What fans can expect when the One Direction film ‘Where We Are’ hits UAE cinemas

Karaoke-style singalongs and random declarations of love yelled at the screen will most likely accompany the screening of 1D's new concert film.

One Direction at Where We Are concert in San Siro, Milan. Courtesy Arts Alliance

One thing you can't fault those One Direction boys for: the five English lads are workhorses. Ever since setting hearts of young fans aflutter with individual auditions on The X Factor UK back in 2011, the boys have released three top-selling albums, the 2013 film documentary This Is Us and the 2012 concert DVD Up All Night. This is not to mention the almost back-to-back world tours, with their next jaunt to hit Dubai next year for a sold-out show at the Sevens Stadium on April 4. With 1D finishing this year's run of stadium performances on Sunday, UAE fans can whet their appetite for April's gig with a special global weekend screening of the concert film Where We Are.

Let the cameras roll

The first rumours that a new film could be in the works emerged in April, when the boys were spotted touring South America with a camera crew in tow. Not long after, the This Is Us director Morgan Spurlock confirmed to the British newspaper Daily Star Sunday that a new film was on the way and a production team were "with the band on their world tour filming what happens". The end result was a recording of a couple of live performances that drew some of the biggest audiences of the tour. A combined 115,000 fans packed two nights (June 28 and 29) in Milan's mammoth San Siro Stadium to watch the band perform to some of their biggest crowds ever.

An engaging show

The film will give fans a glimpse of the sensory treat that is a One Direction concert. The Where We Are tour features a set design with large video screens surrounding all corners of the stage. There are also numerous illuminated catwalks leading to a second stage, which has been reported to elevate in the shape of a cube. On the music front, the 96- minute show boasts a fast-paced, 23-song set list beginning with the peppy ­Midnight Memories before moving on to other favourites such as Happily, Little Things and Moments. A four-song encore ends with the heroic Best Song Ever.

The live experience

One UAE resident familiar with One Direction’s live shows is their Dubai concert promoter Thomas Oveson. As the chief operating officer of Done Events, Oveson saw One Direction perform no fewer than three times during their Where We Are tour, including a show at London’s Wembley Stadium in June. He describes the show as a deafening experience. “From the start until the end, the crowd never stop screaming,” he recalls. “There were different peaks to it, depending on which band member was singing.” Oveson says the movie should showcase the band at their best. The veteran promoter explains the band’s ease on stage has led to their success on tour. “They just have this great swagger about them, and these guys can really sing,” he says. “They are seasoned entertainers. They walk around casually and engage with the fans an awful lot. They know what the fans want and they can engage with those sitting very far back. I am very impressed with them as ­performers.”

The cinema experience

Expect each screening to transform into a 90-minute karaoke session. Those who sat through a UAE screening of their previous film, the documentary This Is Us, will know the viewing experience was not a passive one. Expect fans to shriek whenever their favourite One Direction-er takes the microphone and to hurl various declarations of love at the screen. Those superfans who were going to wait until the film was released on DVD in December may want to reconsider; the theatre version has a 22-minute interview with the band exclusive to the big screen.

• Where We Are will be screened in cinemas across the UAE on Saturday and Sunday. Check out websites of the local cinemas for specific timings