Stylists and make-up artists that make the UAE picture perfect for Hollywood

With big-budget films shooting in the UAE this month, local professionals are lining up their tools of the trade for the busy season.

Samira Olfat is a regional make-up artist for Max Factor. Victor Besa for The National

Costume designer Angela Schnoeke-Paasch doesn’t have a free weekend until November. Her diary is packed with television commercials, short films and movie co-productions requiring her expertise as a Hollywood wardrobe stylist and seamstress-to-the-stars.

After moving from her native Germany to Dubai in 2007, Schnoeke-Paasch carved out a niche for herself in the UAE’s burgeoning film industry.

“I believe I may own the only warehouse for costumes here in the UAE,” she says. “The movie industry is still young here, and huge archives of clothes-for-rent just don’t exist. I’ve built my business slowly over the past eight years, and it keeps getting bigger and demand stronger.”

Schnoeke-Paasch's back catalogue of films is prodigious and includes the 2011 release Sea Shadow by Emirati director Nawaf Al Janahi and Djinn, the 2013 horror movie produced by Abu Dhabi's Image Nation directed by Hollywood's Tobe Hooper.

When asked about her potential involvement in movies now filming in or coming soon to the emirates – including Star Trek Beyond, War Machine and Dishoom – Schnoeke-Paasch has been sworn to secrecy.

“What to say?” she says, laughing. “It’s something I’m really not allowed to talk about. But what I can tell you is that the wardrobe teams will be huge for films of their size. Some costumes will be made, some will be sourced locally and some will be brought in from abroad.”

One such project where outfits for lead characters originated from the film's home country was Furious 7, part of which was filmed in Abu Dhabi last year.

“I was involved with the co-production, and a lot of clothes were flown in from America.” says Schnoeke-Paasch.

“I was also asked to source things from Dubai stores that sold clothes that were a little different, a bit crazy. The brief? Well, it was for the girls, in particular – and plenty of bikinis.”

Schnoeke-Paasch’s line of work is an expensive one, where purchasing clothes is more commonplace than borrowing them for the duration of a film’s schedule.

“The renting of anything for movies is very difficult here.” she says. “I always have to buy. Comparing the market to Germany – when I need uniforms I can easily rent them long-term, but it’s impossible in the UAE. So, I’ve had to invest in uniforms because they are so often needed – security guards, police and the like.”

If the project has a small budget, Schnoeke-Paasch heads to high-street retailers such as Splash, known for their affordable range of men’s, women’s and children’s wear. Everything is paid for upfront and returned later. If damaged in any way, the pieces are repaired and archived at Schnoeke-Paasch’s Al Quoz storage facility for reuse.

With other projects, such as Ali Mostafa's 2010 film City of Life, the wardrobe stylist sought the help of an expert when dressing the Emirati cast.

“I went to a traditional kandura tailor and abaya maker,” she says. “It used to be possible once to hire abayas but now it’s no longer an option. In fact, probably the most valuable pieces in my warehouse today are abayas and kanduras.”

From small-scale movies to Hollywood blockbusters, there are economic tricks-of-the-trade when it comes to kitting out the cast, Schnoeke-Paasch reveals. She buys imitation jewels and mid-range accessories to replicate the real thing, given that the UAE’s purveyors of gold and diamonds are not keen to lend pieces to stylists for movies.

A little black book full of costume jewellers, department stores, souqs, tailors and fabric merchants is a vital thing for someone in Schnoeke-Paasch’s position. And when a client demands a couture gown at short notice, it is to Dubai’s community of respected Filipino designers that she turns.

“Michael Cinco is one of my favourites,” she says “We’ve collaborated on projects before and he has always been very calm and so generous with his gowns. He’s such a nice guy and on commercials, where his dresses have been used, there often isn’t even any credit given, as you would expect with a film.”

Other people crucial to the success of any cinematic project are the hair and make-up teams. For major films, dedicated professionals are almost without exception flown in from Europe or the United States. There are, however, talented people in the UAE who are often called on to bolster numbers on large-scale productions.

Dubai-based Max Factor make-up artist Samira Olfat has worked for almost a decade with a host of famous people from UAE royalty to actresses Eva Longoria, Gossip Girl's Tinsley Mortimer and Prison Break's Sarah Wayne Callies.

While the creative process is a rewarding one, Olfat admits that there’s little glamour to it and the hours can be gruelling.

“One of the most memorable shoots was an Iraqi film project in the Dubai desert during the summer,” she says. “The filming took hours and every few minutes the director would call “Cut!” so that I could jump in to blot the faces of the actors.

“The ladies’ eye make-up was melting and smudging in the heat and the more layers of powder I applied to the men, the less natural they risked looking on camera.”

When working on set during summer, Olfat says that it’s not uncommon for her to call the cast back to the trailer to have all make-up removed and reapplied.

“My job is to keep the actors looking fresh and natural – the make-up mustn’t distract the viewer from the acting.” she says. “I aim to finish each cast member in 45 minutes to get them out of the chair quickly. It’s easy for them to become restless sitting there, undergoing the same process day after day. With the Kardashians, for example, the faster you can make them up perfectly, the happier they’ll be.”

Should Olfat receive the call to go and powder Brad Pitt's nose when he comes to the UAE to film War Machine this month, she already has a strategy for outdoor shoots in mind.

“Well, to prevent him from burning, I would definitely start by liberally applying a primer with a strong SPF to his face, and his body, if exposed.

“I’d also do lots of contouring which, if blended perfectly around the jawline makes the face look very natural, masculine and defined – the camera loves it. I’d also apply well-blended concealer beneath his eyes. Because while he’s still very good-looking, he has started ageing just a little.”

Battling the heat and humidity is the biggest challenge on any UAE movie set, says Olfat. And while papier-poudre blotting paper, waterproof mascara and sweat-resistant foundations can help, there’s one more trick she has up her sleeve. “Instead of giving the cast litres of water between takes, I offer them a salted labneh drink,” she says. “It not only rehydrates them for longer but replaces lost salts and prevents excessive sweating.”

• To contact Angela Schnoeke-Paasch email [e-mail] or follow her on Instagram.

• To reach Samira Olfat go to maxfactorarabia.com