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MAD to thrill with Arab Cinema LAB

BY MELANIE GOODFELLOW

Iraqi-Dutch director Mohamed AlDaradji’s The Journey and Palestinian film-maker Rashid Masharawi’s Writing On Snow will be among the features previewed at the inaugural edition of Arab Cinema LAB on Monday.

Cairo-based pan-Arab distributor and promotional body MAD Solutions is spearheading the event. It aims to unveil some of the hottest upcoming features out of the Arab world and also generate discussion on how to generate sustainable production and distribution eco-systems for Arab film.

“Arab cinema has expanded and developed beyond recognition in recent years but there’s still a huge amount of untapped market potential. We want to generate discussion on what can be done to exploit this market better,” said MAD Solutions CEO Alaa Karkouti.

The other titles previewing on Monday include Amr Salama’s Sheikh Jackson and Ahmed Amer’s satire Kiss Me Not. There is also buzz around Man Of The Impossible, a James Bond-style production based on a popular comic strip.

Monday’s event will also feature talks by Mohamed Hefzy of Cairobased Film Clinic; Gianluca Chakra of pan-Arab distributor Front Row; VOX Cinemas general manager Jacques Kruger; and Frank Albers of Robert Bosch Stiftung.

Editorial lizshackleton@gmail.com

Zawya powers up indies

BY LIZ SHACKLETON

Zawya Distribution is ramping up its 2017 slate of Egyptian independent features with titles including Tamer El Said’s In The Last Days Of The City and Mohamed Rashad’s DIFF competition title Little Eagles.

The Cairo-based distributor has also picked up Mahmoud Lotfy’s Experimental Summer, about the search to find a copy of Egypt’s first independent film, and Anna Roussillon’s award-winning documentary I Am The People for release next year.

Backed by Egypt’s Misr Interna-

tional Films, Zawya operates arthouse theatre Zawya Cinema in Cairo, and is working with other exhibitors to expand the circuit for independent films. The company’s larger upcoming titles will be released in Alexandria, Ismailia and Port Said, in addition to Cairo.

“Although funding is difficult, Egypt’s independent scene remains vibrant — you can see that from the line-up here at DIFF,” said Zawya head of acquisitions and sales Ahmed Sobky.

Little Eagles, which Zawya picked up last week, is an autobiographical documentary about the

children of leftist parents. The film received its world premiere in DIFF’s Muhr Feature competition on Friday and screens again today.

Zawya will distribute the film following its festival run.

The company is looking to release In The Last Days Of The City, which premiered at Berlin in February, in the first quarter of next year. “We are aiming for a wider than usual release on this film as it’s one of our bigger titles,” said Sobky. “We plan to tour with the production team and create a series of talks and concerts around the release.”

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The Worthy, p6

REVIEW The Worthy Ali F Mostafa gives the survivalist genre a Middle Eastern flavour » Page 6

FEATURE Maghreb movement Political change in Tunisia has resulted in a new wave of film-making » Page 10

SCREENINGS

» Page 14

FORUM EVENTS 10:00-11:00 Breaking the frame: redefining what a documentary can do Panellists Livia Bloom, vice president, Icarus Films; John Battsek, managing director, Passion Pictures; Signe Byrge Sorensen, co-founder, Final Cut For Real.

11:30-12:30 New realities in contemporary Arab film Panellists Raja Amari, director, Foreign Body; Vatche Boulghourjian, director, Tramontane; Mahdi Fleifel, director, A Man Returned; Nujoom Alghanem, director, Honey, Rain & Dust

14:00-15:00 The globalisation of cinema: film, story and talent on the move

The cast of Magdy Ahmed Ali’s drama The Preacher, about an imam who becomes a TV celebrity with unexpected consequences, on the red carpet. (From left) Riham Haggag, Amr Saad and Dorra Zarrouk

Van der Vloed serves an ACE Former CineMart and Rotterdam Lab manager Jacobine van der Vloed has been appointed as director of producers body Ateliers du Cinéma Européen (ACE).

Her appointment coincides with ACE’s move from Paris to Amsterdam, which will take effect from January 1. The change was prompted by rising costs in Paris and the offer of additional funding from Netherlands Film Fund.

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TODAY

Van der Vloed, who is at DIFF working at Dubai Film Connection, said the choice of Amsterdam as ACE’s new home makes perfect sense. “There’s been a lot going on in the Netherlands, from the Binger Filmlab to CineMart. It’s a country that’s always looked outside.”

Current ACE chief Ronan Girre is leaving the organisation, as is head of events Emmanuelle Döry.

Melanie Goodfellow

Phoenicia matches Borg vs McEnroe

BY LIZ SHACKLETON

Lebanon-based distributor Phoenicia Pictures has acquired MENA rights to Borg vs McEnroe, about the famous rivalry between tennis stars Björn Borg and John McEnroe, here at DIFF. SF Studios is handling international sales on the film, which is directed by Janus Metz Pedersen and stars Sverrir Gudnason as Borg and Shia LaBeouf as McEnroe. Stellan Skarsgard also stars.

“The film is the first step in SF

Studios’ intention to produce commercial high-quality films for the international market,” said producers Jon Nohrstedt and Fredrik Wikstrom Nicastro.

The film is in post for release in autumn 2017. It has also sold to the UK (Curzon), France (Pretty Pictures), Germany (Ascot Pictures), Italy (Lucky Red), Poland (Best Film) and China (Hualu). SF Studios is attending Dubai Film Market as part of a delegation of Nordic producers, funders and sales agents.

Panellists David Grumbach, CEO, BAC Films; Nate Bolotin, co-founder and partner, XYZ Films; Leslie Vuchot, CEO and founder, The Festival Agency; Roman Paul, CEO and co-founder, Razor Film Produktion Moderator Ben Ross, head of narrative film and television, Image Nation

15:30-16:30 The making of a mockumentary: King Of The Belgians Panellists Jessica Woodworth, film-maker; Titus De Voogdt, actor

17:00-18:15 Dubai Film Connection awards ceremony Open to Dubai Film Market and Dubai International Film Festival delegates.

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Memento powers up Trier’s Thelma

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REVIEW Café Society Woody Allen’s opener in the “high altitudes” of his recent successes » Page 18

BY MELANIE GOODFELLOW

Memento Films International (MFI) has boarded sales on Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s supernatural thriller Thelma about a young woman unaware she possesses frightening powers.

After his English-language Louder Than Bombs, which played here in Competition last year, Trier has returned home for the Norwegian-language thriller, which is due to shoot in Oslo this autumn.

Thomas Robsahm at Oslo-based Motlys, who is lead producing, said the film will be “Trier’s most visually ambitious project to date, with striking VFX”.

Co-producers are Alexandre Mallet-Guy of Memento Films Production in France, Mikkel Jersin at Denmark’s Snowglobe and Mattias Nohrborg at Sweden’s B-Reel.

Trier will work with his usual team of co-writer Eskil Vogt, director of photography Jakob Ihre and editor Olivier Bugge Coutté.

Paris-based MFI is kicking off sales in Cannes. Casting is underway in Oslo, and the film is expected to be ready for spring 2017. Norwegian distributor SF Norge is planning a Halloween 2017 release. The $4.8m film was also supported by Eurimages, the Norwegian Film Institute, the Danish Film Institute, Copenhagen Film Fund and Media.

FEATURES Buzz titles The hot projects from Japan

» Page 26

SCREENINGS What to see at the festival and in the market today

» Page 64

Café Society stars Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart and Blake Lively with the film’s director Woody Allen on the red carpet for Cannes’ opening night film, which plays here out of competition

Driver set to saddle up for Gilliam’s Quixote

BY GEOFFREY MACNAB

Terry Gilliam’s long-gestating project The Man Who Killed Don Quixote looks set to shoot in the autumn with a hot new star — Adam Driver.

Fresh from Star Wars blockbuster The Force Awakens, Driver could bring fresh life to the film that has been in the pipeline for nearly 20 years. The role was origi-

Kino takes Silk Road to US

BY LIZ SHACKLETON

US distributor Kino Lorber is launching a theatrical distribution label, Silk Road Cinema, dedicated to award-winning arthouse films from India, Pakistan and the rest of South Asia.

Kino Lorber is partnering with New York and Mumbai-based independent director-producer Shrihari Sathe to curate the collection and collaborate on distribution strategy.

Silk Road Cinema will release around six titles a year throughout North America, in theatres and

Japan hot titles, page 26

NEWS Homecoming Gaumont boards Valérie Lemercier’s comedy » Page 2

Hubert Boesl

across all other platforms including DVD and VoD, starting with five titles acquired by Sathe and Alan McAlex’s 3 Monkeys.

These include Afia Nathaniel’s Dukhtar, Geetu Mohandas’s Liar’s Dukhtar Dice, Sathe’s 1,000 Rupee Note Note, Avinash Arun’s Berlinale winner Killa and Aamir Bashir’s Harud.

Sathe will be actively seeking new South Asian titles at Cannes with the Kino Lorber team.

Kino Lorber’s Wendy Lidell, who will oversee Silk Road’s theatrical releases, will also be in Cannes.

nally intended for Johnny Depp.

The part of Quixote, first played by Jean Rochefort when Gilliam mounted an ill-fated production in 1998, will be taken on by Gilliam’s fellow Monty Python member, Michael Palin.

The project, recently revived by Gilliam with veteran Portuguese producer Paulo Branco’s Alfama Films, is shaping up to shoot this

autumn. Driver and Palin would replace another high-profile duo who were lined up for the roles: rising star Jack O’Connell and veteran John Hurt.

Driver may be in Cannes later this week as he stars in Jim Jarmusch’s Competition film, Paterson.. Full details of Gilliam’s Don Quixote project are expected to be confirmed later in the market.

Coixet plans to open Bookshop Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy and Patricia Clarkson are to star in writer-director Isabel Coixet drama The Bookshop, which is readying to shoot in August.

Set in a small town in 1959 England, The Bookshop charts the story of a woman (Mortimer) who decides, against polite but ruthless local opposition, to open a bookshop — a decision that becomes a political minefield.

London-based Celsius Entertainment is cooking up deals

in Cannes on the period project, which has pre-sold to Spain (A Contracorriente), Australia and New Zealand (Transmission), Greece (Odeon), airlines (Jaguar Distribution) and Turkey (Filmarti).

Producers are Joan Bas and Jaume Banacolocha from Diagonal and Adolfo Blanco from A Contracorriente.

Executive producers are Manuel Monzon, Albert Sagales and Fernando Riera.

Andreas Wiseman

Bergman’s Saving Neta goes West

BY ANDREAS WISEMAN

WestEnd has boarded world sales rights to Nir Bergman drama Saving Neta. The Israeli feature, in post-production, tells the stories of four women whose lives change after their brief encounter with a man called Neta.

The film is written by Eran Bar Gil and Bergman, the film-maker behind Berlinale award-winner Broken Wings, critically acclaimed TV drama In Treatment and Yona.

Benny Avni stars alongside Neta Riskin in a cast that also includes Rotem Abuhab, Irit Kaplan and Naama Arlaky.

Producers are Tami Leon, Avraham Pirchi and Chilik Michaeli (Big Bad Wolves) and executive producer is Rina Schneur.

Crew includes DoP Lutz Reitemeier (Wadjda) and composer Asher Goldschmidt (White White God God).

Bergman said: “At some time in our lives we’ve all made a wrong turn which brought about a sudden change. This is Neta’s story. His life suddenly got out of control and he’s searching for the right path again.”

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NEWS

Khoja gets a kick out of Shoot Saudi director Aymen Khoja will preview his US-set, footballthemed work Shoot, starring rising Egyptian actor Amir El-Masry, at the inaugural edition of Arab Cinema Lab on Monday.

El-Masry, best known internationally for his roles in Rosewater and The Night Manager, stars as a Saudi expat in Los Angeles, who dreams of pursuing a football career in the city. Other cast members include Patrick Fabian, Ayman Samman and US football star Bryan Jordan. Mecca-born Khoja, who studied at New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, wrote, produced and directed the film under the auspices of his Santa Monica and Jeddahbased Khoja Bros label created alongside producer and writer Allison Winter and creative producer Muhammed Alawi.

“Our vision is to make films that marry Arab and American culture,” said Khoja. “I’ve seen Chinese-American films and Italian-American films, like The Godfather, but never ArabAmerican films so I decided to come up with this.

Melanie Goodfellow

Farhadi, Dumont, Panh master Qumra

BY MELANIE GOODFELLOW

Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, French auteur Bruno Dumont and Cambodian creative documentarian Rithy Panh have been confirmed as the first ‘masters’ at Doha Film Institute’s bespoke talent development event Qumra.

The third edition, reserved for first and second-time film-makers and their producers, will take place in Doha, March 3-8.

“We are excited at the prospect of welcoming these masters and look forward to engaging interactions among them and the participating film-makers,” said DFI chief executive Fatma Al Remaihi, adding that the final masters would be announced in the new year.

Film-maker James Schamus hosts a Qumra mentor session in March

DFI artistic director Elia Suleiman noted that selecting the masters was a complex process: “March can be a complicated time because it’s when a lot of the directors we’re looking at are completing films in time for Cannes. I tried to look at the selec-

tion as a whole and think about what the attending film-makers need and how the masters fit together.”

Since launching in 2014, Qumra has gained a reputation as a go-to event for up-and-coming film-makers for its intimate

atmosphere and easy access to top producers, sales agents and established talent.

Suleiman and Al Remaihi say they are committed to maintaining its compact dimension and confirmed that Qumra is a longterm project.

“We won’t see big results in two or three years. We need to be patient with the programmes we have, rather than launching new initiatives every year. The same goes for Ayjal,” said Al Remaihi, referring to the DFI’s youth film festival.

Past Qumra masters include Mexican actor-filmmaker Gael Garcia Bernal, Romanian director Cristian Mungiu and US producer-director James Schamus.

‘Capital is a commodity,’ FilmNation chief tells market

BY COLIN BROWN

Dubai Film Market’s finance panel told a packed audience of Arab film-makers and producers that there is an untapped well of financing out there for those disciplined enough do their homework and focus on universally resonant stories.

“The good news right now is that capital is a commodity. There is more money out there looking to find good projects than there is

good product,” insisted Milan Popelka, COO of production and sales outfit FilmNation Entertainment. “So if you can put together good material, you’re in a really great spot. But that capital is very specific in what it is looking for.”

“It’s really important to understand who it is you’re sitting across the table from,” advised John Hadity, executive vice president, EP Financial Solutions,

which lends money against the promise of tax incentives.

“There are some investors who really do not care about the story.

They just want to hear how their investment will be protected. But there are other investors who don’t care that much about the economics and much more about the story, and the director’s passion. You have to do your homework because it will be different every time.”

“There is no short cut,” agreed Mohamed Hefzy, chief of Cairobased Film Clinic. “It is about how to create more value in the market. You need to have a realistic financing plan and recoupment plan. Maybe there is a way to attach an actor who has value in the TV market?

“There is also the emergence of the VoD market, which is making that side of the value chain quite significant.”

ONE ON ONE PHILIPPE ARACTINGI, DIRECTOR, LISTEN

Award-winning director Philippe Aractingi talks to William Mullally about sound and sensuality in his latest film, Listen, which premieres today in DIFF’s Arabian Nights

S

ince DIFF was founded in 2004, acclaimed Franco-Lebanese film-maker Philippe Aractingi has been a regular fixture at the festival. He won the best film prize in DIFF’s Muhr Arab Feature category for Under The Bombs in 2007 and garnered rave reviews for Bosta and Heritages, which played at the festival in 2005 and 2013 respectively. His latest film, Listen, is receiving its world premiere today in Arabian Nights.

Why did you want to make this film?

I’ve always been intrigued by the fact nobody listens to anybody. We speak for ourselves, but we don’t really listen. We need empathy to listen — not just to hear but to feel what the other person is saying with your own emotions.

In the Middle East, and in Lebanon, we shout a lot. There are a lot of sounds everywhere — a

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lot of car horns. I wonder why people shout a lot, why people can’t talk normally? We also have a lot of divisions, religions. Each one has its own mosque or church, and each one is shouting his own way of thinking. So I thought making a film about sound was a very interesting subject. But it’s not just a theme that makes a film — it’s a story.

How did you go about translating that theme into a story?

It became the story of a sound engineer who records Lebanon. He tries, through sound, to seduce the one he loves and then, later, uses sound to try to bring her back to him.

How did you find the lead actor?

I cast the film while writing. I love to write for an actor instead of writing first and finding the

actor later. And so I started casting, and I found a non-professional actor. I found him on Facebook, to be honest. I called him and I fell in love with him.

Productions. It was also produced with Denis Carot from France’s Elzévir Films. They brought a little bit of money, and we’re working together to find a distributor.

How was the film financed?

It’s always difficult to finance a Middle Eastern film. We have to make them on a low budget. I had to go to private investors, which I also did with my other films.

Do you feel the film’s adult content will affect its distribution in the Middle East?

It’s a sensual film. There are some scenes in which there’s a little bit of sensuality. I know in Lebanon it will be controversial as I have already shown it to a few people and they were very much astonished. This is unfortunate. I want people to see it for the sound, for the story, for the acting, for the aesthetic, and not for the nudity.

Who produced the film?

I produced the film myself through my company, Fantascope

December 11, 2016 Screen International at Dubai 5

REVIEWS Reviews edited by Fionnuala Halligan finn.halligan@screendaily.com

The Traveller Reviewed by Wendy Ide

The Worthy Reviewed by Fionnuala Halligan For his third feature, Emirati director Ali F Mostafa localises another genre with an Arabic-language postapocalyptic thriller. This professionally executed, soundstage-bound production, backed by Image Nation Abu Dhabi, gives the survivalist drama a fresh Middle-Eastern flavour, even if adds little that is new to the recipe.

Set to play well to local crowds in February, The Worthy will set its sights on becoming the region’s first homegrown blockbuster. Mostafa attacks a standard-issue plot that picks off a band of survivors one by one with enthusiasm, although Vikram Weet’s screenplay struggles to make either their predicament or their denouements feel unique. While the lead performances are variable, two Syrian talents — Samer Al-Masry and Samer Ismael, playing good and evil respectively — are standouts.

For his debut, City Of Life (2009) Mostafa adapted the Crash template for Dubai, while 2014’s road trip From A To B took three old friends from Abu Dhabi to Beirut. The Worthy sees the director tackle another cinematic staple — a post-apocalyptic world where a band of survivors led by former truck-driver Shuaib (Al-Masry) have retreated to a ruined building and hold the only fresh water. But when the group allows two visitors to enter the compound — Mussa (Samer Ismael) and Gulbin (Maisa Abd Elhadi) — they all become targets in a vicious cat-andmouse game to determine who is “worthy” to survive.

Mussa is a gleeful, nihilistic villain whose first move is to destroy the water reserves in the film’s most successful sequence, so you know there won’t be any reasoning with him. Unfortunately, however, his opponents are given rather dreary arcs: Shuaib’s son Eissa (Mahmoud Al Atrash) ends up being Mussa’s main foil, but neither the actor nor the character is a match for such lavish evil.

Still, The Worthy is paced well within its tight genre frame, and, unusually, it picks up speed when Mostafa exits his soundstage and sets his mind to establishing a sequel. Here, the film finally becomes more creative, and gives audiences the Arabic twist that is lacking from the first half. Backed by Image Nation Abu Dhabi and made with Romania’s IBIS, The Worthy does what it can with its restricted setting: the conceptualisation of a postapocalyptic Middle East is TV-level generic, considering such places exist in reality right now, and close by.

6 Screen International at Dubai December 11, 2016

MUHR EMIRATI UAE. 2016. 100mins Director Ali F Mostafa Production companies Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Abis Studio, Mitra Film International sales IM Global, info@ imglobalfilm.com Producers Peter Safran, Steven Schneider, Rami Yasin Screenplay Vikram Weet Cinematography Adrian Silisteanu Editor Shahnaz Dulaimy Production design Oana Marinescu Music Joseph Bishara Cast Ali Suliman, Mahmoud Al Atrash, Samer Al-Masry, Rakeen Saad, Habib Ghuloom, Samer Ismael, Salah Hanoun, Maisa Abd Elhadi

Adnan (Rodrigue Sleiman) lives for travel. He can recite the tourist attractions of Rome like a mantra, describe gelato flavours with the confidence of a connoisseur and wax lyrical about the sensory overload of New York.

An employee of a provincial travel agency in south Lebanon, Adnan gets a vicarious thrill from the holiday plans of his customers. He looks visibly crestfallen when he feels that a client is not prepared to fully engage in their trip. If Adnan has a slightly romanticised idea of travel, it is probably because he has never left the country of his birth.

Having established Adnan as a very likeable central character, first-time writer and director Hadi Ghandour then gives his protagonist the opportunity to realise his dream and actually see the world. After his boss breaks a leg while dancing at a wedding, he sends Adnan in his place to a travel conference in Paris.

While travel is supposed to broaden the mind, the opposite seems to be true here, and Ghandour bravely sacrifices much of the goodwill established for his central character as Adnan goes spectacularly off the rails in Paris. The film explores themes of culture clashes and the appeal of the unattainable with honesty and humour but, as the picture progresses, it is increasingly difficult to muster much empathy for Adnan.

Out of his depth at the travel conference, Adnan is further troubled when he visits his cousin Insaf (Aïda Sabra) and meets her beautiful and very Parisienne daughter Layla (Donia Eden). Disconcerted by Layla’s insouciant sexiness, Adnan veers between barely concealed lechery and a slightly pompous over-protective approach.

Meanwhile, he strikes up a friendship with the proprietor of a Lebanese restaurant and embarks on a night of debauchery that ends with the loss of his shoe, eviction from his hotel and the onset of a personal crisis.

The theme of an insular worldview blown apart during a business trip is somewhat similar to that of Mohamed Ben Attia’s Berlin Silver Bear-winning picture Hedi. While the central characters of both films act rather foolishly, however, there is a satisfying sense of forward movement in Hedi that is disappointingly absent in the hapless Adnan’s story arc.

ARABIAN NIGHTS Leb-Fr. 2016. 100mins Director/screenplay Hadi Ghandour Production companies Androma Pictures, Inspired Ant Contact Androma Pictures, stevan@ andromapictures.com Producers Stevan Lee Mraovitch, Romain Richard Cinematography Saro Varjabedian Main cast Rodrigue Sleiman, Donia Eden, Aïda Sabra, Romy Melhem, Lubna Playoust, Sébastien Bertrand, Pierre Alam

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SCREENINGS, PAGE 12

Layla M. Reviewed by Allan Hunter

Still Burning Reviewed by Fionnuala Halligan In Still Burning, French-Lebanese director Georges Hachem (2010’s Stray Bullet) attempts to lay to rest the ghosts of the past in war-torn Beirut. This is a challenging and ambitious feature that relies heavily on the wellworn trope of a film-within-a-film, but its multiple layers eventually peel back to reveal haunting secrets. With a disturbingly discordant noirish score that swells as the action ebbs, Hachem’s film feels both pained and solemn.

The personal subject matter can swing radically between suspense and inertia, restricting Still Burning to specialised audiences, perhaps on the festival circuit.

Too stylised to easily support its 110-minute running time — and most noticeably strained during a lengthy climactic scene between its two protagonists — Still Burning is intriguingly mysterious, nonetheless, as it plays out an ambiguous love triangle and keeps its cards close to its chest.

French director Andre (Wajdi Mouawad) is making a film in Lebanon, starring desirable French actress Camille Morin (Adila Bendimerad), who is also his lover.

He is artistically blocked and has great trouble with a scene in which his leading lady is so overcome with lust for her lover, she spontaneously climaxes — twice.

In Andre’s feature, called Burning, Camille is playing Nadine, a livewire who is torn between her academic husband Elie (Rodrigue Sleiman) and her Muslim lover Mohammad (Rami Nihawi). The men are also close friends, and there seems to be some unexpressed desire between the two as they all grapple with the challenges and heightened emotions of living through the civil war in Beirut.

Cut to Paris decades later, where Andre successfully premieres his film and spots a familiar face in the audience: it is Walid (Fadi Abi Samra), and the story of Burning is revealed to be based on his relationship with Andre and the woman they both loved, Amira . The pair then spend the night dealing angrily with unfinished business.

Dedicated to “the memory of Walid”, this stilted film is clearly a deeply personal affair. Perhaps because of that, Hassan lacks a certain distance that might have helped to clarify the archetypal narrative. He makes strong directorial choices, in particular with the score, which never lets the viewer settle and thunders off in its own direction.

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MUHR FEATURE Leb-UAE. 2016. 110mins Director/screenplay Georges Hachem Production company Stray Bee Production International sales Stray Bee Production, straybee. production@gmail.com Producers Georges Hachem, Hussein Gharib Cinematography Andreas Sinanos Editor Elias Chahine Music Zad Moultaka Main cast Adila Bendimerad, Wajdi Mouawad, Fadi Abi Samra, Rodrigue Sleiman, Rami Nihawi

ARABIAN NIGHTS

Be careful what you wish for. In Layla M, a disillusioned young Muslim woman grows to feel there is no longer a place for her in an increasingly intolerant Europe. The decision to abandon her family and start a new life in the Middle East is fraught with challenges to her naive notion of finding a faith and a place where she feels she belongs.

Mijke de Jong’s exploration of the issues surrounding radicalisation and identity is distinguished by its intelligent approach to complex matters, the polished visuals of cinematographer Danny Elsen and a knockout central performance from newcomer Nora el Koussour. Her Layla Mourabit is a fantastically stroppy, compelling character. A Dutch/Moroccan teenager, she is a fiery, opinionated figure. Encountering casual racism on a daily basis, she is outraged by a father who never fights back and who is ashamed by her defiance.

There is a very striking sense of Layla as someone whose voice is not heard in her home, her school or her city of Amsterdam. There is also a sense of how eagerly she embraces her status as an outsider, becoming more devout in her prayers, studying the Quran, attending demonstrations and never giving an inch in the defence of her position.

The process of Layla becoming open to radicalisation is convincingly depicted as she abandons friends who mock her decision to wear the full hijab and finds it intolerable that so few people seem to care about what is happening in Syria. Layla is drawn to the charismatic jihadist Abdel (Ilias Addab). Skype chats and supportive words fuel her starry-eyed romantic notions. When her life in Amsterdam becomes unbearable, she is more than willing to become Abdel’s bride and follow him to the Middle East; but her new life as a docile wife leaves her with similar feelings of being denied a voice.

There is a fatalistic arc to Layla M. and a distinct break between the protagonists’s life in Amsterdam and her life as a fugitive. We know the story is unlikely to end well but there are still unexpected details that emerge, and el Koussour’s performance carries the narrative. Her big, yearning eyes, the hot flashes of her anger and her tears of disappointment all convey the emotional turmoil of an incredible journey.

Neth-Bel-Ger-Jor. 2016.

98mins Director Mijke de Jong Production companies Topkapi Films, NTR, Chromosom Filmproduktion, Menuet, The Imaginarium Films, Schiwago Film International sales Beta Cinema, beta@ betacinema.com Producers Frans van Gestel, Arnold Heslenfeld, Laurette Schillings Screenplay Jan Eilander, Mijke de Jong Cinematography Danny Elsen Main cast Nora el Koussour, Ilias Addab

December 11, 2016 Screen International at Dubai 7

ARAB 2016

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STARS OF TOMORROW ARAB 2016

Mariam Alferjani

Actress, film-maker (Tunisia) Screen continues its Stars of Tomorrow series, which profiles emerging Arab talent. A chance meeting led medical student Mariam Alferjani to switch careers; now she is preparing her first feature as director

M

ariam Alferjani was studying medicine in her native Tunisia five years ago when she happened to meet compatriot film-maker Leyla Bouzid through a mutual friend.

Bouzid, who has since made her critically acclaimed debut feature As I Open My Eyes, cast Alferjani in her 2012 graduation short Soubresauts, about a mother’s attempt to get to the bottom of her daughter’s attack during a night out with friends.

“I felt so at home on the set, I decided that’s what I wanted to do,” says Alferjani, who speaks Arabic, English, French and Italian. She dropped her medical studies and enrolled in directing and acting courses at the Civica Scuola di Cinema Luchino Visconti in Milan, where her diplomat father was based at the time.

The four years studying medicine were not a waste of time, she says: “It was a magnificent domain from which to cross over into the arts because in the early years it’s all about observation.”

Outside of term-time, Alferjani headed home to Tunisia to direct and star in experimental shorts The Claim (Al Ediaa) and Wintry (Shatwi), based on the work of Egyptian poet Youssef Rakha. Tunisian film-maker Ala Eddine Slim, whose debut picture The Last Of Us won Venice’s Lion of the Future-Luigi De Laurentiis award in September, also worked on the shorts. It was a collaboration that originated in the creative scene that has sprung up in Tunis following the 2011 popular rising.

“There has been an upsurge in creativity linked to the fact younger generations are able to express themselves more freely,” says Alferjani. “It’s become quite a hub.”

Alongside her cinema studies, she is also building a following for her photographic self-portraits taken against the backdrop of intricately posed settings in which Alferjani inhabits various fantasy characters. This artistic passion was encouraged by Bouzid, who gave

8 Screen International at Dubai December 11, 2016

Alferjani a camera after the shoot of Soubresauts. “It’s been likened to the work of Cindy Sherman but at the same time it’s very different,” explains Alferjani, who recently exhibited at an event organised by the travelling Tunisian artists collective La Maison de la Plage, in a show entitled ‘Where Did We Meet Before?’.

Since graduating from the Civica Scuola di Cinema in 2015, Alferjani has been living and working between Tunis and Milan. She will appear on the big screen in 2017 in up-and-coming Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s debut fiction feature Beauty And The Dogs, starring as a young woman fighting for justice after she is raped by corrupt police officers during a night out in Tunis.

This follows Ben Hania’s award-winning documentary Zaineb Hates The Snow and mocumentary Challat Of Tunis. The director contacted Alferjani on the back of her performance in Soubresauts. Based on a real-life tale, Beauty And The Dogs is a searing critique of society

at large — not just in Tunisia — and the way it views women. “It’s about a person fighting for her rights. It’s not a movie against the police, it’s a movie about the cruelty of human beings,” says the young film-maker.

Back in Milan, Alferjani is writing the screenplay for her first feature-length film. Provisionally entitled Alya, it will revolve around a young Tunisian woman with a passion for travel who finds herself increasingly hemmed-in because of her Arab origins and gender.

“I get the feeling it’s becoming more and more difficult for people to wander, to travel, for reasons beyond their control. We haven’t chosen to be Arab, to be a woman, or to be where we find ourselves. Our realities are often down to chance and the film will explore this through the voyage of a woman,” says Alferjani.

Melanie Goodfellow Contact Mariam Alferjani elferjani.mariam@gmail.com

www.screendaily.com

DUBAI FILM CONNECTION PROFILES

The Notebooks

Touda Dir Daoud Aoulad Syad

In The Land Of Wonder

Son Of A Very Important Man

Dirs Khalil Joreige, Joana Hadjithomas Project’s country of origin Lebanon

Project’s country of origin Morocco

Dir Nadine Khan

Dir Najwa Najjar

Project’s country of origin Egypt

Project’s country of origin Palestine

Partners in life, cinema and art, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige belong to a generation of Lebanese film-makers and artists whose work is informed by their formative years during Lebanon’s brutal civil war from 1975-90. Their latest project is inspired by notebooks and audio diaries kept by Hadjithomas while the war was at its height. It is about a woman in her 40s now living far from her native country. In response to the chaos of her teen years, she has forged a wellordered, quiet life but is forced to confront her past with the arrival of a package containing notebooks, tapes and photos once destined to a friend in Paris. They contain memories of love, violence and death.

Hadjithomas and Joreige wrote the screenplay after a long-lost friend returned the notebooks and letters she had sent to her in the 1980s in Paris.

“Diving into these archives of youth and war created a strong emotion, the more so as our daughter had just celebrated her 13th birthday,” says Hadjithomas.

The director questioned how she should transmit this past to her daughter and was also struck by the way in which teenage self-documentation is now so different in the era of Facebook, WhatsApp and Snapchat.

Hadjithomas and Joreige were last at DIFF in 2008 with their innovative documentary I Want To See (Je Veux Voir), in which Lebanese actor and artist Rabih Mroué drove Catherine Deneuve around Lebanon to show her the devastation of the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War. Melanie Goodfellow

Throughout his 30-year career, Moroccan photographer and film-maker Daoud Aoulad Syad has mixed fact and fantasy to capture his country’s traditions and culture.

In his new project Touda, Aoulad Syad dives into the world of Moroccan folk songs and dance through the tale of a famous performer who decides to retire after a pilgrimage to Mecca, leaving her band in limbo.

The screenplay was inspired by the retirement of one of Morocco’s top female folk performers.

“It was a shock to her band members and fans,” explains Aoulad Syad, who had photographed the folk troupe on numerous occasions.

Marrakech-born Aoulad Syad trained at France’s prestigious La Fémis film school and his credits include Bye Buy Souirty, award-winning road movie The Wind Horse and, more recently, comedy drama The Mosque.

Touda is currently shooting in the desert area of Agafay. Casablanca-based Lamia Chraibi of La Prod is looking to close financing on the film as well as secure a sales agent at Dubai Film Connection (DFC).

Chraibi is one of Morocco’s leading independent producers and has worked with Hicham Lasri and Narjiss Nejjar, among others. She attended DFC in 2015 with Nejjar’s A Step Behind The Sun and is one of five producer attendees to win a Cannes Producers Network accreditation.

Melanie Goodfellow

Egyptian director Nadine Khan’s audacious new project will plunge Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland into the teeming streets of Cairo. It is Khan’s second film after Chaos, Disorder, which won the jury prize at DIFF in 2012. This new project is about the 10-year-old daughter of a professional magician who embarks on a magical journey across Cairo in the company of Samir, one her father’s sharp-talking performance rabbits.

“Cairo is loved and hated by inhabitants and visitors alike,” says Khan. “The film takes on an adventure in which Cairo is part of our character’s imagination, the city’s harsh reality serving as raw material for a world of fantasy.” She says there will be a strong special-effects element to the project, which will be shot in 4K. The daughter of respected Egyptian film-maker Mohamed Khan, who died this year, she spent a decade working as a second unit and assistant director for film-makers including Yousry Nasrallah and Nabil Ayouch before making her short One In A Million.

In The Land Of Wonder is the latest production from Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy’s Cairo-based Film Clinic, which has been enjoying success on the festival circuit this year with Mohamed Diab’s Clash. Its latest production, Sherif El Bendary’s Ali, The Goat And Ibrahim, about two men who set off on a voyage of self-discovery across Egypt, is premiering at DIFF this year.

Melanie Goodfellow

Palestinian director Najwa Najjar describes her third feature, Son Of A Very Important Man, as an exploration of love under occupation using the trope of the road movie. Using the past to understand the present, Son Of A Very Important Man is about a young married couple in crisis.

The husband, the son of a famous Palestinian revolutionary killed in Beirut in the 1970s, is not allowed to leave the West Bank. His wife was born in the Palestinian town of Nazareth on the Israeli side of the Green Line. When they decide to divorce, the man is given a 72-hour permit to enter Israel and file the necessary paperwork.

While there, he discovers his father was in love with an Iraqi Jewish woman.

“You look back at the future,” says Najjar. “The couple are moving forward towards the future and getting a divorce when they discover a secret from the past that holds a key to their future.”

The screenplay was born partly out of Najjar’s research into the treatment of Arab Jews who came to live in Palestine before and after 1948, and their relationship with the Palestinians they met on arrival. “When you talk to older Iraqi and Moroccan Jews, you find there was an affinity between them and the Palestinians,” says the director.

Najjar has a strong relationship with DIFF having premiered her first film, the political romance Pomegranates And Myrrh, at the festival in 2008. Her Eyes Of A Thief also picked up a prize at the 2011 edition of Dubai Film Connection.

Melanie Goodfellow

The Notebooks

Touda

In The Land Of Wonder

Son Of A Very Important Man

Producer Georges Schoucair Production company Abbout Productions Budget $1.4m Finance raised to date $300,000 Contact

Producer Lamia Chraibi Production company La Prod Budget $860,000 Finance raised to date n/a Contact Lamia Chraibi

Producers Jennifer Peterson, Mohamed Hefzy Production company Film Clinic Budget $1.9m Finance raised to date $670,000 Contact Film Clinic info@ flim-clinic.com

Producer Hani E Kort Production company Ustura Films Budget $1m Finance raised to date $200,000 Contact Hani E Kort hani.kort@

contact@abboutproductions.com

www.screendaily.com

lamia@laprod.ma

darb-ltd.com

December 11, 2016 Screen International at Dubai 9

SPOTLIGHT MAGHREB

After the revolution The winds of political change in Tunisia have led to a resurgence in film-making in the fledgling North African democracy. Melanie Goodfellow reports

Mohamed Ben Attia’s Hedi won two major awards at the Berlinale

T

unisian film-makers will be out in force at DIFF this year with features including Zaineb Hates The Snow, Hedi and Foreign Body, and the award-winning short All The Rest Is The Work Of Man. Their stopover in Dubai will mark the end of a high-profile year for cinema from the North African territory, which kicked off with the premiere of Mohamed Ben Attia’s feature debut Hedi in Competition at the Berlinale in February.

This coming-of-age tale won the Silver Bear for newcomer Majd Mastoura, recognising his performance as a listless young man who undergoes a personal revolution after he meets a free-spirited young woman.

And Ben Attia clinched the best first feature award, making Hedi the only film in the Berlinale’s Competition line-up to scoop two official jury prizes. The picture has since been touring the festival circuit, screening at Sarajevo, Chicago, London, Athens (where it took the top prize) and now DIFF. Meanwhile, Raja Amari’s Foreign Body, about a young Tunisian woman living illegally in France having fled a violent, extremist brother, premiered at Toronto International Film Festival in September.

10 Screen International at Dubai December 11, 2016

It marks her fourth feature-length work after Secrets, Red Satin and Tunisian Spring.

These two titles join a slew of globetrotting Tunisian films to have found success internationally in the past two years, including Leyla Bouzid’s As I Open My Eyes, which won best film at DIFF last year and is the country’s submission to the foreign language category of the 2017 Oscars. Ala Eddine Slim’s psychological migration thriller The Last Of Us clinched Venice’s Lion of the Future Luigi De Laurentiis Award this year. Other up-and-coming young Tunisian directors include Kaouther Ben Hania, who toured festivals with slasher mockumentary Challat Of Tunis and is now finishing Beauty And The Dogs, and Fares Naanaa, whose melodrama Borders Of Heaven, about a couple coping with the death of a child, screened at DIFF last year.

Tunisia at a crossroads Hedi director Ben Attia describes his protagonist’s personal journey — as he yo-yos between adhering to tradition and seeking personal freedom — as an allegory for contemporary Tunisia, which is at a crossroads following its popular revolution of 2011 that

‘A generation of directors has emerged who want to tell stories that are very Tunisian, but also universal’ Dora Bouchoucha, Nomadis Images

deposed dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. In turn, that same revolution is credited with sparking this wave of successful pictures.

From As I Open My Eyes, about an antiestablishment rock band in the final days of Ben Ali’s reign, to the surreal journey of a lone migrant crossing deserts and seas in The Last Of Us, Tunisian films have either touched on the revolution or resonated with its implications — but in a distilled, meditative fashion, with the directors taking time to process the events of the past five years.

Dora Bouchoucha of Tunis-based Nomadis Images, which produced Hedi and Foreign Body, says the energy in Tunisian cinema is due to a number of factors. “The freedom of expression that was born with the revolution, as well as the end of censorship and self-censorship by the directors, has played a big part,” she says. “A new generation of directors has emerged who want to tell stories that are at once very Tunisian, but in their sincerity, also universal.

“Digital technology has also liberated us,” she adds. “It makes it easier to shoot and put together productions on smaller budgets without neglecting the crew.”

Beyond the catalyst of the revolution and

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the impact of digital technology, some financial stability has been brought to the local film production scene through state aid and the creation in 2014 of the Tunisian National Cinema Centre (CNC) — modelled on that of France — although resources remain tight. “We have a support fund that gives 30% of the budget to a dozen fiction or documentary features a year; we also have development and postproduction support,” says Bouchoucha.

Force for change As well as managing the funds, Tunisia’s CNC is also charged with overhauling cinema legislation and improving the country’s theatrical circuit, which is “currently non-existent”, says Bouchoucha. An increase in screens in the country — where piracy is rife — would be a game-changer, but does not appear to be imminent.

The rise in Arab funds and project incubators, alongside the historic support of European co-production partners, has also helped Tunisian cinema. Hedi secured state funding as well as the support of the Dardenne brothers’ Belgian production company Les Films du Fleuve, the French CNC’s Aide aux Cinémas du Monde, Lebanon-based The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Doha Film Institute, Abu Dhabi’s SANAD, Dubai’s Enjaaz and Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund.

“The big challenge is to carry on this recent successful run by making films that are universal and sincere,” says Bouchoucha.

“We have to constantly renew what we’re doing without falling into the trap of simply surfing burning topical issues such as heads ing off to join the Jihad or the war in Syria.” ■

UPCOMING PROJECTS

Abou Leila (Alg) Dir Amin Sidi-Boumediene At the height of Algeria’s civil war in the 1990s, two conflict-shocked youngsters go in search of a dangerous terrorist in the desert.

Contact Yacine Bouaziz, Thala Films Production contact@thalafilms.com

Foreign Body

Beauty And The Dogs (Tun) Dir Kaouther Ben Hania

A young student on a night out is determined that justice should be done after being raped by police officers.

Contact Mohamed Habib Attia, Cinetelefilms mh.attia@ cinetelefilms.net

The Nature Of Time (Alg) Dir Karim Moussaoui As I Open My Eyes

The lives of a property developer, an ambitious neurologist with a dark past and a young woman torn between reason and her heart intertwine in contemporary Algeria.

Contact Jaber Debzi, Prolégomenes djaberdebzi@gmail.com

The Unknown Saint (Mor) Dir Alaa Eddine Aljem A robber returns to the place where he buried his loot after a decade to discover a mausoleum has been built on the site.

Contact Francesca Duca, Le Moindre Geste fra.duca@gmail.com

Borders Of Heaven

Cultural cross-currents Algeria and Morocco face specific production challenges, discovers Melanie Goodfellow Algeria

Morocco

“Algeria and Morocco, once cinema cultures par excellence in Africa and the Arab world, are losing ground,” declared a recent editorial in mainstream Algerian newspaper L’Expression.

The article was prompted by the fact not a single Algerian film is playing at DIFF this year.

The current low profile of Algerian cinema can be pegged largely to the cumulative effect of continuing cuts to state cinema funds supporting production, promotion and festivals.

Algerian works to have made it onto the festival circuit recently, however, include Damien Ounouri’s nautical seacreature fantasy Jellyfish (Kindil El Bahr) and Salem Brahimi’s Let Them Come.

The state of the Moroccan film industry is also under the spotlight after just one local production played out-ofcompetition at the latest edition of Marrakech International Film Festival.

Its film-makers face a number of challenges. Although the country annually supports a dozen feature-film projects to the tune of $530,000, young film-makers complain that tapping into these funds is difficult.

Morocco’s popularity as a shooting destination for international productions set against a Middle East backdrop means crews are increasingly experienced. The upshot, however, is that local film-makers have a tough time finding affordable technicians.

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Much Loved

Another challenge is the cross-cultural currents in the country that have seen popular backlashes against films in recent years.

“Moroccans like to go to see Moroccan films but some of our films have ignited debate at a national level,” comments

producer Vincent Melilli. He cites the examples of Laïla Marrakchi’s 2004 film Marock, about an inter-religious relationship between a Jewish boy and Muslim girl, and more recently Nabil Ayouch’s Much Loved about a group of prostitutes.

December 11, 2016 Screen International at Dubai 11

SCREENINGS Edited by Paul Lindsell

» Screening times and venues are

correct at the time of going to press but subject to alteration.

paullindsell@gmail.com

WITHERED GREEN (AKHDAR YABES)

09:00

(Egypt) 73mins. Social, drama. Dir: Mohammed Hammad. Cast: Heba Ali, Tamer Abdel Hamid, Asmaa Fawzi, John Ekram Hanna, Ahmed Al Aidy.

The story of young Iman, a conservative religious person, who takes people’s opinions of her into account and adheres strictly to all the withering social traditions. However, a shocking discovery prompts her to do away with all these traditions to which she once clung.

SOLITAIRE (MAHBAS)

(Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt) 92mins. Comedy, drama, romance. Dir: Sophie Boutros. Cast: Julia Kassar, Bassam Koussa, Ali El Khalil.

Therese is the wife of a mayor in a small village in Lebanon. The highly anticipated visit of the family of her daughter’s suitor causes much excitement in her life.

Therese’s brother, who was killed by a Syrian explosion 20 years ago, still features heavily in the family’s home and looms large through photographs placed about the house. Unable to contain her joy, Therese even shares her happiness with her deceased brother — through his photographs — until she discovers her long-awaited guests are from Syria.

Arabian Nights Madinat Arena Press

11:00 DEFROST

(US) Circle VR. 5mins.

Sci-fi, virtual reality.

Dir: Randal Kleiser.

Cast: Bruce Davison, Harry Hamlin, Carl Weathers.

After being cryogenically frozen for 30 years, Joan Garrison awakens to meet her aged family.

DIFFerent Reality 04 The du VR Cinema by Samsung Public

IN CONVERSATION WITH LUKE HEMSWORTH AND JEFFREY WRIGHT

120mins. Dir: Events during DIFF. Souk Madinat Theatre Public

13:00 OBLIVIUS

(China) TCL Communication — Alcatel. 3mins. Music, non-fiction, virtual reality.

Dir: Romain Levices.

Cast: Kevin Pollak, Xi Ning.

In the underworld, where time is precious, two souls dance to love and death.

DIFFerent Reality 05 The du VR Cinema by Samsung Public

Muhr Feature Vox 17 Public

15:30 LOVING

FESTIVAL 15:00 MISS SLOANE

(US) Gulf Film.

127mins. Drama, thriller. Dir: John Madden. Cast: Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw. The story of a ruthless lobbyist who is notorious for her unparalleled talent and her desire

14:00 MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

(US) 138mins. Drama.

Dir: Kenneth Lonergan.

Cast: Michelle Williams, Casey Affleck, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges.

Set on the north shore of Massachusetts, Manchester

By The Sea tells the story of the working-class Chandler family. After Lee’s older brother Joe suddenly passes away, he is made the legal guardian of his nephew.

Lee is also forced to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his wife Randi and the community where he was born and raised.

Cinema of the World Madinat Arena Gala

14:45 FRANTZ

(France, Germany) Films

12 Screen International at Dubai December 11, 2016

to win at all costs, even when it puts her own career at risk. The thriller pulls back the curtain on how Capitol Hill games are played and won as Sloane faces off against the most influential powers in DC. Cinema of the World Souk Madinat Theatre Public

Distribution. 113mins.

Drama. Dir: Francois Ozon. Cast: Paula Beer, Pierre Niney, Ernst Stotzner.

In the aftermath of the First World War, a young German girl who grieves over the death of her fiancé in France meets a mysterious Frenchman who visits his grave to lay flowers.

Cinema of the World Vox 06 Public

15:00 ARE YOU LISTENING?: AMAZON & CONGO

(Brazil, Congo) StoryUP Studios. 9mins.

Non-fiction, virtual reality.

Dir: Sarah Hill.

Step into the lives of the Virunga park rangers in eastern Congo and the Munduruku tribe in the Amazon rainforest to see how a lack of affordable

power is threatening lives and sacred lands.

DIFFerent Reality 01 The du VR Cinema by Samsung Public

HONEY, RAIN & DUST (ASSAL WA MATAR WA GOUBAR)

(UAE) Nahar Productions.

86mins. Non-fiction.

Dir: Nujoom Alghanem.

Cast: Fatima Al Naqbi, Aisha Al Naqbi, Ghareeb Al Yammahi, Aisha Al Naqbi, Fatima Sanad, Ghareeb Al Yamahai.

Bees have become integral to the lives of Aisha, Fatima and Ghareeb. But for how long and to what extent can the insects keep providing?

Muhr Emirati Vox 05 Public

MISS SLOANE See box, above

THE TRAVELLER (LE VOYAGEUR)

(France, Lebanon) 100mins. Comedy, drama.

Dir: Hadi Ghandour.

Cast: Rodrigue Sleiman, Donia Eden, Aida Sabra.

Adnan, a travel agent in a Lebanese village, has dreamed of travelling the world, but was unable to leave his homeland. He is married and a father, and treasures his fantasy, until his employer sends him to Paris on an official trip.

Adnan’s fantasy turns into reality, and in Paris he encounters his attractive cousin Layla. Caught up in his infatuation and the romance of travel, Adnan is engaged in a tug of war between the desire of his heart and that of his family.

Arabian Nights Vox 14 Public

15:15 LITTLE EAGLES (AL NOSSOUR AL SAGHERA)

(Egypt, Lebanon) 77mins. Creative documentary. Dir: Mohamed Rashad.

Mohammed, the son of a simple worker, lives in the city of Alexandria with his father while dreaming of moving to Cairo to become a filmmaker. In the capital, he meets Salma and Bassam, and is impressed by their self-confidence. When he discovers that Salma and Bassam’s parents were leftwing activists in the 1970s, he looks for a similar sense of purpose in his own father. As he compares lives, Mohammed the filmmaker discovers answers.

More importantly, he is led to new questions that connect the past with the present.

Muhr Feature Vox 04 Public

(US, UK) Wild Bunch.

123mins. Biography, drama. Dir: Jeff Nichols.

Cast: Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga, Michael Shannon.

Loving celebrates the real-life courage of an interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving, who fell in love and were married in 1958. Their civil rights case, Loving v Virginia, reached the Supreme Court, which in 1967 reaffirmed the very foundation of the right to marry. Their love story has been an inspiration ever since.

Cinema of the World Vox 03 Public

OFF FRAME AKA REVOLUTION UNTIL VICTORY (KHAREJ AL-ITAR AW THAWRA HATA EL NASSER)

(France, Palestine, Lebanon, Qatar) Future logic. 62mins. Political thriller. Dir: Mohanad Yaqubi. Cast: Mustafa Abu Ali, Hani Jawharieh, Sulafa Jadallah.

A meditation on the Palestinian struggle to produce an image that represented their revolution to the world of the 1960s and 1970s, by establishing the Palestine Film Unit within the PLO. After unprecedented research to unearth films stored in archives across the world, this film begins with popular representations of modern www.screendaily.com

FURTHER DIFF COVERAGE, SEE SCREENDAILY.COM

Palestine and traces the work of militant filmmakers towards reclaiming image and narrative through revolutionary and militant cinema.

Muhr Feature Vox 13 Public

17:00 WHEN ALL LAND IS LOST, WILL WE EAT COAL?

(India) 7mins. Nonfiction, virtual reality.

Dir: Faiza Ahmad Khan.

Decades of mining has ravaged Korba, a small district in central India. Its air and water are severely contaminated and the people’s lives have been blighted. This film is a telling commentary on the present-day development paradigm.

DIFFerent Reality 02 The du VR Cinema by Samsung Public

18:00 MUHR GULF SHORT FILM PACKAGE

Various directors, shorts.

Titles featured are Kashta, The Republic Of TM, The Waiting Room, Wake Me Up and Aréata.

Muhr Gulf Short 03 Vox 17 Public

SOLITAIRE (MAHBAS)

(Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt)

FESTIVAL

92mins. Comedy, drama, romance. Dir: Sophie Boutros. Cast: Julia Kassar, Bassam Koussa, Ali El Khalil.

Arabian Nights Madinat Arena Gala

ZAINEB HATES THE SNOW (ZAINEB TAKRAHOU ETHALJ)

(Tunisia, France, Qatar, Lebanon, UAE) Autlook Filmsales. 95mins. Family, social. Dir: Kaouther Ben

Hania. Cast: Wijdene Hamdi, Wided Khelifi, Zaineb Khelifi.

Nine-year-old Zaineb and her mother will rebuild their lives in Canada, with a man her mother was in love with before she married Zaineb’s father, who died in an accident. Zaineb is told that once she is in Canada, she can finally see the snow.

But she wants nothing to do with this new life and has decided to hate the

FESTIVAL 18:45 FREE FIRE

(France, UK) Protagonist Pictures.

90mins. Action, crime, drama. Dir: Ben Wheatley. Cast: Armie Hammer, Cillian

Murphy, Brie Larson, Noah Taylor, Michael Smiley, Enzo Cilenti, Sharlto Copley.

Justine has brokered a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two Irishmen and a gang led

by Vernon and Ord, who are selling a stash of guns.

But when shots are fired in the handover, a heartstopping game of survival ensues.

Cinema of the World Souk Madinat Theatre Public

snow. Covering six years in the life of a charismatic Tunisian girl and her changing life, Zaineb Hates The Snow is a poignant coming-of-age doc.

Arabian Nights Vox 13 Public

18:15 FRENCH TOUR (TOUR DE FRANCE)

(France) Cite Films.

95mins. Drama. Dir: Rachid Djaidani. Cast: Gerard Depardieu, Louise Grinberg, Sadek.

Far’Hook, a 20-yearold rapper, is forced to flee Paris after a violent altercation with a rival. His producer, Bilal, suggests that Far’Hook acts as a chauffeur for Bilal’s father, Serge, on a tour of French ports that follows in the footsteps of the classic painter Joseph Vernet.

Despite the age gap and cultural dissimilarities, an unlikely friendship forms between the talented rapper and the bricklayer from northern France. A memorable road trip that concludes in Marseille for one last concert — one of reconciliation.

Arabian Nights Vox 04 Public

MUHR SHORT FILM PACKAGE

Various directors, shorts.

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18:30 BLESSED BENEFIT (INSHALLAH ESTAFADIT)

(Jordan, Germany, Netherlands, Qatar, UAE) Beta Cinema.

83mins. Comedy, drama. Dir: Mahmoud al Massad. Cast: Ahmad Thaher, Maher Khammash, Odai Hijazi.

Ahmad, a construction worker, is tangled up in

The Boy And The Sea, Law Of The Lamb, Behind The Wall, The Builders, We Are Just Fine Like This.

Muhr Short 02 Vox 06 Public

18:30 BLESSED BENEFIT (INSHALLAH ESTAFADIT) See box, above

THE MAN WHO SAW TOO MUCH (EL HOMBRE QUE VIO DEMASIADO)

(Mexico) Preferred Content. 88mins. Nonfiction. Dir: Trisha Ziff.

Cast: Enrique Metinides.

A film about fragility — a man who is obsessed with photographing accidents discovers the fate of others was his way of connecting to life. What happens when the image of the accident becomes the object of desire? Through the work of

an unfortunate business deal that leaves him in prison. He meets the fraudster Ibrahim, who ruins his last chance to prove his innocence.

Ahmad is awakened by the realisation that life in prison might be better than the one he has on the outside.

Muhr Feature Vox 05 Public

the Mexican photographer Enrique Metinides and his contemporaries, we discover Mexico City through a narrative of crime scenes and accidents; and confront our own fascination with death and morbidity, rubbernecking through Metinides’s gaze.

Cinema of the World Vox 14 Public

18:45 MUHR EMIRATI FILM PACKAGE

Various directors, shorts.

Animal, Mamsous, Shrimp Muhr Emirati 02 Vox 01 Public

FREE FIRE See box, left

WOLF AND SHEEP

(Denmark, France, Sweden, Afghanistan) Alpha Violet. 86mins.

December 11, 2016 Screen International at Dubai 13

»

SCREENINGS

FESTIVAL 21:15 THE CINEMA TRAVELLERS

(India) Submarine Entertainment. 96mins.

Creative documentary.

Dir: Amit Madheshiya, Shirley Abraham. Cast: Mohammed Navrangi, Prakash, Bapu.

Showmen driving cinema lorries have brought the wonder of the movies to faraway villages in India once every year.

Seven decades on, as Drama. Dir: Shahrbanoo Sadat. Cast: Ali Khan Ataee, Amina Musavi, Masuma Hussaini.

Rural Afghanistan is filled with storytellers, who share mysterious tales that explain the world around them. The shepherd children own the mountains and, although no adults are around them, they know the rules: boys and girls are not allowed to mingle. The boys practise with their slings to fight wolves. The girls smoke secretly and role-play as brides. They gossip about Sediqa, an 11-year-old outsider, whom the girls believe is cursed. Qodrat, also 11, becomes the subject of gossip when his mother remarries an old man with two wives. The boy roams alone in the most isolated parts of the mountains, until he meets Sediqa and

(JEANNE D’ARC MASRIYA)

their cinema projectors fall apart and film reels become scarce, their patrons are lured by slick digital technology.

A benevolent showman, a shrewd exhibitor and a maverick projector mechanic bear a beautiful burden — to keep the last travelling cinemas of the world running.

Cinema of the World Vox 13 Public

they become friends.

Cinema of the World Vox 03 Public

19:00 LAKE BAIKAL: THE SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALITY OF EXTREME WATER — EPISODE 1: WINTER SPIRIT

(Russia, US) 7mins. Nonfiction, virtual reality.

Dir: Georgy Molodtsov, Michael Owen.

Five brief virtual reality scenes introduce viewers to the icy winter landscape around Lake Baikal in Siberia, and some of the strong spiritual traditions that have evolved around the oldest, deepest and most voluminous body of fresh water on the planet.

DIFFerent Reality 03 The du VR Cinema by Samsung Public

19:30 EGYPTIAN JEANNE D’ARC

14 Screen International at Dubai December 11, 2016

(Egypt, Germany, Kuwait, Qatar) Linked Productions. 85mins.

Non-fiction, biography, creative documentary.

Dir: Iman Kamel.

Cast: Sara Hassan, Reem Hatem, Nahla Sebaei, Salma El Tarzi.

A modern documentary fusing genres through dance, poetic narrative and mythology to examine women’s circumstances in present day Egypt. In the context of post-revolution Egypt, the film explores issues of emancipation by drawing attention to women’s repression and their feelings of guilt particularly among Egyptian female artistes.

of their political beliefs, to leave the country before or after the revolution. A Memory In Khaki sheds light on years of silence, fear and terror, and dives into the stories that were behind the eruption of Syria’s society and the start of its revolution. It is a Syrian account which,

by laying out the past, tells the story of the future.

Muhr Feature Vox 05 Public

A MONSTER CALLS

(Spain, US) Lionsgate Production. 108mins.

Drama, fantasy. Dir: Juan Antonio Bayona.

Cast: Felicity Jones,

Lewis MacDougall, Toby Kebbell, Sigourney Weaver.

Twelve-year-old Conor O’Malley is about to escape into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales. His mother’s illness has necessitated the boy spends time with his less-than-sympathetic

Muhr Feature The Beach Public

21:15 THE CINEMA TRAVELLERS See box, above

21:30 A MEMORY IN KHAKI

(Finland, France, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria) 110mins.

Non-fiction, war.

Dir: Alfoz Tanjour.

A Memory In Khaki is a cry for that which is embattled inside the spirits of individuals who lived under the oppressive Syrian regime. The auteur’s personal narrative is interwoven with those of other Syrian characters who were forced, because

FESTIVAL 21:30 KING OF THE BELGIANS

(Belgium, Bulgaria, Netherlands) Be For Films. 94mins. Comedy.

Dir: Jessica Woodworth, Peter Brosens. Cast: Peter Van Den Begin, Bruno Georis, Titus De Voogdt.

King Nicolas III is a lonely man. While on a

state visit to Istanbul, the southern half of Belgium declares its independence.

He must return home at once to save his kingdom but a solar storm shuts down all airspace and communications. With the help of a British film-maker and a troupe of Bulgarian folk singers, the king and his

entourage escape over the border — incognito. So begins an odyssey across the Balkans during which the king discovers the real world — and himself. A quirky mockumentary in which a dormant ruler, in pursuit of a real home, is finally awoken.

Cinema of the World Vox 04 Public

www.screendaily.com

DIFF EDITORIAL OFFICE PRESS AND PUBLICITY OFFICE, MADINAT JUMEIRAH CONFERENCE CENTRE DIFF dailies editor and Asia editor Liz Shackleton, lizshackleton@gmail.com Reporter Melanie Goodfellow, melanie. goodfellow@btinternet.com Reviews editor Fionnuala Halligan, finn.halligan@screendaily.com Contributor Colin Brown, colinbrown1@earthlink.net Features editor Louise Tutt, tuttlouise@gmail.com Group head of production and art Mark Mowbray, mark. mowbray@screendaily.com Sub editors Paul Lindsell, Adam Richmond, Richard Young

FESTIVAL 22:00 LAYLA M.

(Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Jordan) Beta Cinema. 98mins.

Drama. Dir: Mijke De Jong. Cast: Ilias Addab, Nora El Koussour.

Eighteen-year-old Layla, who was born and raised in Amsterdam but of Moroccan origin, is smart and stubborn.

As she struggles with the increasing suspicion towards girls wearing headscarves and boys with beards, her faith

grandmother. His daily existence at school is one of academic disinterest and bullying by classmates.

Yearning for guidance, Conor unexpectedly summons a most unlikely ally, who bursts forth with terrifying grandeur from an ancient towering yew tree: a colossus of a creature who appears each night at Conor’s bedroom window. The Monster has stories to tell, and he demands that Conor tell his own story in return. Ancient, wild and relentless, the Monster guides Conor on a journey of courage and truth.

Cinema of the World Madinat Arena Gala

KING OF THE BELGIANS See box, left

www.screendaily.com

intensifies. She joins a group of extremists who fight for their practice of Islam. She opts to marry a fellow extremist, Abdel, and together they travel and raise money for their causes. When they are involved in a shootout, they are forced to flee to the Middle East, where Layla encounters a world that initially nurtures her ideas but finally confronts her with an impossible choice.

religious backgrounds, are drawn closer to each other but a drastic turn of events comes between them and Rana slips away. As her parents forbid Joud from seeing her, the young man, determined to meet up with his love, finds new means of communicating with her. He convinces her

sister, Marwa, to download his voice messages and play them to Rana.

Arabian Nights Souk Madinat Theatre Public

22:00 MUHR EMIRATI FILM PACKAGE

Various directors, shorts The Choice, A Night In

A Taxi, Kanadeer, Mahal Bu Tair Muhr Emirati 01 Vox 01 Public

LAYLA M. See box, left

22:15 INVERSION (VAROONEGI) See box, below

Gunter Zerbich, gunter. zerbich@screendaily.com

Group commercial director, MBI Alison Pitchford, alison. pitchford@mb-insight.com Chief executive, MBI Conor Dignam Printer Atlas Group, Street 26, Al Quoz 4, PO Box 14833, Dubai, +971 4 340 9895, admin@atlasgroupme.com

MUHR GULF SHORT FILM PACKAGE

Various directors, shorts The Best Life, Arabian Swan, Five O’Clock, Smicha, 300km, The Bliss Of Being No One

(Lebanon) 104mins.

Drama. Dir: Philippe Aractingi. Cast: Hadi Abou Ayash, Ruba Zaarour, Yara Bou Nassar, Rafic Ali Ahmad, Joseph Bou Nassar, Lama Lawand.

Joud, a handsome sound engineer, meets and falls in love with strong and free-spirited Rana.

The young lovers, from different social and

Sales executives Pierre-Louis Manes, pierre-louis.manes@ screendaily.com

Production manager Jonathon Cooke, jonathon. cooke@mb-insight.com

21:45

LISTEN (ISMAII)

Senior sales manager Scott Benfold, scott.benfold@ screendaily.com, +44 7765 257 260

Ingrid Hammond, ingridhammond@mac.com

Arabian Nights Vox 14 Public

Muhr Gulf Short 02 Vox 17 Public

Publishing director Nadia Romdhani, nadia. romdhani@screendaily.com, +44 7540 100 315

FESTIVAL 22:15 INVERSION (VAROONEGI)

(Iran) Noori Pictures.

84mins. Drama. Dir: Behnam Behzadi. Cast: Sahar Dowlatshahi, Ali Reza Aghakhani, Shirin Yazdanbakhsh, Ali Mosaffa.

Tehran’s air pollution has reached maximum levels because of thermal

inversion. Niloofar, a single 30-something, lives with her ailing mother and stays busy with her tailoring shop.

When doctors insist her mother must leave smoggy Tehran for her respiratory health, Niloofar’s brother and family elders decide that she must also move

away to accompany her mother. Niloofar is torn between family loyalty and staying independent while pursuing a potential love interest.

She is the youngest and she has always obeyed the elders but this time she must stand up for herself.

Screen International London 1st floor unit F2/G, Zetland House, 5-25 Scrutton Street, London EC2A 4HJ Tel: +44 20 3033 4267 Subscription enquiries Tel: +44 (0) 330 333 9414, help@subscribe.screendaily. com

in association with Chime Consulting

Cinema of the World Vox 03 Public

December 11, 2016 Screen International at Dubai 15

‫شاهد اليوم‬

‫األحد ‪ 11‬ديسمرب‬

‫سينما العامل‬

‫مانشسرت على البحر‬ ‫ ‬

‫‪ 14:00‬‬

‫ ‬

‫وحش ينادي‬

‫مدرج املدينة‬

‫«لي» رجل يعيش مع أحزانه المكتومة‪ ،‬وعليه أن يعالج حزنه وانكشاف ماضيه‪ ،‬بعد أن يتم إبالغه‬ ‫بوفاة ش��قيقه‪ .‬ويضطر للعودة إلى مجتمع قريته المتماس��ك في مانشستر‪ ،‬وأن يفعل ما بإمكانه‬ ‫الب��ن أخيه باتريك (لوكاس هيدجز) الذي لم يتجاوز ال��ـ ‪ 16‬عاماً‪ .‬لكنه يواجه جوانب من ماضيه‪،‬‬ ‫الس��يما المش��هد المؤثر الذي يقابل فيه زوجته السابقة‪ ،‬التي جس��دت شخصيتها الممثلة ميشيل‬ ‫ويليامز بصورة رائعة‪.‬‬

‫‪ 21:30‬‬

‫ ‬

‫ ‬

‫مدرج املدينة‬

‫يحكي الفيلم بصورة رئيس��ية قص��ة كونور (لويس ماكدوغال)‪ ،‬ال��ذي يبلغ عمره نحو اثني‬ ‫عش��ر عاماً‪ ،‬ويتع ّرض للضرب في المدرسة‪ ،‬ويعيش مع جدته (سيغورني ويفر) التي يصعب‬ ‫إرضاؤها‪ ،‬أثناء مكوث والدته المريضة في المستشفى‪ .‬ويظهر من كوابيسه وحش على هيئة‬ ‫ش��جرة (يؤدي صوته ليام نيسون)‪ ،‬ويصبح مستش��اره والمالك الحارس له‪ ،‬في خضم سعيه‬ ‫لمواجهة األوقات العصيبة والبائسة في مطلع حياته‪.‬‬

‫املهر اخلليجي القصري‬ ‫ ‬

‫‪ 18:00-19:43‬‬

‫مول اإلمارات‪ ،‬فوكس ‪17‬‬

‫ليال عربية‬

‫املهر الطويل‬

‫كشتة‬

‫أرياتا‬

‫ايقظني‬

‫جلسات سوق دبي السينمائي احلوارية‬

‫ذاكرة باللون اخلاكي‬

‫حمبس‬

‫ ‬

‫‪18:00‬‬

‫ ‬

‫‪18:00‬‬

‫ ‬

‫مدرج املدينة‬

‫ ‬

‫مدرج املدينة‬ ‫تنش��غل الخمس��ينية تيري��ز؛ زوج��ة رئي��س‬ ‫البلدية‪ ،‬بالتحضير لزي��ارة الخطيب المرتقب‬ ‫البنتها الوحيدة‪ ،‬الذي س��يأتي بصحبة عائلته‬ ‫لقض��اء ليل��ة في منزله��ا‪ .‬تنقل تيري��ز الخبر‬ ‫طل عبر صور ُمعلّقة‪،‬‬ ‫السعيد لشقيقها الذي يُ ُّ‬ ‫عل��ى نح��و غريب‪ ،‬في س��ائر زواي��ا المنزل‪،‬‬ ‫تذكّرها بالكراهية التي تختزنها ضد السوريين‪،‬‬ ‫الذي��ن تح ّملهم مس��ؤولية قتل��ه بقنبلة‪ ،‬منذ‬ ‫أكثر من عش��رين عاماً‪ .‬يصل الضيوف الذين‬ ‫ط��ال انتظارهم عتبة منزلها‪ ،‬فتكتش��ف أنهم‬ ‫سوريون! تص ّر تيريز على أ ّن هذه الخطبة لن‬ ‫تتم مهما حدث‪.‬‬

‫ ‬

‫‪17:00‬‬

‫ ‬

‫قاعة منتدى املهرجان‬ ‫نشرة يومية تصدر باللغة العربية خالل فعاليات الدورة‬ ‫الـ ‪ 13‬من «مهرجان دبي السينمائي الدولي»‬ ‫رئيس التحرير‬

‫بشار إبراهيم‬

‫‪bashar62@gmail.com‬‬ ‫‪ 11‬ديسمرب ‪2016‬‬

‫‪12/10/16 10:58 PM‬‬

‫بالعـــربية‬

‫الص��ور هش��ة‪ ،‬وس��ريعة‪ ،‬ومعطوب��ة‪ ،‬وكلها‬ ‫باللون الخاكي؛ صور لس��نوات التخفي الم ّرة‬ ‫التي عاش��تها سناء في الش��ام‪ ،‬والليل الطويل‬ ‫ال��ذي أمض��اه إبراهي��م في الس��جن‪ ،‬واأللم‬ ‫العمي��ق ال��ذي يعيش��ه خالد ف��ي المنفى‪،‬‬ ‫والتوق أبدا ً للرجوع‪ ،‬والحلم بوطن ح ّر هو ما‬ ‫تبقى لش��ادي‪ .‬فيلم «ذاكرة باللون الخاكي»‪،‬‬ ‫بوح ال��روح بما كان حبيس��اً في مملكة‬ ‫ه��و ُ‬ ‫الخاكي‪ ،‬تتقاطع فيه سيرة المؤلف الذاتية مع‬ ‫سير شخصيات س��وريّة عاشت في ظل نظام‬ ‫العسكر‪ ،‬واضطرت بس��بب موقفها أن تغادر‬ ‫البلد‪ ،‬قبل الثورة أو بعدها‪.‬‬

‫حفل توزيع جوائز‬ ‫ملتقى دبي السينمائي‬

‫يف دبي ‪9‬‬

‫‪Screen Issue 4.indd 9‬‬

‫‪4‬‬

‫«سينما األطفال»‬ ‫أفالم عاملية تعد‬ ‫باملعرفة واملتعة‬

‫أربع��ة أفالم عالمية تعد بالمعرفة والمتعة‪ ،‬يقدمها «مهرجان دبي الس��ينمائي‬ ‫الدولي»‪ ،‬ضمن برنامجه «س��ينما األطف��ال» للدورة الـ‪ ،13‬تؤكد بمجملها مهمة‬ ‫الفيلم السينمائي بوصفه وسيطاً ثقافياً فعاالً‪ ،‬تنطوي تحت مظلته فنون العالم‬ ‫الس��تة‪ ،‬إضافة إلى األدب‪ ،‬وم��ا ارتبط به من علوم إنس��انية‪ ،‬إذ ميز ثالثة منها‬ ‫اعتمادها على أصول روائية‪ ،‬تكش��ف مغامرة تحويل النص األدب إلى سيناريو‬ ‫حب القراءة عند عشاق الشاشة الكبيرة‪،‬‬ ‫سينمائي‪ ،‬في تجربة من شأنها أن تع ّزز ّ‬ ‫عل��ى اختالف أعمارهم‪ ،‬الس��يما مع ح��رص المهرجان‪ ،‬بالتع��اون مع«مهرجان‬ ‫طيران اإلمارات لآلداب»‪ ،‬على تنظيم لقاء مع أندريا جيب‪ ،‬كاتب سيناريو فيلم‬ ‫«س��والوز آند أمازونز»‪ ،‬و ُمنتجه نيك بارتون‪ ،‬ليتحدث��ا عن الخطوات اإلبداعية‬ ‫الت��ي رافقت تحويل الرواية إلى عمل س��ينمائي‪ ،‬فيما تمض��ي حكاية فيلمين‬ ‫ضمن البرنامج في أجواء بطلتها الموسيقا‪.‬‬

‫«سوالوز آند أمازونز»‬ ‫المجموع��ة المخت��ارة الخاصة بالعائالت وجمهور األطفال ف��ي الدورة الـ‪،13‬‬ ‫افتتحها المهرجان بفيلم العائلة «س��والوز آن��د أمازونز»‪ ،‬ال ُمقتبس عن رواية‬ ‫الكات��ب آرثر رانس��وم‪ ،‬الذي ي��روي حكاية أربع��ة أطفال يحلم��ون بالهرب‬ ‫مم��ل مع والدتهم‪ ،‬ثم ينال��ون الموافقة على التخييم‬ ‫م��ن قضاء فصل صيف ّ‬ ‫وحده��م‪ ،‬في جزي��رة البحيرة الواس��عة «ليك ديس��تريكت»‪ .‬عندما يصلون‬ ‫الجزيرة يكتشفون أنهم ليس��وا الوحيدين هناك‪ ،‬لتبدأ معركة السيطرة عليها‪،‬‬ ‫مم��ا يعلمهم المه��ارات الكفيلة بإبقائهم عل��ى قيد الحي��اة‪ ،‬وإدراك معنى‬ ‫الصداقة الحقيقية والتكاتف‪.‬‬ ‫«أعمق املشاعر»‬ ‫وهو دراما عائلية يقدمها المهرجان في عرض أول في الش��رق األوس��ط وشمال‬ ‫أفريقي��ا‪ ،‬تروي حكاية الطفلة ماري؛ عازفة الكمان الواعدة التي تعاني من أحد‬ ‫أمراض العيون التنكس��ية‪ ،‬حيث يتتبع الفيلم خوض منافس ٍة محتدمة للحصول‬ ‫على ٍ‬ ‫مقعد في مدرس��ة موس��يقية مرموقة‪ ،‬بعد أن تق ّرر إخفاء حالتها لتج ّنب‬ ‫رفضها في المدرس��ة‪ ،‬وذلك بمس��اعدة زميلها فيكتور ال��ذي يصبح هو عينيها‪،‬‬ ‫وخير عونٍ لها‪.‬‬ ‫«روبي (فوياجر) توبي الرائع»‬ ‫ويشهد جمهور المهرجان العرض الدولي األول لفيلم المغامرة والعائلة «روبي‬ ‫(فوياجر) توبي الرائع» الذي يس��تند إلى كتاب بوي لونس��ين‪ ،‬وفيه س��نتتبع‬ ‫حكاي��ة الطفل توبي المخت��رع الصغير الذي يلتقي بالرج��ل اآللي روبي بعد‬ ‫انفصل عن والديه اآلليين‪ ،‬إثر تحطم مركبته الفضائية ليتعاون االثنان في بناء‬ ‫آلية تدعى «فوياجر»‪ ،‬يمكنها أن تطير وتطفو‪ ،‬وأن تس��ير على اليابس��ة‪ .‬يتجه‬ ‫االثنان لمحاول��ة إيجاد والدي روبي‪ ،‬ولكنهما يجدان نفس��يهما مطاردين من‬ ‫قبل السيد جوشوا الشرير‪ ،‬وعميليه الغدارين؛ براد بلودباث‪ ،‬وشارون سايلنسر‪.‬‬ ‫«روك دوغ»‬ ‫وضم��ن األفالم ثالثية األبعاد‪ ،‬يقدم المهرج��ان فيلم «روك دوغ»‪ ،‬وهو‬ ‫فيلم تحريك صيني‪-‬أميركي‪ ،‬حافل بالمرح‪ ،‬مقتبس عن الرواية الصينية‬ ‫المص�� ّورة «روك من التب��ت»‪ ،‬يرصد مغامرات كلب حراس��ة متفائل‪،‬‬ ‫اس��مه بودي‪ ،‬تتغيّر حياته عندما يس��قط راديو من السماء‪ ،‬ويستمع‬ ‫ألغنية من أسطورة الروك؛ القطة البريطانية أنغوس سكاترغود‪ ،‬فيفضل‬ ‫التو ّجه إل��ى المدينة الكبيرة‪ ،‬طامحاً في المش��اركة في‬ ‫فرقة لموس��يقى الروك‪ .‬هناك يكتش��ف وصولَه‬ ‫خص ُم والده‪ ،‬الذي يبيّت نوايا شنيعة لخراف‬ ‫القرية الش��هية‪ .‬يجب عل��ى بودي أن‬ ‫يجد س��بيالً للتوفيق بي��ن الحفاظ‬ ‫عل��ى أحالم��ه الموس��يقية‪،‬‬ ‫والمس��اعدة عل��ى إنق��اذ‬ ‫عائلته وأصدقائه‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 8‬‬

‫‪12/10/16 10:58 PM‬‬

‫يف دبي ‪ 11‬ديسمرب ‪2016‬‬

‫‪Screen Issue 4.indd 8‬‬

‫«السلحفاة احلمراء»‪..‬‬ ‫احلياة احلقيقية هي اآلخر‬ ‫‪ُ ‬عال الشيخ‬

‫بلغ��ة صامت��ة تعتمد عل��ى خلفية موس��يقية‬ ‫للمؤلف الموس��يقي العالمي ل��وران بيريز ديل‬ ‫مار‪ ،‬وتحري��ك للش��خصيات‪ ،‬ومش��اهد خالبة‪،‬‬ ‫يُعرض الفيلم الفرنسي البلجيكي الياباني اإلنتاج‬ ‫«السلحفاة الحمراء»‪ ،‬للمخرج الهولندي مايكل‬ ‫دودك دي وي��ت‪ ،‬ضم��ن ع��روض «الش��اطئ»‬ ‫(بيتش) في ال��دورة الـ‪ 13‬م��ن «مهرجان دبي‬ ‫الس��ينمائي الدول��ي»‪ .‬فيل��م تحري��ك‪ ،‬يق��دّم‬ ‫للمشاهد كيفية بناء عالقة االنسان مع الطبيعة‪،‬‬ ‫وبمواجهة مباش��رة س��يتتبع رحل��ة رجل وجد‬ ‫نفسه في جزيرة مهجورة‪ ،‬سيعيش معه لحظات‬ ‫بناء مش��اعره تجاه الواقع ال��ذي بات جزءا ً من‬ ‫حياته وعليه تقبّله‪.‬‬ ‫محط��ات في مش��اعر ه��ذا الرج��ل مصاحبة‬ ‫لصرخاته بين حين وآخر‪ ،‬وبين س��كونه ويأسه‬ ‫ومع��اودة المحاولة للنجاة مرة أخرى‪ ،‬س��تكون‬ ‫كفيلة بحبس أنفاسك وأنت تحاول البحث معه‬ ‫عل��ى مخرج م��ا‪ .‬كثيرة هي المش��اعر في هذا‬ ‫الفيلم الذي حص��ل على الجائزة الخاصة للجنة‬ ‫التحكيم في قس��م «نظرة خاصة»‪ ،‬في مهرجان‬ ‫كان الس��ينمائي ‪ ،2016‬وكان فيل��م الخت��ام‬ ‫لـ«مهرجان أجيال»‪ ،‬في قطر‪.‬‬ ‫منذ لحظة تحطّم قارب الشخصية الرئيسية في‬ ‫الفيلم‪ ،‬تراه يتحدى أم��واج البحار التي تالطمه‬ ‫وتلفظه إلى ش��اطئ جزي��رة مهجورة‪ ،‬ومن هنا‬ ‫تبدأ تحدياته الش��خصية التي تتس��ارع وتيرتها‪،‬‬ ‫منذ لحظة الصدم��ة‪ ،‬وتقبلها ومحاولة التعايش‬ ‫معه��ا وتحويلها إلى واقع‪ ،‬فالصراخ يكون بداية‬ ‫لالس��تجداء‪ ،‬لتأت��ي مرحلة البح��ث عن الطعام‬ ‫والم��اء‪ ،‬والمحاولة األخيرة في صنع قارب نجاة‬ ‫يظ��ل يتحطم بعد مح��اوالت عدة‪ ،‬ما س��يغير‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫مجرى حياته إلى أن تظهر السلحفاة الحمراء‪.‬‬ ‫الس��حر في هذا الفيلم ليس بصمت شخصياته‬ ‫التي ال تحتاج للتح��دث اليصال المعنى المراد‪،‬‬ ‫بل ب��إدارة للمخرج لمش��اهد مصنوعة بحرفية‬ ‫ورسم قريب إلى أشكال نألفها وأصوات مرافقة‬ ‫تزيد من حماس��ة وقع الحكاية الحاضرة ضمن‬ ‫س��كون عام‪ ،‬تخترقه أص��وات متخيلة من قبل‬

‫الرج��ل ألناس يعزف��ون على س��بيل المثال‪ ،‬أو‬ ‫صوت بشري آخر قادم من بعيد‪ ،‬تلك التهيؤات‬ ‫عملياً ه��ي التي صنعت صخب��اً مطلوباً لزيادة‬ ‫جرعة المتعة في المشاهدة‪.‬‬ ‫التح��والت في الش��خصية ه��ي أس��اس البناء‬ ‫الدرامي للفيلم‪ ،‬حيث تك��ون متابعاً للتحوالت‬ ‫التي تطرأ على الرجل الذي يبدو بسيطاً وطيباً‪،‬‬ ‫وكيف تبدأ أخالقه‪ ،‬بسبب الوحدة‪ ،‬االنحدار إلى‬ ‫ح�� ّد العنف‪ ،‬الذي يظهر جلي��اً في أول مواجهة‬

‫حية مع السلحفاة الحمراء الضخمة‪ ،‬التي كانت‬ ‫السبب الرئيس��ي في تحطم قاربه‪ ،‬الذي صنعه‬ ‫مرارا ً وتكرارا ً‪ .‬ه��ذه المواجهة تؤدي إلى قتلها‪،‬‬ ‫ليعود ه��ذا الرجل إلى أصل��ه الطيب وضميره‬ ‫الذي يؤلمه‪ ،‬وهو يراقب تلك الس��حفاة وبيتها‬ ‫الصدف��ي الكبير‪ ،‬إلى أن تأت��ي اللحظة التي ال‬ ‫تدرك فيها اذا ما كانت واقعية أو من صنع خيال‬ ‫الشخصية‪ ،‬حين تتحول تلك السلحفاة إلى امرأة‬ ‫في غاية الجمال‪ ،‬هنا يتغير مجرى الفيلم تماما‪،‬‬ ‫وتبدأ الحياة تضحك لذل��ك الرجل البائس‪ ،‬فهو‬ ‫كل ما كان يحتاجه التحدث لكسر حدة وحدته‬ ‫التي لم تقدر عليها جميع الكائنات المائية التي‬ ‫تعيش حوله وال أصوات أوراق الش��جر في تلك‬ ‫الجزيرة‪ ،‬كل حاجته كانت لكائن بش��ري يكمل‬

‫معه مشوار حياة جديدة عليه‪ ،‬وأن تكون هذه‬ ‫الفرصة متجس��دة على ش��كل امرأة فهذا يعني‬ ‫بداية دورة حياة جدي��دة‪ ،‬خاصة بعد انجابهما‬ ‫لطفل س��يقع المش��اهد الصغير ف��ي حبه منذ‬ ‫لحظ��ة والدت��ه‪ .‬في الرب��ع األخير م��ن الفيلم‬ ‫س��تعيش حكاية جديدة م��ع الطفل الذي بات‬ ‫ش��اباً وباتت له متطلب��ات واحتياجات‪ ،‬تجعله‬ ‫يص�� ّر على مغ��ادرة الجزي��رة‪ ،‬وعلى م��ا يبدو‬ ‫ينجح في مهمته‪ ،‬ويختفي عن المش��هد تماماً‪،‬‬ ‫لتظل الحياة في تلك الجزيرة منوطة بعاش��قين‬ ‫أصبحا في آخر عمرهما‪ ،‬وس��ينتهي مش��وارهما‬ ‫ف��ي الحياة بطريقة س��تجعلك تفك��ر كثيرا ً في‬ ‫معن��ى قيمة اآلخر الذي م��ن الضروري البحث‬ ‫عنه ليكملك‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 11‬ديسمرب ‪2016‬‬

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‫يف دبي ‪7‬‬

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‫«غلوري»‪ ..‬الشرف عندما يصري مدعاة للسخرية‬

‫‪ ‬أحمد شوقي‬

‫«امنح��وه جائزة عبيط األم��ة!»‪ ...‬هكذا صاح‬ ‫أح��د عمال الس��كك الحديدية س��اخرا ً‪ ،‬وهو‬ ‫يش��اهد م��ع زمالئه عل��ى شاش��ة التلفزيون‬ ‫خب��ر قي��ام زميله��م العام��ل زانكو بتس��ليم‬ ‫المبلغ المال��ي الضخم الذي عث��ر عليه أثناء‬ ‫عمله للس��لطات‪ ،‬ونية وزارة المواصالت التي‬ ‫يعمل��ون فيها تكري��م زانكو وتقدي��م جائزة‬ ‫له‪ .‬التعليق الس��اخر من العامل تعبير حاذق‬ ‫عن المعضلة الرئيس��ية في الفيل��م البلغاري‬ ‫«غل��وري» للمخرجي��ن كريس��تينا غروزيف��ا‬ ‫وبيتر فالشانوف‪ ،‬المشارك في برنامج «سينما‬ ‫العالم»‪ ،‬في ال��دورة الـ‪ 13‬من «مهرجان دبي‬ ‫الس��ينمائي الدولي»؛ معضل��ة أن الصواب لم‬ ‫يعد هو الخيار األصوب‪.‬‬ ‫ففي مجتمع مختل المعايي��ر‪ ،‬يصبح القابض‬ ‫عل��ى القيم موصوم بالغباء‪ ،‬وتصرف ش��ريف‬ ‫كالذي أق��دم عليه زانكو يُفت�� َرض ـ في عالم‬ ‫مثال��ي ـ أن ينال عليه تقدي��را ً مادياً ومعنوياً‬ ‫من الس��لطة والمحيطين به‪ ،‬باعتباره مواطناً‬ ‫صالح��اً‪ ،‬لك��ن واق��ع األم��ر أن��ه ال يجني إال‬ ‫المتاعب والتعاس��ة‪ ،‬بص��ورة تجعله حقاً رمزا ً‬ ‫للبالهة كما توقّع زميله‪.‬‬ ‫تس��تلم ملف العامل الشريف يوليا ستايكوفا‬ ‫مديرة العالقات العامة في وزارة المواصالت‪،‬‬ ‫فتق��رر أن تجعل منه بطالً ش��عبياً تتفاخر به‬ ‫الس��لطة أمام عدس��ات المصوري��ن‪ ،‬ثم يتم‬ ‫لفظ��ه بمجرد انته��اء الحدث‪ ،‬ليغ��دو عاجزا ً‬ ‫حتى عن أبسط حقوقه بأال تصير حياته أسوأ‬ ‫بسبب اختياره للصواب‪ .‬زانكو يفقد ساعة اليد‬ ‫العتيقة التي أهداها له والده‪ ،‬والتي نش��اهد‬ ‫ارتباطه الواضح بها من بداية الفيلم‪ ،‬ليمنحوه‬ ‫بدالً منها أخرى رقمية‪« ،‬تس��ير بسرعة»‪ ،‬كما‬ ‫يصفها‪ ،‬وكأنه تدخل بالقوة إلفساد عالم رجل‬ ‫‪6‬‬ ‫ ‬

‫‪12/10/16 10:58 PM‬‬

‫مسالم‪ ،‬كل ذنبه أنه أخطأ ولفت انتباه سلطة‬ ‫ال تريد أكثر من اس��تخدام أمثاله في تحسين‬ ‫صورتها‪.‬‬ ‫زانك��و هن��ا ه��و‬ ‫وج��ه آخر لن��ادزدا‪،‬‬ ‫بطلة فيل��م غروزيفا‬ ‫وفالش��انوف السابق‬ ‫«ال��درس» (عرض��ه‬ ‫مهرجان دبي في دورته‬ ‫الحادية عشر)‪ ،‬المعلمة‬ ‫الت��ي وقفت ف��ي وجه‬ ‫الس��ارق داخ��ل فصلها‪،‬‬ ‫قبل أن تضعها الحاجة في‬ ‫مأزق أخالقي كبير‪ .‬كالهما‬ ‫ـ زانك��و ونادزدا ـ إنس��ان‬ ‫ش��ريف‪ ،‬يكتشف أن العالم‬ ‫المحي��ط ال يحتمل من هم‬ ‫مثله‪ ،‬بل يدفع الجميع دفعاً‬ ‫نح��و الخطأ‪ ،‬بل إل��ى تج ّنب‬ ‫وفي‬ ‫التط��وع بفعل الخي��ر كذلك‪.‬‬ ‫هذا التش��ابه في طبيعة البطلين يظهر دأب‬ ‫المخرجين الموهوبين في تش��ريح مشكالت‬

‫مجتمعهم المحل��ي‪ ،‬والتعبير بالس��ينما عن‬ ‫الهم��وم األخالقية لمواطنيهم‪ ،‬واله ّم األخالقي‬ ‫لدى الش��رفاء كثيرا ً م��ا يف��وق إيالمه اآلالم‬ ‫المادية‪.‬‬ ‫في «غل��وري» نلمس براعة‬ ‫صانع��ي الفيلم في رس��م‬ ‫س��يناريو ش��خصيات من‬ ‫الط��راز األول‪ .‬س��يناريو‬ ‫يق��وم باألس��اس عل��ى‬ ‫تناقض هائل في الشكل‬ ‫والمضم��ون‪ ،‬بين بطلي‬ ‫الحكاية زانك��و ويوليا‪.‬‬ ‫ه��و فقي��ر ذو مظه��ر‬ ‫بائ��س متلعث��م ف��ي‬ ‫حديث��ه‪ ،‬يعي��ش في‬ ‫الخفاء مكتفياً بعمله‪،‬‬ ‫وتربي��ة األران��ب‪،‬‬ ‫وه��ي ناجح��ة‬ ‫متحققة حاسمة واثقة من نفسها‪،‬‬ ‫حتى في الخطأ‪ .‬هو يرى اآلخرين بشرا ً يتوقع‬ ‫منه��م معاملة طيبة‪ ،‬وصراح��ة في الحديث‪،‬‬ ‫وهي ال ترى إال أدوات تستخدمها في عملها‪،‬‬

‫حتى عندم��ا تج��رب التلقي��ح المجهري مع‬ ‫زوجها س��عياً لإلنجاب‪ ،‬تفع��ل ذلك بطريقتها‬ ‫اآللي��ة الخالية من أي مش��اعر ترتبط منطقياً‬ ‫بحدث كهذا‪ .‬ليشهد الفيلم مباراة تمثيلية بين‬ ‫ستيفان دينوليبوف ومارغيتا غوشيفا في أداء‬ ‫دوري البطولة‪.‬‬ ‫الس��يناريو يبرع أيضاً في استخدام الساعات‬ ‫كأداة حكي تحمل الكثير من المعاني‪ ،‬س��واء‬ ‫في صورتها المادية كالفارق بين س��اعة زانكو‬ ‫القديمة واألخرى التي منحوها له‪ ،‬أو بالداللة‬ ‫المعنوية للوقت الذي يحمل هو اآلخر معنى‬ ‫مخالف��اً ل��دى كل طرف من قطب��ي الحكاية‪.‬‬ ‫العام��ل المخل��ص لعمله والمق��دس للوقت‬ ‫بمعن��اه الكالس��يكي‪ ،‬كالت��زام ودق��ة وكلمة‬ ‫يج��ب احترامه��ا‪ ،‬وخبي��رة العالق��ات العامة‬ ‫التي ترى الوقت حاس��ماً فق��ط عندما توجد‬ ‫فرصة تس��تغلها‪ ،‬وال تضعه في اعتبارها عندما‬ ‫تضيع أياماً على آخرين س��اقهم حظهم العاثر‬ ‫لطريقها‪.‬‬ ‫الخيارات السابقة تبدو نظرياً مدرسية الطابع‪،‬‬ ‫صالحة لصياغة فيل��م قديم الطراز‪ ،‬عن صراع‬ ‫بين ش��خصيتين ترمز كل منهما إلى نوع من‬ ‫األف��كار‪ ،‬تحرك��ه أدوات حك��ي «موتيفات»‬ ‫تحمل هي األخ��رى دالالت رمزية‪ .‬المدهش‬ ‫في «غل��وري» أن هذه الخيارات تس��فر عن‬ ‫عم��ل ممتع حق��اً‪ ،‬محبوك القص��ة واإليقاع‪،‬‬ ‫يمكن أن ننس��به بس��هولة إلى «واقعية شرق‬ ‫أوروب��ا الجديدة»‪ ،‬الت��ي انطلقت من رومانيا‬ ‫لتصير بلغاريا أحد محطاتها الرئيس��ية‪ ،‬بأفالم‬ ‫يتم تصويرها بأقل قدر من التعقيدات‪ ،‬وأكبر‬ ‫ق��در من الصدق‪ ،‬اعتم��ادا ً على نصوص ذكية‬ ‫تجعل من الحوادث البسيطة حكايات ممتعة‪،‬‬ ‫ومن الحكايات أمثوالت عن حياة منطقة‪ ،‬كان‬ ‫أهلها يحلمون بالتخلص من مس��اوئ الحقبة‬ ‫الشيوعية‪ ،‬فجاءتهم الرأسمالية بما هو أسوأ‪.‬‬

‫يف دبي ‪ 11‬ديسمرب ‪2016‬‬

‫‪Screen Issue 4.indd 6‬‬

‫«ملتقى دبي السينمائي»‪..‬‬ ‫يكشف اليوم أسماء الفائزين بجوائزه‬

‫يكش��ف «ملتقى دبي الس��ينمائي» اليوم األحد‪ ،‬عند الس��اعة‬ ‫‪ 17:00‬أس��ماء الفائزي��ن بجوائ��زه للع��ام ‪ ،2016‬الت��ي توفر‬ ‫ألصحابها من صانعي األفالم الناش��ئين والمحترفين في الوطن‬ ‫العرب��ي‪ ،‬فرصة الحص��ول على تمويل نقدي‪ ،‬وإقامة ش��بكات‬ ‫التواصل مع الخبراء العالميين في القطاع الس��ينمائي‪ ،‬بهدف‬ ‫مساعدتهم في إيصال أعمالهم إلى الشاشة‪.‬‬ ‫تتناف��س في هذه الدورة تش��كيلة مميزة م��ن ‪ 13‬فيلماً‪ ،‬من‬ ‫مختلف أنحاء المنطقة‪ ،‬لنيل جوائز «الملتقى»‪ ،‬التي تتضمن‪:‬‬ ‫ •جائزة «س��يني سكيب» جائزة الصف األول‪ ،‬بقيمة ‪ 10‬آالف‬ ‫دوالر أميركي‪.‬‬ ‫ •جائزة «ش��بكة راديو وتلفزيون العرب» (إيه آر تي)‪ ،‬بقيمة‬ ‫‪ 10‬آالف دوالر أميركي‪.‬‬ ‫ •جائ��زة «مهرجان دبي الس��ينمائي الدولي»‪ ،‬بقيمة ‪ 25‬ألف‬ ‫دوالر أميركي‪.‬‬ ‫ •جائزة «المنظمة الدولية للفرنكوفونية»‪ ،‬بقيمة ‪ 5000‬يورو‪.‬‬ ‫إلى جان��ب الجوائز النقدية الس��ابقة‪ ،‬س��يختار «ملتقى دبي‬ ‫الس��ينمائي» خمسة من المنتجين العرب المشاركين للحصول‬

‫عل��ى اعتماد مجاني في ش��بكة المنتجين ف��ي «مهرجان كان‬ ‫السينمائي»‪ ،‬وهي مبادرة مرموقة للتواصل بين أبرز المنتجين‬ ‫من أنحاء العالم‪.‬‬ ‫وكان «ملتق��ى دب��ي الس��ينمائي» أعلن أس��ماء األف�لام التي‬ ‫س��تتنافس على الفوز والدعم وفرص التموي��ل المتاحة عبره‪،‬‬ ‫وهي‪:‬‬ ‫ •«غبار الطفولة» ‪ -‬هيام عبّاس‪ ،‬لبنان‬ ‫ •«ما زالت الجزائر بعيدة» – عمر هفّاف‪ ،‬الجزائر‪ /‬فرنسا‬ ‫ •«فرحة» ‪ -‬دارين ج‪ .‬سالّم‪ ،‬األردن‬ ‫ •«من ش��جرة النخي��ل الى النجوم» ‪ -‬ليل��ى البياتي‪ ،‬العراق‪/‬‬ ‫فرنسا‬ ‫ •«شارع حيفا» ‪ -‬مهند حيال‪ ،‬العراق‬ ‫ •«بالد لها العجب» ‪ -‬نادين خان‪ ،‬مصر‬ ‫ •«الحياة = شوائب س��ينمائية» ‪ -‬افيديس كابريليان‪ ،‬سوريا‪/‬‬ ‫لبنان‬ ‫ •«العائلة الكبرى» ‪ -‬إليان الراهب‪ ،‬لبنان‬ ‫ •«الكنز» ‪ -‬عبدالله الطايع‪ ،‬المغرب‪ /‬فرنسا‬

‫ •«تودا» ‪ -‬داود أوالد السيد‪ ،‬المغرب‬ ‫ •«ابن رجل مهم» ‪ -‬نجوى ن ّجار‪ ،‬فلسطين‬ ‫ •«الدفاتر» ‪ -‬خليل جريج‪ ،‬لبنان‬ ‫ •«العرب الغربيون» ‪ -‬عمر الشرقاوي‪ ،‬مصر‪ /‬فلسطين‬ ‫يُذكر أن «ملتقى دبي السينمائي» حقق منذ انطالقه في العام‬ ‫‪ ،2007‬نجاح��اً مذهالً في تقديم مش��اريع األفالم من المنطقة‬ ‫العربية‪ُ ،‬منجزا ً أكثر من ‪ 50‬فيلماً‪ ،‬تنافس��ت على أرفع الجوائز‬ ‫العالمي��ة‪ .‬ويُع ّد «الملتق��ى» مركزا ً للتع��اون والتطوير‪ ،‬وهو‬ ‫أحد مقومات «س��وق دبي الس��ينمائي»‪ ،‬ضمن «مهرجان دبي‬ ‫ويجس��د التزام المهرجان بدعم صناعة‬ ‫الس��ينمائي الدولي»‪،‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫األفالم العربية‪ ،‬وتوفير منصة عالمية للموهوبين في المنطقة‪،‬‬ ‫على نحو يش��كل في��ه عنصرا ً حيوياً وف ّع��االً لنمو قطاع األفالم‬ ‫في المنطقة‪.‬‬ ‫ويركّز «الملتقى» على م ّد الجس��ور بي��ن الثقافات‪ ،‬من خالل‬ ‫الجمع بين محترفي الس��ينما العرب ومن العالم‪ ،‬للتعاون في‬ ‫إنتاج أفضل المشاريع السينمائية‪.‬‬

‫جديد املهرجان‪ ...‬حاسوب خاص خلدمات «سينيتك»‬ ‫س��يتمكّن وكالء المبيعات والموزعون والمشترون‪ ،‬هذا العام‪،‬‬ ‫خالل ال��دورة الـ‪ 13‬من «مهرجان دبي الس��ينمائي الدولي»‪،‬‬ ‫من االطالع على قائمة األفالم التي تقدمها «مكتبة س��وق دبي‬ ‫السينمائي» الرقمية؛ «س��ينيتك»‪ ،‬عبر حاسوب خدمي خاص‪،‬‬ ‫لمدة شهر ونصف إضافية‪ .‬وس�� ُتتاح إمكانية مشاهدة األفالم‬ ‫عب��ر اإلنترنت‪ ،‬من خ�لال الموقع اإللكترون��ي للمهرجان‪ ،‬ما‬ ‫أي مكان في العالم‪ ،‬وبهذا س��تتوفر‬ ‫يضم��ن حدوث ذلك من ّ‬ ‫ل��دى ص ّن��اع الس��ينما الذين حصل��وا على االعتم��اد الخاص‪،‬‬ ‫باالس��تفادة من الفت��رة الممتدة‪ ،‬فرصة أط��ول لالطالع على‬ ‫األف�لام المعروض��ة‪ ،‬وعقد صفق��ات التوزيع‪ .‬ه��ذه الفرصة‬ ‫متوفّ��رة لكل الوفود الس��ينمائية ال ُمص ّرح له��ا باالطالع على‬ ‫قائم��ة األفالم‪ ،‬التي تقدمها مكتبة «س��وق دبي الس��ينمائي»‬ ‫الرقمية؛ «س��ينيتك» خالل المهرجان‪ ،‬ويمكن االستفادة منها‬ ‫ابتدا ًء من ‪ 15‬ديسمبر ‪ ،2016‬وحتى ‪ 31‬يناير ‪.2017‬‬

‫‪ 11‬ديسمرب ‪2016‬‬

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‫يف دبي ‪5‬‬

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‫«انتظار»‬ ‫الواقعية‬ ‫يف السينما‬ ‫اإلماراتية‬

‫الت��ي تميّ��ز المطحوني��ن‪ ،‬مثل‪ :‬خال��د وفاطمة‬ ‫وأحمد وش��ريفة وبالل‪ .‬ال ينجو من الخيبة أحد‪،‬‬ ‫ق��ل‪ .‬وبما أن‬ ‫ول��كل حصت��ه ونصيبه منها زاد أم ّ‬ ‫فيل��م «انتظ��ار» أراد مقاربة الحي��اة ذاتها‪ ،‬في‬ ‫واقعها وواقعيتها‪ ،‬وعبر شخصيات حقيقية‪ ،‬فإنه‬ ‫لم يس��تطع النجاة من لوثة القتامة التي تطغى‬ ‫إل��ى ح ّد تضيق بها ال��روح‪ .‬الفيلم قاتم ألن ذلك‬ ‫من س��مات الحي��اة‪ .‬ال يكفي أن تقاب��ل الحياة‬ ‫بالمالح السمحة حتى تنجو‪.‬‬

‫‪ ‬بشار إبراهيم‬

‫هاني الش��يباني؛ الشاب اإلماراتي الذي كان أول‬ ‫م��ن غامر‪ ،‬ودفع بفيلم روائي طويل إماراتي إلى‬ ‫صالة عرض جماهيري‪ ،‬مع فيلمه «حلم» (‪.)2004‬‬ ‫يع��ود الي��وم للمغام��رة األكثر واألش�� ّد خطورة‪،‬‬ ‫عندما يجازف بصناعة فيلم روائي طويل‪ ،‬ينتمي‬ ‫كلياً لما يمكن تس��ميته «الواقعية في الس��ينما‬ ‫تتأس��س على‬ ‫اإلماراتية»‪ ،‬هذه الذي نعتقد أنها ّ‬ ‫يدي��ه اآلن‪ .‬هنا فيلم‬ ‫ال يق��وم ببطول��ة‬ ‫أدواره الرئيس��ية‬ ‫ممثل��ون محترف��ون‪،‬‬ ‫بل شخصيات مأخوذة‬ ‫م��ن واقعه��ا الحياتي‬ ‫الحقيق��ي‪ .‬وهن��ا ليس‬ ‫ثم��ة س��يناريو مكتوب‬ ‫و ُمعد في ش��كل محكم؛‬ ‫ب��ل مح��ض خط��وط‬ ‫درامية عريض��ة‪ ،‬مأخوذة‬ ‫م��ن س��يرهم وتجاربه��م‬ ‫الش��خصية‪ .‬هل يس��تقيم‬ ‫هذا؟ أم أنه يخالف أبس��ط‬ ‫قواع��د صناع��ة الفيل��م‬ ‫السينمائي؟ لن يأبه المخرج‬ ‫لهذا‪ ،‬بل سيمضي في صناعة‬ ‫فيلمه «انتظار»‪ ،‬الذي ش��اهدناه مساء أمس في‬ ‫منافس��ات «المهر اإلماراتي»‪ ،‬ف��ي الدورة الـ‪13‬‬ ‫من «مهرجان دبي السينمائي الدولي»‪.‬‬ ‫يرص��د الفيل��م ش��خصيات مأخوذة م��ن الواقع‬ ‫اإلمارات��ي على تن ّوعه واختالف��ه‪ ،‬فيها اإلماراتي‪،‬‬ ‫والمصري‪ ،‬والفلس��طيني‪ ،‬والمغربي‪ ...‬تماماً كما‬ ‫‪4‬‬ ‫ ‬

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‫فيها المدي��ر‪ ،‬والموظف‪،‬‬ ‫والممث��ل‪ ،‬والصحاف��ي‪،‬‬ ‫وذوو‬ ‫والش��اعر‪،‬‬ ‫االحتياج��ات الخاص��ة‪.‬‬ ‫لكل حيات��ه‪ ،‬وهمومه‪،‬‬ ‫وآماله‪ ،‬وآالم��ه‪ .‬يحاول‬ ‫الفيل��م الت��وازن ف��ي‬ ‫االنتقال م��ا بين خط‬ ‫درام��ي تمثل��ه هذه‬ ‫الش��خصية‪ ،‬إل��ى آخ��ر تمثله تلك الش��خصية‪.‬‬ ‫فت��اة كفيفة وش��اب مثلها ال يس��تطيعان إكمال‬ ‫مس��عاهما باالقتران‪ ،‬بس��بب من مواقف األهل‪.‬‬ ‫ممث��ل كومي��دي يحلم ب��أداء دور رومانس��ي‪.‬‬ ‫رجل يعتني بوالدته الراقدة على س��رير المرض‬ ‫في المش��فى‪ .‬سمس��ارة عقارات مغربية تسعى‬ ‫لتنفي��ذ صفق��ة بيع أرض‪ .‬ش��ظايا م��ن حيوات‬ ‫عنوانه��ا االنتظار! يتم ّهل الفيلم في متابعة هذه‬

‫الش��خصيات‪ .‬كثيرا ً ما يس��ود الصمت‪ .‬وينطفئ‬ ‫وأقل منه الموس��يقى‬ ‫الصوت‪ .‬قليل من الحوار‪ّ ،‬‬ ‫أو المؤث��رات‪ .‬حاالت االنقط��اع أكثر من حاالت‬ ‫التواصل‪ .‬الش��خصيات تلوب ف��ي المكان‪ ،‬كأنما‬ ‫ه��ي تبحث عن ش��يء ما غامض‪ ،‬لكنه��ا تتعلّق‬ ‫به‪ ،‬كما يتعلّق الغريق بقشّ ة أمل‪ .‬يعيشون حالة‬ ‫انتظار‪ .‬والالزمة الشعرية تربط االنتظار بالموت‪،‬‬ ‫وفق المقولة الدرويشية‪« :‬في االنتظار‪ ،‬يُصيبُني‬ ‫هوس برص��د االحتماالت الكثيرة‪ :‬ربما نس��يت‬ ‫ٌ‬ ‫حقيبتها الصغيرة في القطار‪ ،‬فضاع عنواني وضاع‬ ‫الهات��ف المحمول (‪ )...‬وربما ماتت‪ ،‬فإن الموت‬ ‫يحب‬ ‫يعش��ق فجأة‪ ،‬مثلي‪ ،‬وإن الموت‪ ،‬مثلي‪ ،‬ال ّ‬ ‫االنتظار»‪.‬‬ ‫الموت حاضر‪ .‬ليس بوصفه نهايةً‪ ،‬بل قريناً لحالة‬ ‫االنتظار‪ .‬وكم��ا هي الحياة قاس��ية ومريرة‪ ،‬فإن‬ ‫الخيبات تحضر كما لو أنها من العالمات الفارقة‬

‫يظهر التقشف اإلنتاجي في فيلم «انتظار»‪ ،‬على‬ ‫الشاش��ة‪ ،‬عيوباً على ش��ريطي الصوت والصورة‪.‬‬ ‫اختالف��اً في جودة الصورة ووضوحها‪ ،‬الذي يقول‬ ‫المخ��رج إنه امتد عل��ى مدى عامين‪ .‬مش��اكل‬ ‫تقليدية ف��ي جوانب اإلضاءة الفني��ة‪ ،‬واالعتماد‬ ‫على اإلض��اءة الطبيعية‪ .‬كدمات تش�� ّوش صفاء‬ ‫الص��وت‪ ،‬وتنظيم��ه‪ ،‬ومزجه‪ ،‬وتوزيع��ه‪ .‬عيوب‬ ‫تقنية يمك��ن التخلّص منها ببس��الة‪ ،‬ولكن األمر‬ ‫يحت��اج دخوالً إنتاجياً يفيض ع��ن قدرة المخرج‬ ‫هاني الش��يباني الش��خصية‪ ،‬فإن كانت ميزانية‬ ‫األلف دوالر‪ ،‬أو ما يقاربه��ا‪ ،‬أوصلت الفيلم إلى‬ ‫هنا‪ ،‬فثمة م��ا ينبغي أن يمتد ليأخذ بالفيلم إلى‬ ‫ش ّط النجاة من عيوبه التقنية هذه‪.‬‬ ‫«انتظار» مغامرة جريئة وش��جاعة‪ ،‬من المخرج‬ ‫هاني الشيباني‪ ،‬وش��ريكه خالد علي‪ ،‬ومن‪ :‬نهى‬ ‫رأفت‪ ،‬ومريم س��لطان‪ ،‬وعادل إبراهيم‪ ،‬ومنصور‬ ‫الفيل��ي‪ ،‬وفاطمة الطرابلس��ي‪ ،‬وعل��ي الكياني‪،‬‬ ‫مؤس��س حقاً‪ ،‬ل��ن يتردّد‬ ‫وش��ريفة محمد‪ .‬فيلم ّ‬ ‫المخرج هاني الشيباني من االعتراف بالصعوبات‬ ‫والمعيق��ات والتخوفات الت��ي واجهت تحقيقه‪.‬‬ ‫لكن��ه العن��اد اإلبداعي الذي كان عتبة أساس��ية‬ ‫النبثاق كل حلم أوالً‪.‬‬

‫يف دبي ‪ 11‬ديسمرب ‪2016‬‬

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‫بع‬ ‫يو‬

‫ما‬ ‫لرا‬

2016 ‫ ديسمرب‬11 ‫األحد‬

‫ال‬

‫بالعـــربية‬

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12/10/16 10:58 PM

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12/10/16 10:57 PM