward@acamedia.org
December 8, 2013 Screen International at Dubai 13 ■
Screenings
» Screening times and venues are
correct at the time of going to press but subject to alteration
Edited by Paul Lindsell paullindsell@gmail.com
nostalgic tale reveals that people are not creatures of logic but rather of emotion.
15:00 EXIT MARRAKECH
(Germany) 122mins. Drama. Dir: Caroline Link. Cast: Ulrich Tukur, Samuel Schneider, Hafsia Herzi, Marie-Lou Sellem, Josef Bierbichler. Years after his parents’ divorce, 17-year-old Ben visits his theatre director father Heinrich during the holidays. Determined to experience Morocco to the fullest and with his relationship with his father taking a turn for the worse, Ben sets off into the underbelly of Marrakech and beyond.
Muhr Emirati MOE 9
WAR REPORTER
Arabian Nights MOE 11
16:00 A STORY OF CHILDREN AND FILM
(UK) 101mins. Documentary. Dir: Mark Cousins. Cast: Mark Cousins. The world’s first movie about children in global cinema, a poetic portrait of the adventures of childhood. Cinema for Children MOE 6
17:00 LABOR DAY
(US) 111mins. Dir: Jason Reitman. Cast: Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Tobey Maguire, Gattlin Griffith. Centres on 13-year-old Henry Wheeler, who struggles to be the man of the house and care for his reclusive mother Adele, all while coping with the troubles of adolescence. While on a shopping trip, Henry and his mother encounter Frank Chambers, a man who is intimidating yet clearly in need of help. Chambers convinces them to take him into their home. When his true identity is revealed, the events of the long Labor Day weekend will shape the rest of their lives. Cinema of the World Madinat Arena
18:00 THEY ARE THE DOGS
(Morocco) 85mins.
Festival 18:15 ABUSE OF WEAKNESS
(France, Belgium) 104mins. Drama. Dir: Catherine Breillat. Cast: Kool Shen, Isabelle Huppert, Laurence Ursino, Christophe Sermet, Ronald Leclercq. After a brain haemorrhage, filmmaker Maud wakes up paralysed down one side Social, action, drama. Dir: Hicham Lasri. Cast: Yahya El Fandi, Imad Fijaj, Jalal Bouftaim, Hassan Badida. Follows members of a television crew as they stumble across the story of an old man, Majhoul. His tragic tale dates back to 1981 during upheavals in Morocco, when he was arrested. Released 30 years later in 2011, he is trying to come to terms with a new reality. The TV crew decides to report his journey as he sets off on a quest to find his family and his place in this new world. Muhr Arab Feature MOE 5
THOU GILD’ST THE EVEN
(Turkey) 107mins. Drama, fantasy. Dir: Onur Unlu. Cast: Ali Atay, Demet
n 14 Screen International at Dubai December 8, 2013
of her body. Bedridden but determined to pursue her latest film project, she stumbles on Vilko, a con-man who swindles celebrities. He is arrogant yet magnetic, and Maud wants him for her new film. But she becomes the victim as he takes advantage of her weakness. Cinema of the World Souk Madinat Theatre
Evgar, Damla Sonmez, Ercan Kesal, Ezgi Mola, Serkan Keskin. The ordinary sorrows, worries and troubles of a group of Anatolian townsmen with extraordinary abilities. Muhr Asia Africa Feature MOE 8
VOID
(Lebanon) 75mins. Drama. Dir: Tarek Korkomaz, Zeina Makki, Jad Beyrouthy, Christelle Ighniades, Salim Haber, Maria Abdel Karim, Naji Bechara. Cast: Carmen Lebbos, Nada Abou Farhat, Carole Abboud, Takla Chamoun, Diamand Abou Abboud, Talal El Jordi, Elie Mitri, Rodrigue Suleiman, Julian Farhat, Latifeh Moultaka, Antoine
Moultaka, Laura Khabbaz, Samer El Achy. Six Lebanese women of different ages await the return of their sons, brothers, husbands or lovers, who have been missing since the Civil War. Depicts the events that take place on the eve of the Beirut Parliament Square sit-in, where the women petition to renew the cases of their missing men. Muhr Arab Feature MOE 2
18:15 ABUSE OF WEAKNESS See box, above
CONCEALMENT
(UAE) 10mins. Fantasy, Experimental, Video Art. Dir: Muna Al Ali. Cast: Helal Khadar Saif, Ali Naser Al Yaqobi. Looks at how one boy copes with the pressures of life by screaming into bottles, which he then buries into the sand to forget his problems. Muhr Emirati MOE 9
FAITH IN LOVE
(UAE) 18mins. Romantic Comedy. Dir: Alwiya Thani. Cast: Courtney Long, Amir Bezad, Marwan Dj Bliss Al Awadhi, Ric Renton, Mylene Gomera.
Faith and Paul have been unlucky in love, until Paul’s sister, Jen, and their good friend and comedian, Ahmed, plan an elaborate series of events to restore their faith in love. Muhr Emirati MOE 9
GIRL & IT
(UAE) 40mins. Adventure, drama, fantasy, romance. Dir: Mohammad Fikree. Cast: Sophia Jawad, Muneer Al Huseini, Abdulla Al Suwaidi, Saud Al Hazzani, Mohammad Fikree. A hunter sets out to capture a horned beast to prove himself worthy of his father. On encountering the beast, he chases it deep into the forest. During his search for it, he stumbles on a mysterious girl who lives with the animal. Muhr Emirati MOE 9
SUNSET STATE
(UAE) 20mins. Drama. Dir: Mustafa Abbas. Cast: Brent Jenkins, Mustafa Abbas, Brooke Butterworth, Ibrahim Al Khemairi, Jane Meikle, Balqis Hindash. Explores the fantasies, dreams and memories of two men: an American novelist and an Emirati college student. The
(Tunisia) 74mins. Documentary. Dir: Mohamed Amine Boukhris. Cast: Eyad Hamad, Ahmed Bahaddou, Nassim Boumzar, Nicolas Gariga, Remi Ochlic. January 2011. Events in Tunisia triggered massive uprisings throughout the Arab world. It was a historic moment that could not be missed by journalists on the ground. They were the soldiers in the shadows, constantly on a quest for information and the truth. They operated as our eyes and ears, even in the midst of the most violent conflicts, sometimes at the expense of their own lives. Lucas, Nicolas, Remi, Nassim, Eyad and Ahmad are the reporters, and the film follows them on their perilous journey starting from Tunisia through Egypt, Libya and Syria. Muhr Arab Documentary MOE 7
18:30 BIDESIA IN BAMBAI
(India) 87mins. Documentary, Musical, Social. Dir: Surabhi Sharma. Muhr Asia Africa Documentary MOE 12
SEARCHING FOR SARIS
(Palestine, UAE) 72mins. Dir: Jinan Coulter. Saris was a Palestinian village in the Jerusalem area that was taken in 1948 during the creation of the state of Israel. Muhr Arab Documentary MOE 11
TIM’S VERMEER
(US) 80mins. Documentary. Dir: Teller. Cast: Penn Jillette, Tim Jenison, David Hockney, Philip Steadman, Martin Mull. Tim Jenison, a Texas-
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based inventor, attempts to solve one of the greatest mysteries of art. How did the 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer (Girl with a Pearl Earring) manage to paint so photo-realistically — 150 years before the invention of photography? Cinema of the World MOE 1
19:00 THE SELFISH GIANT
(UK) 93mins. Drama. Dir: Clio Barnard. Cast: Sean Glider, Shaun Thomas, Conner Chapman. Fourteen-year-old Arbor and his best friend Swifty, excluded from school, are outsiders in their own community. The two meet local scrap merchant Kitten, and the boys collect metal for him using a horse and cart. Swifty has a natural gift with horses, while Arbor has a sound business acumen and a way with words. They make a good team and work well together, until Arbor becomes as greedy and manipulative as Kitten. Cinema of the World MOE 6
20:00 YOUNG DETECTIVE DEE: RISE OF THE SEA DRAGON
with her co-workers. She is clearly under the spell of Salah, the factory’s new supervisor, who has expressed his admiration for her. She believes love can transcend the class differences between them. However, when a pregnancy test is found in the factory, her family and friends accuse her of sinning. Muhr Arab Feature Madinat Arena
20:45 ANT STORY
(Bangladesh) 93mins. Comedy, drama. Dir: Mostofa Sarwar Farooki. Cast: Noor Imran Mithu, Sheena Chohan, Sabbir Hasan Likhon, Mohini Mow. Every day on the way back to his suburban home, Mithu, a struggling young graduate, looks towards the dazzling city of Dhaka. As he feels he has no chance of being a part of that world, he embarks on a journey of fakery, lies and fantasy. He finds immense pleasure in his own world, because “truth is what one has, while lies are what one creates”. Muhr Asia Africa Feature MOE 1
THE VOIDING SOUL
(China, Hong Kong) 133mins. Action, crime. Dir: Tsui Hark. Cast: Mark Chao, Angelababy, William Feng, Carina Lau, Lin Gengxin. Follows detective Dee Renjie as he investigates reports of a sea monster that is terrorising the city.
(India) 146mins. Fiction. Dir: Shaji N Karun. Cast: Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Jayaram, Kadambari, Siddique, Aswani Ranga, Vineeth.
Cinema of Asia Africa Burj Park
CAMPAIGN 2
20:30 FACTORY GIRL
(Egypt, UAE) 92mins. Drama, romance, social. Dir: Mohamed Khan. Cast: Yasmine Raees, Hani Adel, Salwa Khatab, Salwa Mohammad Ali, Ibtihal Elserety, Hanan Adel. Hiyam, a young factory worker, lives in a lower-middle-class neighbourhood, along
Celebration of Indian Cinema MOE 2
21:00
(Japan, US) 149mins. Documentary. Dir: Kazuhiro Soda. Cast: Kazuhiko Yamauchi, Sayuri Yamauchi, Yuki Yamauchi. In response to the Fukushima disaster, Yama-san is running an election campaign with an anti-nuclear message. However with no funds, it seems unlikely he stands a chance of winning. This film examines the impact of a disaster on
the political landscape in Japan. Muhr Asia Africa Documentary MOE 7
MY RED SHOES
(France) 80mins. Family. Dir: Sara Rastegar. Cast: Panthea Kian, Roxana Rastegar, Ava Rastegar, Fariba Rastegar, Kaveh Rastegar, Azita Fariva Sadri, Guita Fariva Sadri. In 1979, two 20-year-old Iranian Marxists, Kaveh and Fariba, are students of architecture and metallurgy respectively. The Iranian Revolution turns their country and their ideals of revolution and liberty upside down. Muhr Asia Africa Documentary MOE 5
21:15 SOTTO VOCE
(Morocco, UAE) 94mins. Historical, drama. Dir: Kamal Kamal. Cast: Ahmed Benaissa, Khaled Benaissa, Jihane Kamal, Mohamed Bastaoui, Amal Ayouch, Mohammed Khoyi. During the Algerian war, the road to Beni Boussaid on the Morocco-Algeria border is obstructed by the Morice line, a 430-mile long belt that is electrified and heavily mined. Moussa, a Moroccan friend of the revolution, helps refugees across the mountains. However, he must travel through Beni Boussaid when he finds out the path he usually takes is no longer safe. Hans, a Communist militant of the GDR, loses a leg on the way, while trying to remove a mine from a passageway. Normally, the wounded and sick are put to rest, but Hans is not a Muslim and cannot be a martyr. Muhr Arab Feature MOE 12
THE UGLY ONE
(France, Japan, Lebanon) 101mins. Drama. Dir: Eric Baudelaire. Cast: Juliette Navis, Rabih Mroue, Rodney El
Haddad, Fadi Abi Samra, Manal Khader. On a Beirut beach littered with washed-up cans, Lili and Michel meet. Perhaps they know each other from before. As they struggle to piece together the fragments of an uncertain past, memories emerge: an act of terrorism, an explosion and the disappearance of a child, Elena. Woven throughout these fragments is the voice of the legendary film-maker Masao Adachi, who recounts his own experience of a weeping Beirut. Arabian Nights MOE 8
21:30 13:37
(UAE) 18mins. Drama, Psychodrama. Dir: Eisa Al Sabousi. Cast: Amer Al Kamel, Fatima Al Taei. Highlights the struggles of Mariam, a young wife and mother. As her arguments with her husband continue, she soon discovers a deeper reason behind her marital woes. Muhr Emirati MOE 9
BAHAR
(UAE) 23mins. Film Noir. Dir: Abdullah Aljunaibi, Humaid Alawadi. Cast: Humaid Alawadi. A man finds himself on a beach after a tragic accident. He then begins the process of searching for his son. Muhr Emirati MOE 9
DON’T LEAVE ME
(UAE) 13mins. Drama. Dir: Khalid Al Mahmood. Cast: Meera Al Midfa, Saeed Mohammed, Fatima Al Taei, Abdullah Aljunaibi. Layla and Aisha, in their early twenties, first met when they were at school. Layla is now on the verge of losing her eyesight while Aisha is on medication to prevent her from losing her memory. While they don’t recognise each other, they share a connection. Muhr Emirati MOE 9
MY LOVE AWAITS ME BY THE SEA
(Jordan, Germany, Palestine, Qatar) 80mins. Dir: Mais Darwazah. Cast: Mais Darwazah. Follows the director’s journey as she returns to Palestine, exploring it through the poems and drawings of Palestinian artist Hasan Horani — a lover she never met. Muhr Arab Documentary MOE 11
NAFAF
(UAE) 10mins. Drama. Dir: Hamad Al Hammadi. Cast: Khadija Al Taii, Mohamed Garoon. Nora wakes up to the sound of rain. Muhr Emirati MOE 9
THE RAILWAY MAN
(Australia, UK) 115mins. Biography, drama. Dir: Jonathan Teplitzky. Cast: Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Stellan Skarsgard, Jeremy Irvine, Sam Reid, Tanroh Ishida, Hiroyuki Sanada. Eric Lomax was one of thousands of Allied prisoners of war forced to work on the construction of the Thai-Burmese railway during the Second World War. His experiences left him traumatised. Years later, Eric falls in love with the beautiful Patti. When she discovers the young Japanese officer who tormented her husband is still alive, she is faced with a terrible decision. Should Eric be given a chance to confront his past? Cinema of the World Souk Madinat Theatre
21:45 THE SHEBABS OF YARMOUK
(France) 78mins. Documentary. Dir: Axel Salvatori-Sinz. The Shebabs are a group of teenagers who have known each other since they were young boys and girls. Now on the eve of adulthood, they are faced with tough life-choices. Arabian Nights MOE 6
DIFF editorial office Press and publicity office, Madinat Jumeirah Conference Centre +971 56 212 6011 DIFF dailies editor and Asia editor Liz Shackleton lizshackleton@gmail.com Group head of production and art Mark Mowbray mark.mowbray@ screendaily.com Reporter Nandita Dutta nandita@dearcinema.com Reporter Melanie Goodfellow melanie. goodfellow@btinternet.com Reporter Pashma Manglani pashma.manglani@ filmfest.ae Reviews editor Mark Adams +44 7834 902 528 mark.adams@ screendaily.com DIFF Young Journalist Award Colin Brown +971 55 608 1303 colinbrown1@ earthlink.net Features editor Louise Tutt Sub-editors Sangeeta Chauhan, Paul Lindsell, Adam Richmond, Danny Plunkett Designers Vernon Adams,
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December 8, 2013 Screen International at Dubai 15 n
FESTIVAL DIARY
brought to you by DIFF
FAMILY GALA Children filled the halls of the DIFF Headquarters with their infectious laughter and boundless joy as they walked the festival’s red carpet to attend the Family Gala screening of FROZEN (3D). The big-screen comedy adventure, which opened in the USA last week, is now the biggest animation opening in Disney’s history. Directors Chris Buck (THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989), THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER (1990) and POCAHONTAS (1995)) and Jennifer Lee (WRECK-IT RALPH (2012)) attended.
n 16 Screen International at Dubai December 8, 2013
SEEN & HEARD: AT THE CINETECH
‘Content is supreme’ Sam Blan, director of acquisitions and co-productions, Inception Film Partners is attending the Dubai Film Market for the second consecutive year. We caught up with Blan, in between his viewings at the Cinetech, when he let us in on what he’s been watching and what the rest of the world enjoys watching. We heard you’ve been really busy at the Cinetech, spending hours there!
Has anything from the Cinetech caught your eye so far?
Sam Blan: On the first day, I was there from 9am to 3pm, until they had to throw me out because of the bomb sweep! I’ve definitely spent most of the working hours so far at the Cinetech.
SB: I was particularly touched by WAVES and I hope it finds a home. I’ve written the director about my thoughts.
Inception works in worldwide distribution and acquisitions and funding. Is there anything in particular that you look for when you head out to film markets?
In your position, you’re aware of market realities and consumer trends. How do you work with the idealism of film-makers when in the business of film?
SB: There’s a tremendous amount of research that goes into our planning before we hit any film market. We’re just coming in to the Dubai Film Market from the AFM and then dive into Sundance right after. Before coming to Dubai, we checked out the programme and the titles and so I’ve definitely come here with my list of films to watch and pursue.
SB: I just ask the film-maker if he or she wants people to watch their film. Film-makers can be stubborn, but I tell it how it is and I’ve got loads of research – facts and figures – to back me up. At the end of the day, film-makers, no matter how artistic their approach is, are making a film in the hope that an audience watches it. I think people in my position need to help film-makers maneuver the path that ultimately makes people want to watch their film. For example, we know that a high percentage of people in the Middle East consume content through their mobile phones. So I ask Arab film-makers if the kind of films they’re making are suitable to that medium.
Sounds like you’re constantly keeping your eye on the ball! SB: For sure. In fact, at any given point, I’m tracking 700 to 800 films from around the world.
And at the Cinetech, what’s your daily watch-list shaping up to look like? SB: It’s quite a mixed bag. There are Arab films, some European films, documentaries and fiction films. Also, Indiewire’s Oscar shortlist was just released and some of the films in the DIFF programme are in the shortlist.
Any particular theme you look for? SB: Definitely films with a universal appeal. One has to bear in mind that now, more than ever, content is supreme. The DVD is in decline and people have so many choices on what to watch, when and how. We get feedback from our buyers, who tell us about their requirements and their markets’ trends. Tastes are changing and it’s very clear that people are interested in content with high production values.
You work with a global audience in mind. What kind of film typically appeals across the board, around the world? SB: Dramas are generally harder because culturally, drama tastes vary across regions. I tend to look for films with a common denominator. Action and family genres always travel well. From the Arab world, I find a void in the family film genre. I grew up with films like MRS DOUBTFIRE and THE GOONIES. Where are those films now and why aren’t Arab film-makers making films that appeal to the entire family?
And finally, is ‘how film is consumed’ affecting ‘what film is consumed’? SB: Consumption patterns have changed. Through Netflix, we have a whole group of binge-watchers. I think no matter the medium, content will always drive consumption. For sure, there are many ways to consume now, but it ultimately boils down to your audience wanting to watch your content.
DIGGING DEEPER INTO SOCIETY’S ISSUES With newer resources and better funding options made available to film-makers across the region, directors are tackling a broader range of societal issues. In this year’s Muhr Emirati programme, which has grown by 50 percent, UAE directors have explored marital woes, the troubles of raising a special needs child, relationship difficulties as well as the expat perspective of leaving their home behind. According to DIFF’s Artistic Director Masoud Amralla Al Ali, “This year’s Muhr Emirati field demonstrates growing confidence and skill in our local artists. We are proud that at our tenth edition, we can present the fruits of these efforts in our most competitive Muhr Emirati
MUHR EMIRATI 2 CONCEALMENT FAITH IN LOVE SUNSET STATE GIRL & IT
MUHR EMIRATI 4 NAFAF DON’T LEAVE ME 13:37 BAHAR
Today at 18:15 MoE 9
Today at 21:30 MoE 9
MUHR EMIRATI 1 HANEEN UNIFIED HOME DEC 9 at 15:30 MoE 9
Capturing the Soul of Dubai Dubai’s glistening skyscrapers have made headlines across the globe, but for a group of Emirati filmmakers, it is the city’s soul that serves as inspiration for their films. As part of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority’s campaign, ‘Soul of Dubai,’ three shorts were commissioned to showcase the dynamic growth of the city as well as its cultural diversity, unique identity and heritage. In Nayla Al Khaja’s THE NEIGHBOUR, a young woman moves to Dubai for a fresh start and finds herself feeling lonely until she receives a visit from her neighbour, an old Emirati woman. Ali Mostafa’s DON’T JUDGE A SUBJECT BY ITS PHOTOGRAPH looks at Dubai’s buzzing art scene and AL LAILAH by Khalid Ali centres on an Emirati family and their preparations for the children’s festival, Hag Al Lailah.
MUHR EMIRATI 3 THE NEIGHBOUR DON’T JUDGE A SUBJECT BY ITS PHOTOGRAPH AL LAILAH DEC 10 at 18:00 MoE 2
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