Nisimazine Abu Dhabi 2010

Abu Dhabi

Nisimazine Friday 22 October

‫ أكتوبر‬٢٢ ،‫اجلمعة‬

.»‫صحيفة مهرجانية تصدر عن ورشة للنقاد الشبان من تنظيم الشبكة الأوروبية لسينما الشبان «نيسي مازا‬

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#8/

A festival gazette published in the framework of a workshop for young critics by NISI MASA, European network of young cinema

‫افتتاحية‬

‫تقرير من وراء عدسة الكاميرا‬

EDITORIAL

by Tina Remiz, aged 21 (Latvia/UK)

From behind the lens

‫ال كتبه مصور على‬ ً ‫يندر أن تقرأ مقا‬ ‫ لكن مهرجان أبو‬.‫الصفحة األولى لمجلة‬ ‫ظبي السينمائي مهرجان غير اعتيادي من‬ .‫نواح عديدة‬

It doesn’t happen too often that you find an article written by a photographer on the front page of a magazine, but then the Abu Dhabi Film Festival is unusual in many ways.

،‫ نحن المصورين‬،‫قد يصدف أن ترانا‬ ‫نحمل حقيبة ثقيلة ملئى بأجهزة التصوير‬ ‫أو تلمحنا متخفين وراء الكاميرا للحظات‬ .‫قبل أن يعميك ضوء فالش الكاميرا‬ ‫غالبًا لن تتذكر وجوهنا لكن الصور التي‬ ‫أخذناها ستصبح بالنسبة لك مادة بصرية‬ ‫ بعد بضعة‬.‫تعكس ذكرياتك عن الحدث‬ ‫ عندما تحاول تذكر مهرجان أبو‬،‫أشهر‬ ‫ظبي السينمائي ستتفاجأ بأن ما سيبقى في‬ ‫ذاكرتك هو صور صحفية كانت قد لفتت‬ .‫انتباهك‬

You might have seen us carrying heavy bags of equipment or hiding behind the camera just before the flash-light blinds you for a moment. You will probably not remember our faces, but the photographs we take will soon become the visuals of your memories about the event. A few months later, trying to recall what the Abu Dhabi Film Festival looked like you will be surprised to find yourself thinking of one press image or another that grasped your attention. With an extensive programme of events running parallel in separate venues throughout the day, we offer you an opportunity to see more than what one person possibly could on their own. We become your eyes, and this is a great responsibility which we take with pride.

‫بما أن هنالك العديد من النشاطات التي‬ ‫تجري في ذات الوقت في أماكن مختلفة‬ ‫ نوفر لك فرصة لتشاهد عددًا‬،‫طوال اليوم‬ ‫من النشاطات التي يعجز شخص واحد‬ ،‫ نصبح أعينك‬.‫عن مشاهدتها لوحده‬ .‫وهي مسؤولية كبيرة نفخر بتحملها‬ ‫إن العراك الذي نخوضه على أطراف‬ ‫السجادة الحمراء الحتالل موقع أفضل‬ ‫نستطيع من خالله التقاط نظرة أو طيف‬ ‫ابتسامة أو أي صورة أفضل من صور‬ ‫ لتسنح لنا‬...‫جيراننا هو عرض بحد ذاته‬ ‫فرصة التقاط بورتريه أقرب للحقيقة وغير‬ .‫سطحية؟ هذا كان هدفي بداية المهرجان‬ ‫وقد تعلمت منه درسًا مهمًا وهو أننا غير‬ ‫مطالبون في أغلب األحيان بتوثيق الواقع‬ ‫وإنما أن نخلق صورة أخرى مصطنعة‬ .‫الجمال تثير إعجاب الجمهور‬

‫فيلم اليوم‬

FILM OF THE DAY /

The regular battles on the fringes of the red carpet can become spectacles of their own - fights for a better spot ‘on the gold’, for a passing glance or a glimpse of a smile, for the chance to take a picture better than your neighbour’s... For an opportunity to take a more truthful portrait looking beneath the surface? This was my firm objective at the beginning of the festival, and it was an important lesson to learn that we are often not asked to document reality, but to create yet another artificially beautiful image for the public to admire.

Here Comes the Rain

Bahij Hojeij, Lebanon, 2010 - Narrative competition

F

ilms about returning home after a long absence sometimes make us feel a bit uncomfortable, like an uninvited guest at the family table. But Here Comes the Rain avoids the cliché of tearful and pathetic reunions.

Bahij Hojeij's second feature depicts the return of Ramez to his loved ones, after he got kidnapped and spent time behind bars. Condescension is set aside; the children he left 20 years before have become adults and lead their lives normally, accustomed to his absence, as if he were still away. The remarkable mise en scene reveals subtle and sincere performances, which let the music express the states of minds of the characters and the spirit of the movie.

In Lebanon, cases of disappearance are commonplace; whatever political parties victims belong to, imprisonment may last months, years, decades or a lifetime. Absence causes a rupture of the family unit and a dichotomy between oneself and reality. Depending on the length of sentences and disappearances, prisons can become strange comfort zones where prisoners develop a new way of being in order to survive. Returning home shakes up the parameters of that state of mind; Ramez develops an obsession with bags.

He collects and stores them in different places. The small and medium ones go to the drawer of the kitchen cabinet, the big ones lie in a suitcase placed under the marital bed, and he cleans the dirty ones.

This derision shows that, for a loving family, it doesn't really matter how the exprisoner adapts himself to reality – the essential thing is having him back. The patience and tolerance of Marie also underline this.

With Here Comes the Rain, the filmmaker lets us witness a family reunification without going through a stormy melodrama, and that's refreshing.

by Samira Mesbahi aged 34 (France)

REVIEW /

‫تعقيب‬ The Furious Force of Rhymes

www.nisimazine.eu PICTURE OF THE DAY /

This strange obsession is endearing. During a moment of tenderness, a hug, his wife Marie asks him if he needs anything and he says: “Do you any other bag left?”

22/10 Cinestar 8 06:45 PM

Besides our daily at the festival in print, you can also find all our coverage online at

‫صورة اليوم‬ Joshua Atesh Litle USA, 2010 New Horizons

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Photo by TINA REMIZ

as Hip-Hop first born in the USA, or in Africa? No one knows. Joshua Atesh Litle travels across the world to discover all the different rap cultures, and finds that they form a universal language. It seems that rappers are the new Babylonians. We follow the director through the Bronx, the suburbs of St-Denis in Paris, Berlin, Palestine and finally Dakar in Senegal. How and why have such diverse countries encountered the same music, the same rhythms and the same rhymes? The conclusions are quite abstract. The fact that Hip-Hop came from the USA to France through a radio and TV show in the 80s doesn’t explain everything. The link between the different countries is most of the time a visual more than a truly rational one. For example the drawing of a Palestinian flag on the

22/10 Cinestar 2

Looking back

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)‫ اسبانيا‬/‫ تينا رميز (لبنان‬: ‫بقلم‬

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06:45 PM

Berlin Wall brings us to Palestinian hip-hop. But even this choice could have been interesting if it was followed through in the whole film, because sometimes a link is totally missing.

The most interesting part is certainly the beginning about the 70s in the Bronx, with great archive material. It would have been better to see and learn more about this, because what follows isn’t as interesting. In a nutshell, rap culture allows the outcasts, the oppressed and the delinquents to express their rage and their passion. Nothing new. Unfortunately, the only counterpoint given is gritty 70s films against today’s MTV videos, and the latter is over-represented.

by Elisabeth Renault-Geslin aged 23 (France)

INTERVIEW /

‫مقابلة‬

REVIEW /

‫تعقيب‬

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Directors of Kings of Pastry D.A.Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus (France/Netherlands/UK/USA) - Showcase

How Bitter My Sweet!

Mohammed Soueid, Lebanon, U.A.E., 2009 Documentary Competition

Photo by TINA REMIZ

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friend once told me that the Lebanese are absurd people; they all love Lebanon but hate each other.

Reading the title of Lebanese filmmaker Mohamed Soueid’s film Bahibbak ya wahesh (How Bitter my Sweet!) - which literally translates into “I love you, you monster” - brought that comment back to my mind.

Filmmakers D.A.Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus have always been fascinated by individual success stories. They followed Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, and made a film about composer Elliott Carter as he directed his “Double Concerto”, amongst many others.

For their new work Kings of Pastry they decided to enter the kitchen of the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (Best Craftsmen of France) competition and be the first to get an exclusive permission to follow its competitors.

Kings of Pastry is very different from the films you’ve done so far. Why this switch?

Chris Hegedus: Kings of Pastry has a combination of styles. In it we still follow a person that nobody knows who is really passionate about something, and through a real-life event that has a lot of drama in it. Some of the stylistic vehicles might have been different because the pastry competition that we shot, which was a three-day competition, nobody had been allowed to watch or even film it [before].

So the rules were very strict, we were not allowed to use any additional mics or lights. It's different from the more voiceover type of narration; the fact that it was a bilingual film created certain problems.

D.A. Pennebaker: I don’t think the result comes so much from interviews. People talk to us, and we always welcome people talking to us, but if somebody doesn’t want to it’s fine. I don’t think of us as “flies on the wall”, I think that we have been sort of taken on by the people we are filming and allowed to be part of the group.

The way you actually shot it feels different...

Ch: Most of the films we have done are actually character-driven, just like this one.

We see somebody taking a big risk in their life and we follow this real-life drama to see if they can stand up to the pressures they are putting themselves under - and also the pressures of being filmed, because having a camera watch you for months going, through something that is very important to you, shows a strength of character that not everybody can stand.

Pn: You know, I think that most of the people we film, like politicians or musicians, don’t have to explain what they do to anybody... but here we have a person who does something very special, and in a very special way. Without asking any questions, he just told us. We never really interviewed anybody in that sense, [except] at the very end, when we wanted to know what happened during the actual contest.

Ch.: I think that the similarities between our films and fiction films is that a lot of our scripts are really written in the editing. During the filming of real-life events, you are filming what happens so there is kind of a linear aspect to it. It’s in the editing that you use your creative juices and try to make a story that has drama.

Although it is a real event, it is an act of your imagination.

Pn: We do not even have a preference of what we want people to do, we do not direct them to begin with. We have to figure out what are they going to do and then we follow them - they are always the leaders, not us. In the editing, that is when you make theatre out of it. Real life has to be turned into theatre, to be entertaining.

What do you think about the videos people put on YouTube which are also observational? How do you compare them to these kinds of documentaries?

Pn: Well, I haven’t seen many of them. I have seen the “dancing dog” and things like that, which are beautifully observational, but I think there is a difference between an observational video and a balanced scene as the ones we are trying to make. A scene is an element of a film: a crucial element which has to have its own kind of drama and balance. It has to be complete and to find an ending, before it goes to the next scene. In general you establish a meaning, or an importance, by the cut [...] you don’t necessarily understand it as a scene while you shoot it.

In his film, Soueid introduces six colourful and diverse characters from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Sudan who only have two things in common: they all live in Lebanon and none of them are particularly happy.

Through their stories, Soueid sheds light on Lebanese society, its political turmoil and relationship with its neighbours and foreign immigrants. It gives very little background information though, so unless you are familiar

22/10 Cinestar 8

22/10 Cinestar 4

07:00 PM

‫الرجاء زيارة موقعنا اإللكتروني‬

* www.nisimazine.eu *

‫لالطالع على مدونة الفيديو وغيرها من املواد املتعلقة باملهرجان‬

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Soueid organized the content of his interviews in several thematic sections. He then randomly marked these sections with sometimes functional and at other times creative titles like Knock Knock in contrast with Neighborhood and On the Road. While this gives a reportage feel to the film, it also allows the viewers to listen and decide for themselves what they think.

While How Bitter my Sweet! offers little new information, it is a good discussion generator, so if you choose to attend its screening at the Abu Dhabi film festival make sure not to miss the Q&A session.

by Nadia Muhanna aged 26 (Syria)

01:00 PM

REVIEW /

‫تعقيب‬

Jane's Journey

Lorenz Knauer, Germany, 2010 – What in the World Are We Doing to Our World?

J

by Nadia Muhanna and Laila Hotait Salas

with Lebanon’s political and social ups and downs, How Bitter my Sweet! is likely to leave you a bit confused.

ane Goodall might be very famous in the West, but in Abu Dhabi “Jane who?” is the most common answer you get when inviting anyone to attend Lorenz Knauer’s film about the British activist. That’s why screening Jane’s Journey at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival is particularly important.

The film follows the life of Goodall, her transformation from chimpanzee expert to environmental, human and animal rights activist, and her landmark achievements in these fields.

Jane’s Journey is beautifully shot, with great humour and such amazing sound recording that you almost feel the animals sitting right next to you. All the typical documentary film elements are there: old photos, home video footages, testimonies of family and friends.

The film, however, doesn’t delve into Goodall’s personality. Instead, it represents a well-polished, almost idealistic image of the United Nations Messenger of Peace. It’s probably best described as a curriculum vitae of her achievements, with a very well-done cover letter and great references. This might not be very interesting for western audiences already familiar with Goodall’s projects, but for a distant audience like that of the Middle East, this film is an entertaining, informative and efficient account of a great activist’s journey.

22/10 Abu Dhabi Theater 03:30 PM

by Nadia Muhanna aged 26 (Syria)

‫تعقيب‬

FOCUS /

‫بقعة ضوء‬

‫بوليوود‬

‫سينما الهند التى أوشكت التخلى عن الغناء والرقص‬

to her absence. The film is cleanly shot, and the confidently constructed scenes are indicative of real filmmaking potential. Unfortunately, ‘Son’ is such a passive and unlikable character, (played by Daniel Arzrouni with a total lack of inner life), that sympathy for his predicament turns to disinterest. The tortoise pace palls and several tiresome longueurs (notably an unedifying gorging scene) see proceedings become more whingey than whimsical. That said, there may be an element of cultural misunderstanding in my response to the character, and it’s probable he will be more recognisable to local audiences.

He takes to his newfound freedom in fits and starts, careful not to alert neighbours

by Michael O'Regan aged 29 (Ireland) 22/10 Abu Dhabi Theater 09:15 PM

REVIE W /

‫تعقيب‬

‫ونجد من بين الخمسة أفالم الهندية المعروضة فى‬ ،‫ فيلمان تم إنتاجهما مع دول أوروبية‬،‫المهرجان‬ ‫مثل "ميرال" للمخرج جوليان شنابل – فى المسابقة‬ ‫ فالفيلم إنتاج مشترك بين الهند وفرنسا‬-‫الرسمية‬ ‫ ويضم مجموعة من نجوم السينما العالمية‬،‫وإيطاليا‬ ‫ وهناك الفيلم‬،‫ وعمر متولى‬،‫مثل فانيسا ريدجريف‬ ‫ فهو إنتاج‬، Pink Saris ‫الوثائقى "سارى زهرى" أو‬ ‫ وفى المقابل يوجد ثالثة‬..‫مشترك بين الهند وإنجلترا‬ "‫ مثل فيلم "العنزة العذراء‬،‫أفالم إنتاج هندى خالص‬ .‫ إخراج مورالى نايير‬Virgin Goat

‫ فهى ال تزال‬،‫لم تفقد سينما بوليوود جمهورها بعد‬ ،‫ عام‬96 ‫ علي مدار أكثر من‬،‫تحتفظ بقوتها وتميزها‬ ‫وتحديدًا منذ اول فيلم صامت "راجا هايشادرا" إنتاج‬ ‫ وأول فيلم ناطق "اضواء الدنيا" عام‬، 1913 ‫عام‬ .1932

‫وتنتج الهند أكثر ما يقرب من ألف فيلم فى العام‬ ‫ وذلك حسب تاكيد الناقدة والمبرومجة الهندية‬،‫الواحد‬ ‫ فيلم ناطق باللغة‬200 ‫ من بينهم‬،"‫"أوما دا كونها‬ ‫ نسبة‬- ‫ فيلم ناطق باللغة البوليوودية‬30‫ و‬،‫الهندية‬ ‫إلى مدينة بومباي‬

from Autograph

A

variously caustic and affectionate portrayal of life in Tripoli, Ok, Enough, Goodbye (Tayeb, Khalas, Yalla) is the debut feature of Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia, who signal their intent to cast sociological judgement by naming their principal characters ‘Son’ and ‘Mother’. ‘Son’, a 40-year-old bachelor, runs a pâtisserie, and spends his evenings playing cards with ‘Mother’, with whom he shares a bedroom. Frustrated by his ongoing failure to find a wife, ‘Mother’ abandons ‘Son’ by moving to Beirut, leaving him independent for the first time in his life.

‫فال‬..‫ح مل السينما الهندية طابعًا خاصًا‬ ‫ وهذا‬،‫يخلو أى فيلم من الغناء والرقص‬ ‫ ويجعلها تتفوق علي الكثير‬،‫ما قد يميزها‬ ‫خاصة وأنها تعد واحدة من أكبر وأهم‬.. .‫صناعات السينما فى العالم‬

‫ فإن الحكومة الهندية تدعم السينما‬،‫ولالسف الشديد‬ ‫ حسب ما قالته‬- ‫ وهى نسبة ضئيلة جدًا‬،‫ فقط‬5% ‫ب‬ ‫ الف دوالر فقط فى العام‬500 ‫"اوما" – اى ما يعادل‬ ..‫الواحد‬ ‫ورغم ذلك نجد أن العديد من شركات اإلنتاج‬ ‫ هى القائمة علي إنجاح صناعة‬،‫السينمائى الكبرى‬ ‫ فهذه الشركات باتت تدرك جيدًا‬.‫السينما فى الهند‬ ‫ ضرورة عمل أفالم‬-‫– خاصة فى الفترة االخيرة‬ ،‫تحمل قصصًا تعكس الحياة اإلجتماعية فى الهند‬ "‫وربما ظهر ذلك فى أفالم مثل "المليونير المتشرد‬ ‫ والذين قدموا صورة‬،"‫ وفيلم "إسمى خان‬،2008 ‫عام‬ ‫ حيث أصبح المنتجين وكبري‬،‫واقعية للمجتمع الهندى‬ ‫ يستغنون عن تقديم القصص‬،‫شركات االنتاج فى الهند‬ .‫ والتى ال تخلو أبدًا من الغناء والرقص‬،‫التافهة‬

from Virgin Goat

Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia, Lebanon, 2010 – New Horizons

‫ت‬

‫وفى الدورة الرابعة من مهرجان الشرق األوسط‬ ،‫ ثمة مشاركة مميزة من السينما الهندية‬،‫السينمائى‬ ‫ موزعة‬، ‫حيث عرض فيه مايقرب من خمسة أفالم‬ ‫ وعروض‬،‫ما بين مسابقة االفالم الروائية والوثائقية‬ ..‫السينما العالمية‬

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Ok, Enough, Goodbye

Varon Bonicos, UK, 2010 - Documentary Competition

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Man’s Story is an inoffensive and inessential videography of the life and times of men’s fashion designer Oswald Boateng. The director, Varon Bonicos, Boateng’s in-house hagiographer, is already responsible for two television documentaries about the designer, and has spent more than a decade trailing his subject.

Boateng is something of a cult figure in the British fashion firmament. The son of first generation Ghanaian immigrants, he grew up in post-Brixton riots London. After leaving school he began an unlikely meteoric rise as a suit maker that lead to him becoming the first black, and the youngest man, ever to own their own store on the legendary Savile Row.

22/10 Cinestar 1 03:30 PM

The film, however, introduces him at his lowest ebb in 1998, after a failed Far East expansion and a painful divorce have left him in dire financial and emotional straights.

Boateng, a cocky but surprisingly likable character, shows admirable persistence and self-belief in rebuilding his empire, an achievement that results in an invitation to become the creative director of Givenchy, as well as the opportunity to ‘break’ America.

Episodic, self-indulgent, and shot like a late ‘90s music video, A Man’s Story provides its subject with a first-rate home movie; whether it holds much appeal for a general audience remains to be seen.

by Michael O'Regan aged 29 (Ireland)

from Pink Saris

‫ متفوقة على السينما فى‬،‫وتبدو السينما البوليودية‬ ‫ ربما ألن هناك أكثر من عشرة ماليين‬،‫هوليوود‬ ‫ من بينهم نجوم السينما – يعتمدون بشكل‬- ‫هندى‬ ‫ وذلك لكون األفالم الهندية‬،‫كبير على صناعة السينما‬ .‫تحظى بأكبر نسبة متابع ومشاهدة فى العالم‬

A Man's Story

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REVIE W /

‫ نسرين الزيات‬: ‫بقلم‬

EMIRATI AND SHORT FILM WINNERS ANNOUNCED LAST NIGHT! EMIRATES COMPETITION WINNERS Short Narratives

Best Short Narrative (1st Prize) GHEAMT SHROOG by Ahmed Zain (UAE) Best Short Narrative (2nd Prize) ONE MORE DAY by Chaker Ben Ahmed (Bahrain) Best Short Narrative (3rd Prize) – NIGHT GUARD by Fadel Al Muhairi (UAE) Jury Prize –­ CLOTHESLINE by Essa Al Janahi (UAE) Best Emirati Short – SHHH by Hafsa Al Mutawa and Shamma Abu Nawas (UAE) Best Scriptwriter – GHEAMT SHROOG by Ahmed Zain (UAE) Best Cinematographer – DAKEN by Bader Al-Homoud (Saudi Arabia)

Short Documentaries

First Prize – THE QUEEN by Hadi Shuaib (UAE) Second Prize – COASTAL LAWS by Ebrahim Rashid Al-Dosari (Bahrain) Jury Prize – OF FISH & MEN by Rola Shamas (UAE)

Student Short Narratives

Best Student Short Narrative (First Prize) – SHHH by Hafsa Al Mutawa, Shamma Abu Nawas (UAE) Best Student Short Narrative (Second Prize) – LOVE YOU, Champs ElysÉes by Mahdi Ali Ali (Qatar) Best Student Short Narrative (Jury Prize) – NEW CINDERELLA by Eva Daoud (UAE)

Student Short Documentaries

Best Student Short Documentary (First Prize) – LADY OF THE ROSARY

by Sarah Rougani and Shorooq Shaheen (Qatar)

Best Student Short Documentary (Second Prize) – PETTY DREAMS by Tariq Al Makki (Qatar) Best Student Short Documentary (Jury Prize) – ME IN MY COUNTRY by Shorooq Shaheen (Qatar)

Emirates Script Competition

Best Script (First Prize) EBNAT AL QADR by Mohammed Al Hammadi Best Script (Second Prize) – MAKTOOB by Amal Abdulla Best Script (Third Prize) – FAN ATLINTIGA by Fatma Al Mazrouei

SHORT FILM COMPETITION WINNERS

Best Narrative Short – ALBUM by Shiraz Fradi (Tunisia) Special Jury Mention (Short Narrative) – RITA by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza (Italy) Best Documentary Short – THE CITY WITH A DIRTY FACE by Peter King (United Kingdom) and CINEMA AZADI by Mehdi Torfee (Iran) Best Short from the Arab World – THE LAST PASSENGER by Mounes Khammar (Algeria) Best Animated Short – TORD & TORD by Niki Lindroth Von Bahr (Sweden) Best Student Short (First Prize) – THE FIFTH COLUMN by Vatche Boulghourjian (Lebanon) Best Student Short (Second Prize)– THE BIRTHDAY by Luiza Pârvu (Romania) Best Student Short (Third Prize) – DEAF ROCK N'ROLL by Cristian Pascariu (Romania)

Photo by TINA REMIZ

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ENCOUNTER

Peter 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 Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

For this very special interview of our last issue, the whole Nisimazine team gathered with the head of the festival in a hidden-away room of the Emirates Palace, where he recounted his early days entering into the world of cinema and revealed his aims for the ADFF.

H

ow did you end up running a film festival?

That’s a long story. I started out studying French literature at NYU; I had no particular interest in film.

After college I drove a delivery truck, tended bar.

When my grandmother died and left me a little money I went to Europe, hitchhiked to Paris, and the last car to pick me up was a director who told me to go to the Cinémathèque Française.

I saw a Louis Feuillade film in which a bunch of jewel thieves hide a haul in the bell tower of a church. At Sunday Mass the sexton rings the bell and the jewels fall down and I thought it was incredible. I started to go to the Cinémathèque more and more.

Later, a friend of mine was publishing a book by Giorgio di Chirico, and he offered me a job typing the manuscript. This guy had an addiction to film, and he could tell me anything I wanted to know.

I went back to New York, and ran into a guy I knew at college. As it happened, he had just started a company with a friend, and they needed someone to help run the office. They decided to make a documentary on the architect Buckminster Fuller out West, and they left me in New York, and sent the film to me to have it processed. But I couldn’t figure out how to sync the sound. They gave me a contact named ‘T’ to call if I had any problems. I

became friends with her, and through her I learned about another guy working in the same building as me. That was Martin Scorsese, and she was Thelma Schoonmaker.

35 years later, when I was made director of the Cinémathèque Française, all of a sudden I could remember that Feuillade film I had seen so long before. I think running a film festival is the task of bringing people to worship, and then surprising them by pouring jewels down upon them.

Then, a guy from the San Francisco Film Festival asked me to help out for a couple of weeks; I stayed for 19 years. I never intended to become a festival director but I’ve done it for a long time now, and I still enjoy it. I ran the Tribeca Film Festival for six years.

My wife is Iranian, so I became more interested in this part of the world (the Middle East). So when Abu Dhabi offered me this job I thought ‘great’!

How long do you plan to stay with the ADFF? I’ve signed a five year contract, and I’ve no interest in going anywhere else.

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 art-house cinema. I think movies are our last chance of understanding that it’s stupid to fear people that you don’t know. If we watch movies about each other’s lives we have a much better chance of getting on.

Nisimazine ABU DHABI 22. 10. 2010 / # 8 A gazette published by the association N I S I M A S A with the support of the Abu Dhabi Film festival

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ABU DHABI FILM FESTIVAL

Peter Scarlet

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.

I also want to make people feel at home. That’s why I always try to be here, even if sometimes it is impossible. If you invite people to your cinema, you should be there. Would you invite people for dinner and not be there? I do this to make people feel welcome, part of an event, get all the parties involved and create a space where people want to meet each other. I want everyone to have an experience together.

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.

Great movies are made by people who have different kinds of experiences. I am at a point now that I think one of the big problems in the industry is that movies are made by film students. So all they know is other films instead of different perspectives on life.

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 for example.

Already 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).

One thing that people forget about Hollywood is that it is an industry where everybody starts working in the mailroom, so you can’t say no to jobs.

‫ فريق التحرير‬/ EDITORIAL STAFF

‫ مدير التحرير‬/ Director of Publication: Matthieu Darras ‫ احملرر املسؤول‬/ Editor in Chief: Jude Lister ‫ ترجمة‬/ Translators: Nadia Muhanna ‫ التصميم وتنضيد الصفحات‬/ Design and Layout: Maartje Alders ‫ املساهمون‬/ Contributors: Nesreen El-zayat, Samira Mesbahi, Nadia Muhanna, Michael O’Regan, Tina Remiz, Elisabeth Renault-Geslin, Laila Hotait Salas, Fernando Vasquez.

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