Mas y Mas November

mรกs ymรกs

monthly newsletter of NISI MASA

NOV10 GULF CINEMA UAE Saudi Arabia SANAD Fund interview:

Peter Scarlet

spotlight:

Picture by TINA REMIZ

Nisimazine Abu Dhabi

agenda

18-26 NOVEMBER Nisimazine IDFA

1 DECEMBER

7-12 DECEMBER

3-5 DECEMBER

15 DECEMBER

First part of Communication Training

Script&Pitch application deadline Board Meeting Budapest

Polyglot Video Contest Deadline

editorial Salam Aleikum. No, we didn’t return speaking fluent Arabic. In fact, it was more than easy to get by with English in Abu Dhabi. Not a surprise perhaps in a country where more than 80% is expat and your only option to see something historical is a row of mock up traditional houses called 'Heritage Village'. You could ask yourself how much it still has to do with Arab culture.

Despite previous comment, Arabic was the novelty for Nisimazine in the workshop that was held at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. Seeing the Arabic next to English on the page really gave a sense of opening up a dialogue between two cinematic worlds that hardly reach each other due to alphabetic and linguistic obstacles. The magazine turned out to be a valuable export product.

The very stereotypical prejudice of 'they must do it for the money' was admittedly a predominant thought before going to the festival. Because you do wonder what the interest is for a relatively small city in a country with no cinematic background, to host a big International festival, other than attracting foreign investment that will at some point have to substitute the oil to sustain its citizen’s wealth. A Hollywood red carpet style event is mimicking much like the city’s skyline (just as bigger neighbor Dubai), the Western good old faithfulls like New York and Los Angeles.

And what was the first impression when on the ground? Exactly that. Nothing seems older than 2 years, shopping malls, neon lighted mosques and advertisements for golden rings. But running around the festival this impression slowly started changing. Something is in the air. People are trying something new, starting almost from zero in a place that has no definition (yet or anymore). It's a new frontier, whether it attracts gold diggers or adventurers (don't picture it too romantically, this new frontier comes with all the familiar comforts, we could see Ikea from our hotel window). In this sense the AFF was an incredibly nice surprise. The selection is very refreshing with lesser known films from all over the world. At the (admittedly) gold sprinkled desert buffet, journalists, staff and filmmakers mingled very easily. There seems to be a mutual curiosity that is contagious, people from all over the planet, asking questions out loud about how to change the often negative depiction of the region.

Hopefully we will get to go back next year, and continue to cross this language border to find out what will happen next...

by Maartje Alders

Mas y Mas is a monthly newsletter published by the association NISI MASA. EDITORIAL STAFF Coordination Jass Seljamaa Maartje Alders Jude Lister Design Maartje Alders

Contributors to this issue: Maartje Alders, Fernando Vasquez, Nadia Muhanna, Michael O'Regan, Samira Mesbahi, Laila Hotait Salas, Elizabeth RenaultGeslin, Tina Remiz.

NISI MASA (European Office) 99 Rue du Faubourg Saint Denis 75010, Paris, France Tel/Fax: +33 (0)9 60 39 63 38 + 33 (0)6 32 61 70 26 Email europe@nisimasa.com Website www.nisimasa.com

credits.

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dossier

Gulf Cinema

It would be too easy to make a comparison with a veiled woman, but its fair to say most of us know next to nothing about what is going on cinematically in the Gulf region. Since a new team of Nisimazine journalists made the first steps last month to go and find out by attending the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, we want to share some of the findings: focusses on Emerati and Saudi cinema, SANAD fund for young Arab filmmakers and an interview with festival director Peter Scarlet.

EMIRATI FILMMAKERS: Actions Speak Louder Than Films

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oday in the UAE, film festivals such as the ADFF give a voice to Gulf filmmakers. They help develop film appreciation and create bridges between cultures.

Furthermore, they organise workshops to educate people about the film industry. Although currently these workshops last only the length of the festival, and the lack of film schools means that most directors are self-taught.

'actions speak louder than films'. Young Emirati ladies are considered as 'covered diamonds', hence “it is forbidden to talk to guys.” Thanks to these aspiring female filmmakers though, mentalities are changing.

They are likely to direct men but for Maitha, this isn't an issue anymore: “My parents accepted the fact that I'll be speaking with guys.” Jumana believes that ladies can do as well as gentlemen.

It’s no surprise then that filmmaking is not yet considered as a real career in the Gulf.

Talented as they may be, it is still very difficult to make it big. Ahmed Zaid, an Emirati filmmaker, won the Jury prize at last year’s Abu Dhabi festival. Although he has made more than ten movies, he still works as an electro-mechanical engineer.

However, the UAE is now starting to encourage the development of cinema infrastructures and schools. Abu Dhabi has welcomed the New York and Manhattan Film Academies. In Dubai, Knowledge Village’s SAE Institute and Dubai Women's College offer a full immersion in the universe of cinema.

At the ADFF this year, Emirati Jumana Al Ghanem is presenting her film Am Arab, which she co-directed with Ahlam Al Bannai. She studies at Dubai Women's College alongside Maitha Hamdam, who is showing her short Mahar al Mahera, both participating in the Student Shorts Documentary of the Emirates Competition.

Concerning these young female film directors, we could reinvent the proverb 'action speaks louder than words' and turn it into

Spotlight

Saeed Salmeen Al Murry, director of Sun Dress (UAE)

At the moment, filmmakers in the Gulf have no other choice than to finance their movies from their own pockets, since no governmental institution has been set up.

Most film productions here make TV commercials, a few corporate movies and documentaries. They only want to do features if you bring your own money.

Gulf filmmakers will make it to the international stage if they have the necessary talent, marketing skills and business knowledge to bring people to movie theatres.

But we can already see that their passion for cinema is making them overcome the obstacles and change mentalities.

By Samira Mesbahi

T

he Abu Dhabi Film Festival had taken the initiative of inviting five young Emirati film directors to take up their marks in the international film industry.

They were there to watch movies from around the world and network with film professional. I had the opportunity to meet Saeed Salmeen Al Murry - I was delighted.

He is thrilled to introduce his first feature, which was produced with his brother Amir's Abu Dhabi-based film production house, Cinevision Art Production. He started getting interested in filmmaking in the 80s.

At that time there were no film schools, and like any other aspiring filmmaker of his generation, he read a lot of books to learn about the craft. His first short came in 2001, and a few years later he was winning awards for the shorts Hudoob and Al Ghobna. He then opened Roo’ya Production.

In Cannes, Saeed Salmeen was tired: “I had just finished shooting my film in the UAE and Syria. It was very difficult to get the shooting permits and the equipment in Syria and in Red Island in the UAE. But with patience, I overcame obstacles.”

I found him endearing because he wants to change the mentalities of his society. He uses a symbolic and poetic cinematic language to talk about suffering deaf

women. “I wanted to talk about Halima; she carries all the pain of the world. There are millions of Halima. But she is strong and feels normal. She can do whatever she wants and love.”

People with special needs are often seen as flawed.

Saeed Salmeen wants to give them dignity. The action takes place in the 70s, in a Village where two men fall in love with her but apparently being deaf is an obstacle. Despite these hardships, Halima remains dignified.

Saeed Salmeen has invested himself in the mission of contributing to the development of the Gulf film industry and training the new generation: “I chose young staff from Bahrain and the UAE to train them.

My DOP is Jordanian. And regarding the actors, here there’s no agency fully dedicated to cinema actors yet. If they are TV actors, the casting department is more than willing to give away their details. I organised a workshop and rehearsals to train them because most of them had TV and theatre acting's bad habits.”

By joining the strengths of each cinema professional in the UAE, within the next few years Emirati cinema will be competing with Arab cinema from the other regions.

By Samira Mesbahi

dossier

Arab Filmmakers

A from top tp bottom: A Plate of Sardines by Omar Amiralay, WWW by Faouzi Bensaidi and In My Mother's Arms by Mohamed Al-Daradji

rab filmmakers have always had to look for funding from the strangest places: from the ex-colonisers, from their families, or from their own pockets. But today, funding programmes like SANAD of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, they

programme is giving a great opportunity to the young Brahim Fritah, and Tunisian filmmaker Raja Amari.

Iraqi Mohamed Al-Daradji has two projects supported by SANAD: the documentary In My Mother’s Arms, already in postproduction and Train Station, a fiction in development also set in contemporary Iraq.

Among the fiction filmmakers we find some promising newcomers, like Anne Marie Jacir, whose new work When I Saw You, tells the story of “the moment of hope, the particular moment in the life of an individual when the world seems to open up for him”.

Sobhi Al-Zobaidi, author of important titles in experimental Palestinian cinema, is in development of a fiction film that seems to question and examine Palestinian identity, and the way Palestinians themselves have constructed it.

Meanwhile Mohammad Malas, another grantee and probably one of the most prominent Syrian figures in cinema, is now in development of the last episode of his trilogy on contemporary Syria.

are being given the opportunity to make cinema in better conditions and without having to compromise their visions and their own subjectivities.

In its first round SANAD has been a success and many applications were received. The fund focuses on two stages of film production: the pre-production level and post-production.

Amongst the granted projects we find directors at many different stages of their works and careers - an interesting map of contemporary independent Arab cinema.

It is interesting to see that SANAD has opened its doors to the reality of migrants and to Arab filmmakers of the diaspora. The

In addition, some of the most important names of Arab documentaries are supported by this first attempt of the festival: we see the latest work of the Lebanese couple formed by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, whose original project Lebanese Rocket Society is also supported by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture.

The list here is not conclusive and right now SANAD is supporting the work of many important names in the Arab filmmaking world. We might even be witnessing the beginning of a new era, in which a full rebirth of Arab independent cinema could take place - a cinema compromised of its times and peoples, but also often personal and intimate.

By Laila Hotait Salas

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Springtime for Saudi Cinema?

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oming across Saudi film screenings in international film festivals is usually not easy. Not so at the ADFF this year: there are a total of nine short films from Saudi Arabia competing in the Emirates Competition.

Even so, according to Almutairi although some Talashi films can be critical of Saudi Arabian society, they are well-received and even supported by the ministry of culture, which screens them on public TV and in cultural centres.

Saudi Arabia has no local or governmental film fund, cinema schools, academies or professional film crews.

That’s why Abdulmuhsin Almutariri and eight young Saudi filmmakers decided to support themselves and establish Talashi. While the filmmakers prefer to call it a group, it is in fact an independent film production company.

“Society started to accept Talashi. We were actually surprised how well they received our films”, Almutairi says.

“You just have to have the guts to do it.”

“We don’t have a license”, the 20something says hesitantly. “And we are not making any profit anyway”.

Talashi produced 12 short films so far, all self-funded.

As the Talashi group includes directors, editors and cameramen who are willing to work for free, Almutairi says one film’s budget does not exceed USD 1500, which is usually paid for the actresses.

“There are very few Saudi actresses, and even these few ones rarely agree to work for a bunch of young men like us who do not have a well-known film production company”, Almutairi says.

They even tackled the difficulty of recruiting actresses in Saudi Arabia in their short film Three Men and One Woman. Other Talashi films criticized early marriages and forcing women to wear the chador, amongst other taboos.

“The most important thing about our films is that they reflect reality. Some people criticize us saying that we should paint a good image of Saudi Arabia abroad and I agree with that, but that doesn’t mean not to tell the truth”, says Almutairi, who believes that there are few red lines in Saudi Arabia. He also believes that having to apply for special permission to shoot in public areas doesn’t impose any restrictions on film production in Saudi Arabia. “You get permission to shoot anywhere you want except for the areas which have a sign that reads “Don’t take photos,” Almutairi says. “If you respect the law then you are fine.”

For more information about Talashi log on to www.talashifilms.com

By Nadia Muhanna

from top to bottom: There is only leftovers of fried chicken in the fridge by Nawaf Al Mhanna, Three men and one woman by Abdulmohsen Al-Dhabaan

SANAD: Real Support for

Gulf Cinema

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Gulf Cinema

dossier

Interview Peter Scarlet

P

eter Scarlet’s contribution to the festival scene is recognized by all sectors of the film world. For decades he has played a major role in the development of some of the most influential and groundbreaking cinema events and institutions, such as the Tribeca Film Festival and the Cinémathèque Française. Two years ago he embarked on a journey into the unknown, by accepting to take over one of the most coveted, yet challenging, jobs in the industry, as the Executive Director of the ADFF. For this special interview, the whole Nisimazine team gathered with him in a hidden-away room of the Emirates Palace, where he shared with us what he aims to achieve with the festival.

What are the objectives of the festival?

There isn’t a film culture here yet, so the big challenge is to create one. I remember meeting an Emirati woman before I came to work here, and she told me that she didn’t think movies could do what books do; I gave her a copy of Pather Panchali. A week later she came back to me and told me she was blown away.

So, I know there’s an indigenous audience here; you see them at the screenings. It’s not just expats.

My dream is to open a real film-specific theatre. I think movies are our last chance of understanding that it’s stupid to fear people that you don’t know.

Picture by TINA REMIZ

Executive director Abu Dhabi Film Festival

If we watch movies about each other’s lives we have a much better chance of getting on.

The thing we’re trying to do is to have everything accessible and open.

What impact does the event have on both local and international levels?

First of all, to have a competition where Arab films are up against productions from other parts of the world is great. It’s not like there is a separate competition, so I think we are helping the world accept Arab cinema. It’s not going to happen overnight but I think people can already start accepting Arab cinema. The idea is not having foreign people imposing their ideas on Arabs, but trying to help open new windows.

Considering most of the festival staff is composed of foreigners, does the organisation plan or already have a policy to include more Emiratis?

The idea is to train people to take over. I’ve learned it’s not easy. We have a couple of Emiratis on staff and some people that live here as well. A few months ago I was told that I shouldn’t advertise these jobs to Emiratis because they won’t take them. The second time I heard it, I thought this could be a problem. To build a film industry you need to be able to gather lunatics who want to make movies. Maybe they have some talent, maybe something will happen. Then maybe, eventually, you will have a film industry.

Doha’s International Film Festival has grown in part

thanks to its partnership with Tribeca. Do you think a similar strategy would benefit the ADFF? Some festivals have chosen to have partnerships with other festivals. But here they’ve decided to start something new and not import a model.

My past experiences have taught me that to see other festivals as competitors is crazy. At least we should understand that training a regional staff would benefit everyone. Organizing a festival is like going to war. There are certain skills that are very difficult to accomplish. To do these things well is critical. So it wouldn’t be a bad idea to work together at some level.

Will we ever see any Israeli films at the ADFF? The situation in this country is simple; they don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel. [Also] I can’t show films with explicit sexual activity; I can’t show films that portray homosexuality.

There are a few exceptions and I hope there will be more. Although my role here is to gently introduce new ideas into culture. I’m not trying to create a revolution overnight. I don’t believe in it anymore.

How successful do you think this year’s edition was?

I think it is still too early to answer that question (smiles).

Edited by Michael O’Regan, Fernando Vasquez and Elisabeth Renault-Geslin

news & screeni Nisimazine IDFA The second edition of Nisimazine IDFA will be held from the 18th of November until the 26th of November 2010 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, during the 23rd edition of the biggest documentary festival in the world! The editorial consists of 10 young Europeans who will attend the festival during 9 days, covering the festival online on www.nisimazine.eu.

FrAMMARTINO WORKSHOP CALL FOR APPLICANTS

Call for entries opened for the first international workshop for filmakers in Basilicata with one of the most talented and original authors of the new international cinema, Michelangelo Frammartino, director of Le Quattro Volte. The workshop is open to ten filmmakers of any age or nationality with practical experience in filmmaking and will take place in the scenic area of Teana from December 11th to 19th 2010.

Deadline: 19th of NOVEMBER. w w w. noeltanf ilm.com/nf/News/ Voci/2010/10/9_Workshop_con_Michelangelo_Frammartino.html

Script&Pitch Workshops

CALL FOR APPLICANTS A new round of Script&Pitch! 10 months, 3 residential workshops, 2 on-line sessions, 1 Alumni meeting. Script&Pitch Workshops is an advanced development course for European scriptwriters and story editors. Writers and story editors from the rest of the world can apply as well through Script&Pitch Workshops International.

CINETRAIN 1&2 AT SPUTNIK During the Sputnik Russian Film Festival held from the 4th till the 14th of November in Warsaw, Poland, a selection form Cinetrain edition 1 and 2 was screened.

At the same time, an exhibition of photos taking during the projects by Guillaume Protsenko complemented the screening.

http://sputnikfestiwal.pl/

Deadline: 1st of DECember. www.scriptpitchworkshops.com

Below Zero 2011 CALL FOR ENTRIES

Below ZERO is an international pitching session for documentary projects focusing on life above the Arctic Circle.

No matter where you are based you are welcome to submit your documentary projects concerning all aspects relating to this subject matter. Below ZERO takes place on January, 19 – 22, 2011 in Tromsø, Norway.

Deadline: 29th of NOVEMBER. w w w.edn.dk /ac tivities/edn -ac tivit ytexts/below-zero-2011/

Breaking Shorts 2011 CALL FOR ENTRIES

Breaking Shorts is a student competition of Go Short International Short Film Festival Nijmegen, programmed bij Breaking Ground, the platform for European Student Films). Go Short's next edition takes place on: 16-20 March 2011

Deadline: 1st of DECEMber. www.goshort.nl / www.breakingground.eu

ings FRANCE 18-21.11.2010 - Avignon Cinambule Short Film Festival The festival is held from 18th to 21st of November, in Cabrieres d’Avignon, France. Among others a NISI MASA movie will be screened – Between Dreams (dir. Iris Olsson), which was made during the 2008 CineTrain workshop. cinambule.free.fr

I

stanbul Express movies premiered in Istanbul on the 16th of October and currently they are waiting to be compiled together in a DVD accompanied by a book. The first stops for these movies are festivals after which there will be local screenings by NISI MASA associations, so be on the lookout for screenings in your country! The 15 movies are:

San Sebastian train

Tallinn train

Turin train

Translation vs. Eurospeak „Hop on - Hop off“ - 11’15’’ Dir.: Igor Bezinovic Sound: Zeynep Merve Uygun DoP: Mattias „Mehmet“ Kammerer

Multilingual Love „Bachelor Party“ – 14’57“ Dir.: Luca Luccesi Sound: Julia Széphelyi-Frankl DoP: Apopei Mihai Marius

Turkish in Europe „1001 Days“ – 8’51“ Dir.: Olivier Jourdain Sound: Zeynep Köprülü DoP: Olivier Jourdain

Minorities vs. Official language „I am not here“ - 6’17“ Dir.: Paulo Couto Sound: Anna Brufau DoP: Gisela Ritzen

Minorities vs. Official language „Try me now“ – 4’34“ Dir.: Mara Trifu Sound: Ando Naulainen DoP: Lucille Caballero

Multilingual Love „Do you really love me?“ – 12’07“ Dir.: Alastair Cole Sound: Pyotr Magnus Nedov DoP: Leo Bruges

Multilingual Love „Love in transit“ – 9’30“ Dir.: Severine Beaudot Sound: Dena Popova DoP: Tuce Zenginkinet

Urban Dialogue „We are not living in a fucking hospital“ – 7’16“ Dir.: Vappu Tuomisto Sound: Jerker Beckman DoP: Liso Cassano

Translation vs. Eurospeak „How to say hello in Slovio?“ – 6’30“ Dir.: May Abdalla DoP: Niklas Kullstorm Sound: Francois-Xavier Lesaffre

Urban Dialogue 9’07“ Dir.: Lyubomir Pechev Sound: Ainara Vera Esparza DoP: Paulo Martinho Turkish in Europe „Kov Kovi“ – 14’52“ Dir.: Ezgi Kaplan Sound: Tirza Bosshardt DoP: Sander Lopez Cardozo

Turkish in Europe „Yüksek Yüksek“ – 9’40“ Dir.: Catalin Musat Sound: Nicolas Servide DoP: Vincend Bitaud Translation vs. Eurospeak „Lost in Trainstation“ – 8’10“ Dir.: Grzegorz Brzozowski Sound: Bas Voorwinde DoP: Vefik Karaege

Urban Dialogue „Poligrad“ – 5’56“ Dir.: Rui Silveira Sound: Marcin Knyziak DoP: Bela Lukac Minorities vs. Official language „Listen to Me“ – 10’45“ Dir.: Iris Segundo Garcia Sound: Tugce Sönmez DoP: Lea Silvia Moneta Caglio

Samira Mesbahi participated as a film critic in the Nisimazine Abu Dhabi workshop last month. She divides her time between France and the United Arab Emirates and explains here, how she sees the experience of writing at the AFF and the UAE cinema culture in general.

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few days ago, I found myself at a Halloween party talking about the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, with a fake beard on. Stuck between a bucket of fried chicken wings, a prehistoric caveman and Caesar the emperor, the kitchen was not the kind of location where you might expect to discuss independent cinema. But when cinema enthusiasts meet, what do they talk about? Cinema of course, wherever they are. While I was adjusting my moustache, I shared opinions with a French married couple of expats about the films we had the chance to watch.

workers in the Gulf as well as references to a late Saudi King and Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. Also, the film Brokeback Mountain, dealing with homosexual love, was banned from screening in the country. In the UAE, homosexuality is considered to be a serious offence and is officially punishable by flogging as well as imprisonment. The film was seen as promoting acts that are irrelevant to the country’s Islamic morals. Later, in 2008, with the banning of the Sex and the City, New York-addicted fashionistas from the UAE were deprived of their favourite fashion mode d'emploi.

- "Have you seen Miral, Potiche, Messages from the Sea or that Palestinian documentary?” - ”Yes, yes... and what about Here Comes the Rain or Wrecked?", we asked each other.

The council heavily censors anything they find inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political, and moral values of the country. However, it would be wrong to qualify the UAE as oppressors of freedom. Since the beginning of motion picture history, the cinema industry has always been concerned about fitting in morally. The People's Institute in New York City created 'The New York Board of Motion Picture Censorship' in 1909 through which the film producers validated the content of their movies. In each country, there is a National Board of Censorship. Censorship is not unique to the Emirates.

This happy exchange would have never occurred if Nisimazine hadn’t invited me to attend their ADFF journalism workshop. For our undeniable thirst for quality cinema highlighted a crucial problem: movie theatres in the UAE always show the same commercial films. Fortunately, festivals like the ADFF offer us another cinema, different from the flavourless one that we buy along with a pack of cheese nachos and popcorn. Because of censorship, usually we are confined to a certain type of films: Action movies with a lot of hamburger violence, chicken curried spicy melodramatic musicals or romantic comedies with no sign of affection. These films win the unanimous agreement of the National Board of Censorship because their format is suitable for any type of public. They do not disturb the sensitivity of Emiratis.

Before their screening, foreign films are sent to the Film Censorship Committee, chaired by the National Media Council’s undersecretary for press censorship affairs and consisting of representatives of the ministries of education, interior, social affairs, justice and Islamic affairs, state security and Israel boycott office.

Then they are edited according to what needs to be removed. For instance, in 2005, the launching of Syriana, a film about the USA’s fight against terrorism, cut two minutes of “offensive” scenes, which conveyed mistreatment of Asian

However, thanks to the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, films that would have normally been censored because of sexual content had the privilege of unveiling their multiple dimensions, talents and cinematographic languages. Despite its masturbation scenes, the ADFF Best Narrative Film Award even went to Russian Aleksei Fedorchenko’s poetic Silent Souls. Being part of the editorial team of Nisimazine helped me witness this and indulge in other cinematographic pearls.

I'd been living and freelancing for different publications in the UAE since 2007, and had never read any good film critics.

All cinema interviews are dedicated to Bollywood or Hollywood stars because of the poor quality of films screened in the movie theatres. So Nisimazine has been for me more than a magazine. It has been a space to explore the world of cinema without any kind of barriers. And that is refreshing.

Pictures by TINA REMIZ

NISIMAZINE ABU DHABI

spotlight

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You can read all coverage from Abu Dhabi on the website www.nisimazine.eu