When the producer Roman Paul went cap in hand to investors telling them he planned to make a movie in Saudi Arabia, they "looked at us as if we said we were going to Mordor in Lord of the Rings". But the co-founder of the low-budget German production company Razor Film persisted.
He knocked on numerous doors and eventually secured funding from at least four institutes in Germany – and with that came licence for the director Haifaa Al Mansour to bring a five-year dream to fruition and push ahead with Saudi's first feature film, Wadjda. The combined efforts of a tiny German production studio with a female Saudi filmmaker embarking on her debut feature encapsulate a much bigger issue: whether Arab filmmakers can go it alone or whether they are dependent on European and Hollywood support to secure international success.
It will be at the top of the agenda of the 11th Dubai International Film Festival, which kicked off on Wednesday and where the discussion centres not just on getting Arab films made but seen worldwide as well.
Wadjda’s runaway international success has been well-documented. Although it was overlooked at the Oscars and Golden Globes earlier this year, it enjoyed a global cinematic release and captivated audiences in America and Britain. Al Mansour’s tale of having to direct from the back of a van with a walkie-talkie because she was not allowed to mingle with her male crew has become the stuff of legend. But what is perhaps not as well known is how it took a global effort to get her story of an 11-year-old girl wanting a bicycle made for the big screen.
"Haifaa sent out emails to a lot of people," recalls Paul. "Wadjda was supposed to shoot in the UAE. We just asked her would it be possible to shoot in Saudi? We thought: 'How can we do it without ever being in that place? That is a little ridiculous.'
“She said no one had ever asked her. So we went twice and came back very enthusiastic and talked to the investors and they were less enthusiastic – and that was very sad. But we said we were going to try everything we could to shoot it there.”
It is easy, when looking at the praise and rave reviews that have showered Al Mansour since her film was released – thanks in part to support from Diff’s own post-production fund, Enjaaz – to forget her five-year struggle to get it made in the first place.
What her battle highlights is that Arab films still rely heavily on international partnerships to get made, polished and shown in cinemas. Without that support, films such as Wadjda, Omar and Paradise Now may never have been shown beyond the confines of the film-festival circuit.
“Arab cinema has been reliant on international money,” says Shivani Pandya, the managing director of Diff. “Co-production is a really important aspect for the Arab film world. It opens so many different doors. Few films are totally Arab, apart from a few Egyptian films. Most have been made with money from different parts.”
It is not just about funding. Co-production brings in crews with different skill sets and the opportunity to distribute the film overseas. Pandya’s task, and much of the work of Dubai Film Market, which operates under Diff’s umbrella, really begins after the festival when back-room deals are done. When the red carpet has been rolled up, the trophies have secured their places on mantelpieces and the A-list stars have gone home, the real work of the festival – and to some extent, its true purpose – begins.
Like a duck paddling furiously under the surface of a seemingly still lake, Pandya and her team are involved in a frenzy of activity behind the scenes to ensure the 118 feature films, shorts and documentaries enjoying attention during the eight-day festival are not forgotten in the aftermath. To that effect, Diff has launched the Dubai Distribution Programme, enlisting the support of film distributors including Empire, Gulf Film, Kuwait National Cinema Company, Front Row and Vox Cinemas to ensure audiences will be able to see Arab films year-round. They have committed to picking up a minimum of one Arab film each to distribute among their clients.
In addition, the digital facility Cinetech, previously available during the festival only to sales and acquisition agents to watch films and tell them who has picked up individual movies and in which countries, will now be available for nine months after the festival. “Distribution is really limited in this part of the world,” says Pandya. “There are beautiful Arab films that make more impact internationally, even if they are Arab films made by an Arab.
“Dubai Film Market is now making a concerted effort [to get better distribution]. We see there are audiences during the festival for Arab films and have feedback that they love it. We are keen that it goes on to the next step where we are able to get these films theatrical releases and get distribution on different platforms across the world and in the region. We have approached quite a few distributors we work with. They have all said they want to support this and the time is right. It is really a tipping point. It is only a matter of time before you have a whole host of films being available in theatres.”
That will be a marked difference from what has been available for audiences hungry to see alternative, independent or art house films rather than being fed a diet of Hollywood blockbusters.
An attempt by Reel Cinemas to show Arab films in The Dubai Mall failed to take off, with minimal audiences and promotion. But this year, the Emirati director Nayla Al Khaja had to organise extra dates for her popular monthly Scene Club showing foreign language films in Dubai, while screenings at the festival in recent years and at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival have been sold out. There is a hunger for stories to be told through the eyes of Arab protagonists and filmmakers and not simply through a western prism.
A panel at this year’s ADFF discussed co-production with western filmmakers. Was there a danger, audiences asked, that Arab voices and stories could become diluted or be made banal by international intervention?
Paul first became involved in making movies in the Middle East with Hany Abu Assad's Oscar-nominated Paradise Now in 2005. "It was a baptism by fire," he recalls. "Once you work in a certain region and the film is successful, then of course you are offered more projects from that region and you start to build up a network. It is a very interesting intercultural project behind the scenes, not only on screen.
“Did it make it less Palestinian? What is more Palestinian [than a story set in the West Bank]? We try to make films that become seen by a worldwide audience and still keep the authenticity the director and writer want to express.”
For the Canadian producer Ina Fichman, trying to make the documentary The Wanted 18 with the Palestinian director Amer Shomali involved coming up against numerous obstacles while securing funding and support from Canada's film industry.
“Canada has very strict co-production rules,” she says. “You have to work with Canadian talent and crew. It has treaties with about 40 countries but none with an Arab country. It threw our entire production into disarray. In the end, Amer was the only non-Canadian on the film.”
While French and English-language foreign films are encouraged in culturally diverse cities such as Toronto, she says, getting an Arabic language film made is more difficult. “We are not hearing enough of those voices,” she adds. “The second challenge is, despite having a national cinema, it is difficult to get your movies into theatres. The presence of America, especially in English Canada, is daunting for the independent filmmaker.”
That is beginning to change. Hollywood is starting to sit up and take note as billions pour in from box-office sales in countries such as China and India. Films such as Iron Man 3, The Croods and Pacific Rim did exceptionally well in China, and revenue from international ticket sales are matching and, in some cases, even eclipsing those in the US. While that is unlikely to happen in the Middle East – Pandya says box-office sales for Arab films are usually better overseas, thanks to a previously poor regional take-up by distributors and a lack of promotion – the number of cinema screens is increasing and different platforms now exist to distribute Arab films, from video-on-demand to in-flight entertainment as well as traditional movie venues.
Two months ago, the Middle East distributor Front Row signed a deal with iTunes to act as an aggregator for independent Arab and Bollywood distribution firms. While cinemas may be lacking in countries such as Saudi Arabia, two-thirds of the region’s population are tech savvy and the deal opens the door to millions of new consumers to download films in different ways. “Today a child does not need a television,” says Pandya. “Video-on-demand is becoming an important aspect. I believe that is the only way the younger generation is going to be consuming entertainment.”
Samr Al Marzooqi, the manager of Dubai Film Market, adds: “This year we made a decision about changing our strategy from the development and support of Arabic films, to supporting on the sales and distribution side. We found lots of amazing titles were dying after the festival circuit.”
One of those films, Ali Mostafa's City of Life (2009), never reached its full potential. While it enjoyed moderate success in the UAE, it did not recoup its US$7 million (Dh25.7m) cost and failed to secure a distribution deal. Now, with his latest release, From A to B, Mostafa is hoping to do things differently. The distribution companies Empire and the LA-based Highland Film Group are on board to secure regional and international cinema releases, thanks to a partnership with TwoFour54 and Image Nation.
Al Marzooqi says there are two obstacles to getting Arab films seen widely in the GCC: “Distributors and companies do not see the value in such films because they still believe they are bad in quality. Second, they cannot negotiate with rights holders, who ask for so much money for their films to be distributed.”
Arab films have traditionally fared badly in the region. With competition from Hollywood blockbusters and a quick turnover of films, they are often dropped within a week. Omar has yet to secure a UAE release, despite opening last year's Diff. And Wadjda, despite accumulating accolades across the globe, barely made an impact here.
“Arab films cannot succeed without [international co-producers],” says Al Marzooqi. “In the whole Arab region, there are not enough funds or organisations to support films, hence producers look to Europe where they can get extra support. We need more of these entities here so we get more great Arabic films.”
weekend@thenational.ae
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Company%20profile
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
The biog
Date of birth: 27 May, 1995
Place of birth: Dubai, UAE
Status: Single
School: Al Ittihad private school in Al Mamzar
University: University of Sharjah
Degree: Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Hobby: I enjoy travelling a lot, not just for fun, but I like to cross things off my bucket list and the map and do something there like a 'green project'.
FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)
Saturday
Monaco v Caen (7pm)
Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
Angers v Toulouse (10pm)
Metz v Dijon (10pm)
Nantes v Guingamp (10pm)
Rennes v Lille (10pm)
Sunday
Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
Troyes v Lyon (7pm)
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain (11pm)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Representing%20UAE%20overseas
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The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
Company%20Profile
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Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
OPTA'S PREDICTED TABLE
1. Liverpool 101 points
2. Manchester City 80
3. Leicester 67
4. Chelsea 63
5. Manchester United 61
6. Tottenham 58
7. Wolves 56
8. Arsenal 56
9. Sheffield United 55
10. Everton 50
11. Burnley 49
12. Crystal Palace 49
13. Newcastle 46
14. Southampton 44
15. West Ham 39
16. Brighton 37
17. Watford 36
18. Bournemouth 36
19. Aston Villa 32
20. Norwich City 29
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Results
Women finals: 48kg - Urantsetseg Munkhbat (MGL) bt Distria Krasniqi (KOS); 52kg - Odette Guiffrida (ITA) bt Majlinda Kelmendi (KOS); 57kg - Nora Gjakova (KOS) bt Anastasiia Konkina (Rus)
Men’s finals: 60kg - Amiran Papinashvili (GEO) bt Francisco Garrigos (ESP); 66kg - Vazha Margvelashvili (Geo) bt Yerlan Serikzhanov (KAZ)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
Flights: 149
Steps: 3.78 million
Calories: 220,000
Floors climbed: 2,000
Donations: GPB37,300
Prostate checks: 5
Blisters: 15
Bumps on the head: 2
Dog bites: 1
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
SECRET%20INVASION
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Company%20profile
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Company%20Profile
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Match info
Athletic Bilbao 0
Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73' pen)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The line up
Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego
Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh
Sole DXB runs from December 6 to 8 at Dubai Design District. Weekend pass is Dh295 while a one day pass is Dh195. Tickets are available from www.soledxb.com
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
1st Test July 26-30 in Galle
2nd Test August 3-7 in Colombo
3rd Test August 12-16 in Pallekele
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants