Gulf cinema readies for its close-up

 

With the first annual Gulf Film Festival drawing to a close last night, the future certainly looks bright for filmmaking in the region. Just ask the festival’s director, Masoud Amralla Al Ali.

 

“This year has definitely been a good start to the future of Khaleeji films,” he told Emirates Business. “This festival has been my dream for 15 years, so to see it actually happening has been wonderful. And to receive 220 film submissions is outstanding. The future of filmmaking is indeed promising.”

 

The Gulf Film Festival kicked off last Sunday at the Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre in Mall of the Emirates with several in-competition categories, as well as out-of-competition segments.

 

While most competitions were open only to Arab nationals from the GCC, Iraq and Yemen, two competitions were also open to expatriate filmmakers who live in these countries. A small selection of international short films, from nations such as Switzerland, Palestine, Canada and China, were also shown during the week.

 

Khaled Nawar, a Khaleeji film student who visited the festival to watch some of the films on offer, said the standard of entries was certainly high in comparison to most Khaleeji productions he had previously seen. “There has been a great selection, and it’s impressive that the local talent has managed to produce some great scripts with good-quality filming. Plus, this is the first time I have seen full-length films. Usually, national filmmakers stick with shorts.”

 

Al Ali couldn’t agree more. “It is fantastic that we received full-length feature films. This is not common in the region, because filmmakers stick to shorts as they don’t require as much funding and technical expertise,” he says. “But we received five submissions, which is excellent for the Gulf.”

 

As well as a rise in regional feature films, movie fans witnessed several other trends during the course of the festival. One of the most notable was the rise of digital filmmaking, and last Tuesday, organisers hosted a two-hour panel on the subject in the presence of three industry guests: Bahraini director Bassam Al Thawadi, Lebanon’s Mohammed Rouda, Dubai International Film Festival’s Muhr Awards Manager and film critic, as well as Gianluca Chacra, Managing Director of Front Row Film Entertainment.

 

The panel covered everything from the budgetary benefits of the platform – which cuts down on stock processing costs and equipment rentals – portability, the widespread availability of simple video editing programs, plus the business aspects. “Digital filmmaking offers an exciting new frontier for emerging filmmakers, as it doesn’t require as big a budget as 35mm,” says Al Ali.

 

Another trend that seems to be on the rise in the GCC is the making of animated films, and a special segment called Animation for Children was dedicated to this genre at the Gulf Film Festival. At DIFF last year, organisers conducted a special animation workshop for young people aged between 11 and 16 years old, where participants had an opportunity to learn from some of animation’s biggest names, including Steve Hickner of Jerry Seinfield’s movie hit Bee Movie, as well as Mohammed Saeed Hareb, the creator of Emirati cartoon, Freej. The results were screened at GFF: The Snowman by Joseph Samuel, The Butterfly by Rouijeh Emad, The Buckwheat by Maikki Kantola, and Galagolia by Dubai Abdulla Abulhoul.

 

But Al Ali says the festival’s most common theme has been the rise in controversial movies. “You can define controversial content in many ways,” he says. “But what seems to be changing is that filmmakers are more open to exploring many different subjects, and this never happened before.

 

“I believe more people are open to film these days, and thus a lot of topics don’t seem as risqué as they used to. Of course, there are limits, because we don’t accept films that offend any culture or religion, but at the same time, censors are becoming more lenient.”

Looking back on the past week, Al Ali is extremely optimistic about the future. He says that while the region’s film industry has come a long way, from non-existent to enough fare for a festival, there is still a long way to go.

 

“But there is a great future for filmmaking in the Gulf. My advice to filmmakers is keep pursuing your dream no matter what, and I encourage investors to fund more independent movie projects. Yes, you won’t make a quick return like any other business, but if you are willing to wait for a few years, you’ll make a good profit. My aim is to witness three renowned filmmakers from each Gulf country. If we achieve that, then we did our job well.”

 

If you missed the festival, get the DVD 

Saudis in America Director Fahmi Farahat explores the mindset of Saudis living in America after the 9/11 attacks on the Word Trade Center and the Pentagon. Fifteen out of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals, and Farahat attempts to highlight the fact that Americans weren’t the only victims of these terrorist attacks.

 

gangs of baghdad This heart-wrenching film by Aida Schlaepfer highlights the trauma suffered by Iraqi adults and children since the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003. It deals with stories from victims of war, including those who have been kidnapped, threatened or blackmailed by gangs operating in the country.

 

One Day In Khadimya Prison For Women This Iraqi film portrays the brutal lives of women trapped in horrific conditions in an Iraqi jail after the fall of Saddam Hussain. Directed by Oday Saleh, the film delivers a 24-hour account of everyday prison life for these women, but in actuality it was shot over a period of three weeks.

 

Massima Punizione Italian filmmaker Filippo Macelloni explores his country’s love of football in the comedy Massima Punizione, or Ultimate Penalty. The film is dedicated to the beautiful game’s mechanical physics involved with some of the best – and worst – penalty goal kicks ever taken. Just don’t take it too seriously. (Rachel McArthur/Bindu Rai)

 

 

Ones to watch

 

Abdulla Abulhoul

 

One of the individuals to watch out for in the future is young Dubai Abulhoul, who enjoyed her first movie submission at this year’s Gulf Film Festival, the two-minute animation, Galagolia. The 11-year-old Emirati student is one of the youngest filmmakers in the region, and following the rave reviews she received for her movie short this year, her future in the industry definitely looks promising.

 

Noor Al Dabbagh

 

Saudi Arabian-born Noor Al Dabbagh attended Harvard University and graduated in 2006 with a degree in Visual and Environmental Studies, with a focus on non-fiction video and animation. Seeing Through the Sand is her first feature, which showed at this year’s festival. Previous credits include The Ashgars, a portrait of three generations living under one roof in the Saudi Eastern Province.

 

Jane Meikle

 

Representing expatriates living in the region was Canadian filmmaker Jane Meikle, who currently lives in Dubai. She followed a self-directed course of study at Toronto’s Liaison of Independent Filmmakers, before being accepted to the Canadian Film Centre’s Director’s Lab in 2004. Nancy Loves Miss Brown, which Meikle wrote, co-produced, directed, and starred in was her first submission to a regional festival of this kind.