TOP STORY
GFF DAILY
Day 03 - April 12, 2012
Bahraini filmmakers hope to break stereotypes and raise awareness
By Qudsiya Siddiqui
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he Bahraini film industry comprises of budding independent film makers whose films deals with realistic issues. With the cinema slowly expanding its foundation, there are more than ten Bahraini films being showcased at the 5th edition of the Gulf Film Festival. Ammar Abdulla Al Kooheji is the director of Sokoon; a film where women are the central characters living in a male-dominated society and overcome their problems together. The film showcases the basic human rights which women are deprived of. He says, “For a woman, there is no question about nationality or religion, each woman should be respected.” When questioned about the challenges he faced in making the film, he said, “There was no support from Bahrain, I made the short-film on my own personal finance, so that was my biggest challenge.” The new generation of storytellers who with their talent and skills used hands- on filmmaking, are two
young Bahraini women filmmakers Noora Kamal and Aisha Almuqla. They directed a 2.5 minute silent film – ‘Movement [Ta7reek]’, where they experimented with exaggerated comedy to showcase how family and society controls an individual’s decisions in life. Noora Kamal says, “Being a filmmaker in Bahrain is considered as a hobby or just an activity, not accepted as a career.” Presenter Aisha Almuqla added, “With our movie we wanted to show that one should be proud of their culture, and be open-minded when it comes to making decisions in life.” With the lack of production houses in the country, many Bahraini filmmakers self-finance their projects. Noora Kamal said, “We had immense support from family and friends. While one held lights, the other a camera and helped us setup for the film, all personally financed.” The Bahraini filmmakers are honored to be finalists to the Gulf Shorts competition Film Festival and making an excellent platform to showcase their talent and capability in producing films.
Still from Movement (Ta7reek), a 2.5 minute silent film which experiments with exaggerated comedy to showcase how family and society controls an individual’s decisions.
Parveen Aman, Actress of Sokoon Photocredits: Hileri Bilakhia
Click here to meet the filmmakers
“Nothing is eternal; everything ends” – Aisha Abdullah
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Aisha Abdulla, director of ‘beginning. End’ - Gulf Shorts Features Photocredits: Lizelle Rodrigues ORGANIZER:
isha Abdullah’s short film ‘Beginning. End’ focuses on the immortality of human life of how there is a beginning and an end attached to it. The film is based on the life cycle demonstrating the phase of childhood till death. The suggestion for the film was provided by the scriptwriter, Ahmad Zain. Storytelling has netted an impressive response so far, as it done through the usage of shadows. The story is depicted with the help of strong shadows that were difficult to achieve in the cloudy days of Abu Dhabi, where the film is shot. According to Aisha Abdullah, “The message we’re trying to send out through this film is that nothing is everlasting or eternal; everything has to end one day or the other. The example of human life makes it easy to demonstrate how an existence is obliterated someday or the other.” Aisha Abdullah is a passionate female filmmaker, who has won several awards such as first prize in the shorts category of the Al Nawa Media Awards in the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). MEDIA PARTNER:
Qatari cinema: opportunities and possibilities
Creative management in the film business
By Syeda Nawab Fathima
By Nazia Fatma
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atar is a land known little for its films. But judging by the young Qatari filmmakers at GFF, this is soon to change... Suzannah Mirghani, a filmmaker from Qatar is showcasing her first movie called Hamour at the festival. “It has been a wonderful experience. I had the opportunity not only showcase my movie but interact with film-makers from various regions.” she says. Hamour tells the story of Indian fishermen in Qatar, as expatriates’ form an integral part of the region. Qatari cinema has grown in the past few years and Suzannah credits this to the Doha Film School for inculcating a professional attitude towards filmmaking. Rezwan Al-Islam, an upcoming filmmaker says that making films is all
about the script and your eagerness to explore the possibilities. “As a filmmaker you will always have challenges. Shooting in the summer heat is not easy but we manage our time and still do it. We must overcome these challenges or we will lose the opportunity.” Rezwan and his classmate started their movie, A Falcon, A revolution as a class assignment and entered the festival, after hearing rave reviews from those who saw their work. Both filmmakers feel GFF is essential for serving as a platform to showcase the unique movies of young and upcoming filmmakers. “There are very few filmmakers who would make films not of popular demand but push the boundaries for more serious cinema. The best thing about GFF is the variety of movies. We have Indie movies rather than the popular blockbusters,” says Rezwan.
WORKSHOPS
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ngus Finney, established businessman in the London media markey conducted a workshop on creative management in film business on yesterday, 12 April.
Angus Finney highlights the element of business in entertainment Photocredits: Arathi Devadas
According to Finney, “Creative people should be treated way beyond the monetary and the commercial goals of any media industry”. He mentioned that writers, directors, and producers can be a source of creative people with each industry having their own source of creativity. Factors like ownership, responsibility, recognition and the organizational structure attract creative people. The management can encourage creativity by rewarding and requesting creativity. The structure of the organization is also very important because if you get it right, you will get new talent and loyalty Pixar, the animation firm is a true example of this. From the producer’s point of view, the individual must be good at creating and maintaining relations, protecting the talent and being a buffer with finances and creative elements. Due to the evolving online market, the distributors will be up for a challenge as it will cause the decline of the TV and the DVD market. This will change the way the movies are financed. Creative management is essential to the film business and the success of any movie.
ONE-ON-ONE
Filmmakers hope to propel local art scene with ‘Glitter dust’ By Samiha Naaz and Christine Cherian
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aty Chang and J.R Osborn, director and producer of ‘Glitter Dust: Finding Art in Dubai’ respectively share their experiences on the set of their feature–length documentary based in Dubai.
actually started filming the second day after we landed and it was a great experience. We learnt everything about the city in a week. J.R Osborn: I had been studying in the Middle East, Yemen and Jordan, but had never been to Dubai. When I did come here, I started off as a professor at the American University of Dubai. We noticed there were no stories about the art scene in Dubai, about the culture. We felt that it was important to capture the essence of art in Dubai. 2.Did you face any difficulty while filming in Dubai? J.O: The only difficulty we did face were the sandstorms, other than that everything went smoothly.
Producer J.R Osborn during a question and answer session
1.Your previous film ‘Nanjing Road’ was based in Shanghai. How was the journey from Shanghai to Dubai in terms of shooting Glitter Dust? Katy Chang: The journey from Shanghai to Dubai has been great! Dubai has helped us cultivate a lot of relationships while shooting the film. We had a lot of University students interning and assisting us during our shoot. In fact, everyone was surprised how our film was an independent film. We
3.What triggered you to make this film? KC: As the art scene in Dubai was not given much focus , through this feature – length documentary, we tried to bring out the art and culture of the Dubai. This is for all those art lovers out there, as well as for everyone else. There was no script as such for this movie. It was their own voice and story. 4.Your interest lies in filming food. Are you an avid cook too? KC: Yes! I love filming food. Cooking is something I’m passionate about and enjoy it. The fresh spices and different types of cuisine that I try out, the whole feel of cooking is just great!
WHAT’S NEXT? April 13, 2012 14:00-15:00 Meet the Filmmakers: Int’l Competition (Majlis room)
Filmmaker Katy Chang talks about her feature film “Gliter-Dust” Photocredit: Luvlyn Prem Ratnam
14:30-16:38 Gerard Courant: Cinematon #3 (Grand Festival Cinemas)
5.Do you plan on expanding your production studio? KC: Yes, definitely we are planning to expand. We are looking out for gallery space, as well as planning on having a kitchen. It is going to be more on a creative base.
23:55-02:00 Gulf Nights Forum: Behind the Scenes (Filmmakers Lounge)
6.What is your next project about? KC: My upcoming project is based on food. The project’s name is ‘Baba – Cooks’. It’s more on the personal level, since it is based on my father and how he survived the Great Chinese Famine, and overcame all the difficulties to become a chef.
11:00-12:00 Meet the Filmmakers: UAE (non-student) (Majlis room)
7.What advice can you offer budding filmmakers, especially students in the region? KC: There is a definite scope for the students to explore and make new movies. They need to look at things differently and tell a story through that.
April 14, 2012
13:15-14:15 Meet the Filmmakers: Oman & Yemen (Majlis room)
Catch the film screening today in Grand cinemas #10 @ 21:30-22:30
Publication by the Media and Communcations Department, Manipal University Dubai Executive Editors: Mr. Joseph John, Mr. Sabir Haque Technical In-Charge: Mr.Sambhram Pattanayak Managing Editor: Ms. Megna Kalvani Proofreader: Rabab Kazi Production Designer: Sneha Wadhwani