Shariq Madani at DIFF 2009
Daily Festival Report: 14th December 2009 (Day #5)

This day of DIFF was quite tiring. Each movie was emotionally draining, watching them back-to-back multiplied the effects. Fortunately, the festival atmosphere does the work of an energy drink; this makes the going easy.

Heiran
Shalizeh Arefpour | Iran | 2009
88 mins

Regrettably, Heiran gives us nothing new or exciting. The initial scenes set up a love story that could have gone one of many predictable ways — Heiran chooses the route of “village girl alone in big city”. Apart from the female lead’s striking resemblance to the gorgeous Indian actress Manisha Koirala (looks and performance), there is not much that can be appreciated here; unless you are biased towards it. continue reading »»

City of Life
Ali F. Mostafa | UAE | 2009
97 min

City of Life will change the way you think about Emirati filmmaking — it is co-written and directed by Ali F. Mostafa who, with this film, vigorously attempts to shatter preconceived notions about making movies in the United Arab Emirates. City of Life is especially designed to clear the haze surrounding big-budget film production in the city of Dubai and it sets a precedent: an Emirati filmmaker funded by Emirati coin has crafted smart, technically first-rate entertainment that can stand its own ground in the international marketplace. For a young country with a non-existent film industry, on this point alone, City of Life is an important accomplishment. continue reading »»

Born in America, she is an independent filmmaker whose parents are from Palestine and Jordan. Cherien Dabis’ debut film Amreeka is a Dubai Film Connection project that went on to win the FIPRESCI award at the Cannes Director’s Fortnight, as well receiving great acclaim at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Amreeka is being distributed by National Geographic Entertainment (via an arrangement with Imagenation Abu Dhabi). Even in limited release, it played to packed theaters across the United States and will be competing in the Muhr Arab Awards at the 2009 Dubai International Film Festival (screening times: Dec 12, at 10pm and Dec 15, at 2.15pm). In this open letter, Cherien Dabis talks about the immigrant experience in America: growing up as Arabs in a quaint little town in Omaha, Nebraska, and how that made her want to become a filmmaker:

Amreeka
by writer/director Cherien Dabis

It’s no wonder that Americans can relate to the universal immigrant themes in Amreeka. America is a country of immigrants after all, some who arrived centuries ago, others who are arriving as you read this. But despite where they came from and when they arrived, they all seem to understand what it means to struggle. And perhaps it’s precisely because they have their own coming-to-America stories that they’re inspired to ask me how autobiographical Amreeka is. The question usually goes something like this: “The story feels so personal. What inspired it? Is it autobiographical at all?” It’s a double question really, two questions that go hand-in-hand. And in order to best answer it, I’ll tell you my story. continue reading »»

Press conferences are obligatory but also a necessary evil to kick up some dust. This was yet another way for the DIFF team to tell the world (but especially you, yes, you,  in Dubai) about what else to expect at the 2009 Dubai International Film Festival: celebrities you are likely to see there, people on the award juries, statistics, that sort of thing. And in keeping with WearetheMovies.com’s “all meat, no potatoes” coverage, here is what we think you absolutely must know:

Celebrities at DIFF 2009

Hollywood:
Gerard Butler (receiving Variety’s International Star of the Year Award; but the most pertinent question is, will he DINE IN HELL?!?)
Matt Dillon (remember him?)
Mandy Moore (party prime rib)
Christopher Lambert (who? okay, we jest; we love this duke of B-cinema!)
…more ‘celebrities’ you’ll need to google to remember!

Indian Cinema:
Amitabh Bachchan (receiving Lifetime Achievement Award)
Other Bachchans (Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan; yup, it’s a family affair)
Ranbir Kapoor (described by DIFF as “teenybopper sensation,” which is *not* a compliment)
Manisha Koirala (she’s judging the Muhr Arab and AsiaAfrica awards)
M.F. Hussain (he too is judging the Muhr Arab and AsiaAfrica awards)
Mammootty (the stalwart of cinema from Kerala)
…more of them will be seen around the city (shopping for clothes and gold, we’re sure)

Arab World:
Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan
Omar Sharif (receiving Lifetime Achievement Award)
Hala Sarhan
Somayya Al Kashab
Mostafa Fahmy
…and more, lost count, there are so many!

Panels & Workshops
Vive Le Cinema: co-producing fiction features with France
Against the Odds: a case study of filmmaking in Palestine
Variety-DIFF Spotlight: for filmmakers and producers in the Arab world
Screenwriting Workshop: in association with TorinoFilmLab
DIFF Young Journalist Award: in association with MBC and Funding in the Middle East

A staggering 168 movies from 55 countries will be playing over the week-long film festival (but then again, this is Dubai, so you only get more of more).  Only 2 days remain until the opening night of the 2009 Dubai International Film Festival. Excited?

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Dubai International Film Festival 2009
Details (all meat, no potatoes)

WearetheMovies.com has been diligently covering the festival since last year (our writers are pretty comprehensive and brutal; see links on the right), and this year we will once again jump into the fray, all guns blazing. Dubai is a city we love and we love it even more during the film festival. (Wait, I think I hear Bloomberg and Financial Times nerds crying foul, screaming “standstill” and “meltdown” — screw ‘em, what do philistines know about art.) The DIFF website has just unveiled the entire roster of films, schedule and price details. The information is a bit dense there, so here is a snapshot summary: continue reading »»

Ashraf Ghori
Visual Artist & Filmmaker

Ashraf Ghori is known to many residents here as the creator of Xero Error, the first CG animated short film to be produced in the United Arab Emirates. Some may even nostalgically recall Ashraf Ghori as the guy that did those amazing illustrations for Khaleej Times (if you grew up in the UAE and had a subscription to the children’s magazine Young Times, you know it, friendo!). Born in India, Ashraf was very little when his family moved to the city of Dubai, which he considers “his hometown.”  Ashraf completed his college at the University of Houston in 1994, founded Tempest Comics, and won several accolades in the United States including being the featured artist at the 1994 Dallas Comic Con. Ashraf returned to the UAE in 1994 and has since been working on independent 3D animation and design projects. In 2007, he began the animation studio Xpanse CGI, and the very next year started work on his labor of love, Xero Error.

WearetheMovies.com loves and supports independent filmmakers in the Middle East. We asked the very talented Ashraf Ghori about Xero Error, Dubai’s potential for independent film production, and…three people he’d like to have dinner with (apparently, Megan Fox made the list!) continue reading »»