Open skies | January 2012

t es b 's t ood plo w y e l hol st th w o ho r l o t ac

you talkin' to me

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CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

CHAIRMAN’S

MESSAGE W

hat a year 2011 was. The airline industry was one of many across the globe that was severely impacted by economic recessions and political unrest.

These are things airlines – or you, our passengers – cannot always plan for. We do our best to minimise their effect on our lives but the reality is that we do not have the power to stop them, we simply have the resilience and determination to weather them.

For Emirates, 2011 was a challenging year, but not one without its high points. Despite the global slowdown we did not halt our own growth plans, and nor do we plan to. We introduced services to Geneva, Copenhagen, St Petersburg, Basra and Baghdad. In March we announced record breaking full year financial results. At the Dubai Airshow in November we ordered 50 more Boeing 777s to accommodate our exciting expansion plans.

A growing fleet and network brings with it something else, something very important in an economic crisis – jobs. Emirates has recruited more than 3,500 people this year around the world. They join our team of employees whose hard work and dedication has propelled Emirates to become a world leader in aviation.

We are looking ahead to 2012 with optimism. We have the network, the aircraft and, importantly, the drive to

do so. In the next three months we are launching a further seven very exciting destinations – Rio, Buenos Aires and Dublin in January; Lusaka, Harare and Dallas in February and Seattle in March.

I have already planned my own trips to some of them. In the coming months we will be announcing even more new destinations and taking delivery of more brand new, state-of-the-art aircraft to ensure your journeys, whether to see loved ones, for vacation or business, are the most comfortable in the sky.

I would like to personally assure every one of our passengers that Emirates is committed to this. I wish you and your families a safe and prosperous 2012.

HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum is the Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline & Group 21

EDITOR’S LETTER

T

his issue, in case you haven’t guessed, is about movies. You see, we like movies a lot. My first trip to the cinema in 1990 involved (the now defunct) Stella in south Dublin and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Despite the lack of carpet, teenagers smoking and rather a lot of ripped up seats, that day began a love affair with the silver (or somewhat grubby, in the case of the Stella) screen.Which is why we are somewhat

perplexed by Robert De Niro’s fall from grace.

Once the king of the big screen, De Niro has not made a decent film since Heat in 1995.

Why? We had no idea, so we asked someone who did: The Observer’s film critic, Philip French. Of course, Hollywood isn’t the only game in town – there are emerging film industries around the world, none more so than Brazil. Yet has the success of City Of God pigeonholed its directors into the favela genre? We travelled south to find out.

Elsewhere we get an insider’s view of Bollywood – yes the all singing, all dancing, sometimes cringe-worthy – Indian film industry. We find out if the glitz and glamour fades the closer you get to its centre. We also take a look at some of the 20th century’s most iconic figures, in a series of intimate, unguarded poses that have become a part of celluloid history. Enjoy the issue.

CONOR@OPENSKIESMAGAZINE.COM

Emirates takes care to ensure that all facts published herein are correct. In the event of any inaccuracy please contact The Editor. Any opinion expressed is the honest belief of the author based on all available facts. Comments and facts should not be relied upon by the reader in taking commercial, legal, financial or other decisions. Articles are by their nature general and specialist advice should always be consulted before any actions are taken.

PO Box 2331, Dubai, UAE Telephone: (+971 4) 282 4060 Fax:(+971 4) 282 4436 Email: emirates@motivate.ae

84,649 COPIES Printed by Emirates Printing Press, Dubai, UAE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Obaid Humaid Al Tayer GROUP EDITOR & MANAGING PARTNER Ian Fairservice GROUP SENIOR EDITOR Gina Johnson • gina@motivate.ae SENIOR EDITOR Mark Evans • marke@motivate.ae EDITOR Conor Purcell • conor@motivate.ae DESIGNER Roui Francisco • rom@motivate.ae CHIEF SUB EDITOR Iain Smith • iains@motivate.ae STAFF WRITER Matthew Priest EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Londressa Flores SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGER S Sunil Kumar PRODUCTION MANAGER C Sudhakar GENERAL MANAGER, GROUP SALES Anthony Milne • anthony@motivate.ae BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Nicola Hudson • nicola@motivate.ae SENIOR ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER Jaya Balakrishnan jaya@motivate ae ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER Murali Narayanan ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER Shruti Srivastava EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS FOR EMIRATES: Editor: Siobhan Bardet Arabic Editor: Hatem Omar Deputy Editor: Stephanie Byrne Website • emirates.com. CONTRIBUTORS: Wael Al Sayegh, Dorothy Gambrell, HG2, Gemma Correll, Phil Oh, Tom O’Malley, DJ Yoda, Justin Cowgill, Philip French, Naman Ramachandran, Demetrios Matheou, Edward McGowan, Axis Maps, COVER ILLUSTRATION by Filip Peraić MASTHEAD DESIGN by Quint • www.quintdubai.com

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CONTENTS

JANUARY 2012

WE GET THE INSIDE TRACK ON CHINA’S ATTEMPTS TO BECOME A GLOBAL MOVIE PLAYER (P30)... THE WORLD’S BEST FILM FESTIVALS GET THE CHANCE TO TAKE PART IN TWITTER PITCH (P34)... THE RITZ MAY BE ONE OF LONDON’S OLDEST HOTELS, BUT DOES IT LIVE UP TO THE HYPE? (P37)... WE MAP LAGOS IN NIGERIA, A CITY THAT MAY JUST SURPRISE YOU (P38) ... CUT AND PASTE MASTER DJ YODA GIVES US HIS TOP TEN FILM SOUNDTRACKS (P42)... THE OBSERVER’S FILM CRITIC, PHILIP FRENCH, COMES UP WITH A SOLUTION TO SAVE ROBERT DE

NIRO’S ACTING CAREER (P58)... A BOLLYWOOD SCREENWRITER RECOUNTS HIS EXPERIENCES AT THE HEART OF THE BIGGEST MOVIE INDUSTRY IN THE WORLD (P68)... BRAZILIAN CINEMA IS ABOUT MORE THAN THE FAVELA. WE EXPLORE THE STRUGGLES THAT THE COUNTRY’S FILM-MAKERS ARE FACING (P76)... CLASSIC, INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF SOME OF THE 20TH CENTURY’S MOST ICONIC MOVIE

STARS FROM PAUL NEWMAN TO MARILYN MONROE (P84)...

24

CONTRIBUTORS

PHILIP FRENCH: The Observer’s film critic since 1978, he was named the British Press Awards Critic of the Year in 2009. He has written a number of books on film and also worked as a BBC radio producer.

TOM O’MALLEY: A Beijing-based writer who has worked for the Guardian, Travel + Leisure, CNNGo and the South China Morning Post, covering everywhere from Mongolia and Indonesia to China.

NAMAN RAMACHANDRAN: He has worked as a film critic, producer and writer of TV shows, music videos and Bollywood movies. He has written a book on Bollywood, Lights, Camera, Masala!

DEMETRIOS MATHEOU: The author of Faber’s New South American Cinema, he has also written for the Independent on Sunday, the Guardian, the Observer and Sight & Sound. He currently lives in London.

JON RONSON: A Welsh journalist, writer and film-maker whose books include The Men Who Stare At Goats and The Psychopath Test. He also produces a BBC Radio 4 show, Jon Ronson On... which has been nominated for numerous awards.

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INTRO P. 30 • BEIJING CELLULOID

P. 32 • genres graphed

P. 38 • lagos mapped

P.49 • JON RONSON’S TRAVELS

’S NEW YORTK FINES

PEEP WE STREET MOST ’S N MANHAT TA TS LE RESIDEN FASHIONAB

P50

29

OUR MAN IN

BEIJING

CHINA’S FILM INDUSTRY IS GROWING FAST, BUT MANY PROBLEMS REMAIN

I

t began as a barely audible flicker, a tremble in a Jurassic Park water cup rising slowly to a marching crescendo… crunch, crunch, crunch.

It’s the sound of millions of newly affluent, popcorn-munching Chinese cinema goers. Multiplexes are set to triple in China between 2010 and 2015, which is music to Hollywood’s ears. To China, it’s the increasingly vital heartbeat of an industry it hopes will one day wield on a global scale the sort of soft power the US has exerted so effectively over the decades. But put the brakes on for a second. What was the last Chinese film you saw that didn’t involve high kicks and colourful costumes? How many Chinese movie stars are on the tip of your tongue? The dragon might have awoken, but it’s barely rubbed the sleep from its eyes. So what is on the cards for Chinese cinema? The market on the mainland remains regulated and inward looking. In 2011, no less than 28 big-budget epics were promoted by the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television to mark the 90th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. It began with the Great Revival, a lavish, star-studded epic, that reportedly banked $67

million, but netizens were a-chatter about the fudging of box office figures, and frankly, there was nothing much else to watch. Harry Potter was delayed, the Hogwarts Express idling at Kings Cross for two weeks longer than scheduled. Transformers 3 , was similarly held back. It went on to rack up $170 million. Gun-toting CGI robots versus speechifying and political dogma – hardly a fair fight. Which is why, the Chinese claim, they need their quota system – only 20 foreign films are permitted into cinemas each year. But whilst this may afford some protection against the Hollywood juggernaut, it contributes to lazy film-making, according to Simon Fowler, author of 101 Essential Chinese Movies. “If all Hollywood blockbusters are swept aside before the release of a major Chinese film then it doesn’t put much pressure on commercial filmmakers to compete.”But one way Chinese films are looking to shine is foreign star power. Flowers Of War, the epic tale of the Nanjing massacre directed by China’s greatest living director, Zhang Yimou , stars Christian Bale, with the dialogue split between Chinese and English. Meanwhile, Keanu Reeves arrived in Beijing

recently to work on his directorial debut, martial arts flick Man Of Tai Chi . A genuine collaboration between Chinese and US production companies, this film has star pull, and it leapfrogs the quota system, meaning that if all goes well, this collaborative model may become a regular fixture.

But if the Chinese film industry is to start showing genuine creative clout internationally, where is this going to come from? “There needs to be a middle ground,” insists Fowler. “China gives us mainstream, kung-fu steeped period epics that do well domestically, whilst the underground film makers are shooting stuff that only gets shown in European film festivals.” A young generation of auteur film-makers is emerging – directors like Lu Sheng and Lixin Fan, make beautiful films that record in detail the shifting realities of life in China. But this talent needs to be nurtured and afforded the freedom to create the unexpected and the new.

South Korea is proof than an Asian country can do away with quotas and make movies that garner international acclaim. China needs foreign expertise, reinvention, and fewer restrictions. Whether this can happen any time soon remains to be seen.

Tom O’ Malley is a writer based in Beijing. You can follow him here: http://twitter.com/beijing_gourmet 30

ILLUSTRATION: DOROTHY GAMBRELL

GRAPH INFORMATION ELEGANCE

32

Movie Genres

33

ILLUSTRATION: CATARINA ATUNES

TWITTER PITCH

GLOBAL

FILM FESTIVALS Every month we profile a number of venues in a different city, country or continent. The catch? The companies must be on Twitter and must tell us in their own words what makes them so special. This month, we feature the world’s best film festivals. If you want to get involved, follow us at: www.twitter.com/openskiesmag

DIFF

Venice Biennale

Sydney Film Festival

The leading film festival in the Middle East,

Founded in 1932, we are the oldest film festival

Sydney Film Festival screens feature films,

Asia & Africa. An influential platform for Arab

in the world. Presenting the Leone d’Oro for the

documentaries & short films across two weeks

film-makers & talent at an international level.

best film at the festival.

every June. Check out www.sff.org.au for more info.

www.twitter.com/dubaifilm

www.twitter.com/la Biennale

www.twitter.com/sydfilmfest

SunDance

Arab Film Festival

We find, love and share the best independent

The Arab Film Festival screens films from

films in the world. We are presented by the

and about the Arab world. Showings in San

non-profit Sundance Institute.

Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose and LA.

www.twitter.com/sundancefest

www.twitter.com/arabfilmfest

34

BOOKED

PETER BISKIND — DOWN AND DIRTY PICTURES

P

eter Biskind is possibly the best film writer alive and all of his books on the industry are mustreads. This, his fourth book, covers the rise of independent cinema in the States and the disastrous attempts by the big studios to piggyback on the ‘indies’ success. Biskind not only knows his movies, he knows the players and it’s his access, and the resulting ‘fly on the wall’ dialogue that makes this book so rewarding.

His portraits are devastating, particularly those of Robert Redford whom he describes as a child, whose huge ego leaves him unaware of the damage he does to those around him. Redford, of course, set up the Sundance Film Festival, which Biskind claims lost the plot by the mid-nineties. Another target is Miramax, the powerhouse indie run by the terrifying Weinstein brothers.

Miramax proved that independent studios could exist and be successful commercially (they produced everything from Pulp Fiction to

Cinema Paradiso). Eventually, of course, Miramax sold out too, being bought out by Disney. And that, in some ways, is a metaphor for this book: how creativity sold its soul.

Simon & Schuster, 2004

ROOM

511

THE RITZ LOND ON

INTERNET SPEED: 100MB, $40 per day PILLOWS: Four IPOD DOCK: Yes CLUB SANDWICH DELIVERY TIME:

21 minutes COMPLIMENTARY SNACKS: Tea &

coffee, fresh fruit TOILETRY BRAND: Highgrove DAILY NEWSPAPER: Guest’s choice EXTRAS: CD/DVD player TV CHANNELS: 32 VIEW: 1/5 RATE: From $775 WWW.THERITZLONDON.COM

Aah, the Ritz. This is the London of royalty, of doormen with top hats, of Continental chic in the heart of the English capital. There is definitely a swagger about the place – its afternoon tea still attracts hordes of tourists who pile in, suited and booted, determined to soak up every ounce of the hotel’s atmosphere. The rooms are splendid, marrying old world Louis XVI charm with the latest technology. The rooms have an extremely cosy vibe: brass knobs on doors, delightful framed etchings and a lived in feel that puts most five-star hotels to shame. The downside? Well, the burly security staff are less than welcoming, consistently asking “are you a guest here, sir?” London exclusivity, it seems, has a rather stiff price.

37

MAPPED LAGOS

ERE ERE SURUI SURUI Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria, is well on its way to becoming a mega-city, and as such attracts a large share of the world’s commercial movers and shakers. Far from being just a business hub, however, Lagos prides itself on its contributions to art and culture. From developing music styles such as Nigerian hip-hop and Afrobeat, to its creation of the ‘Nollywood’ film industry, Lagos has it going on. Head here for all the hospitable delights of a well-connected city, alongside a burgeoning arts scene, sandy beaches, and plenty of shopping.

WWW.HG2.COM

BODE BODE THOMAS THOMAS RD RD

LAGLOASGBOAS BA DAGDRAYGRRDY RD

STJI ST UN ATJIUN OLAT OL

STR STREET E AL E EET BAAL BA APAPA APAPA

DI RD KINKKIRINI KRIR KAZUNA KAZUNA PLAZA PLAZA

AJEROMI-LFEODUN AJEROMI-LFEODUN

TIN CAN TIN CAN ISLAND ISLAND

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HOTELS 1. Bogobiri Guest House

2. Federal Palace Hotel

3. Sheraton Ikeja

4. Radisson Blu Anchorage

RESTAURANTS 5. Yellow Chilli

6. Saipan Restaurant and Bar

7. Rodizzio

8. La Pizza

LA

TTA ETTAETTA -ME TE-M TE-M UTE EBU EBU

S S S G G GO O O A A A L L L

TINBU TINBU TINBU SQUARE SQUARE SQUARE

POLICE POLICE POLICE BARACKS BARACKS BARACKS

IKOYI IKOYI IKOYI

LAGOS LAGOS LAGOS ISLAND ISLAND ISLAND

LEKKI LEKKI LEKKI PENINSULA PENINSULA PENINSULA

AGOS S LAGOON LAGOS LAGOON LAGOON

VICTORIA VICTORIA VICTORIA ISLAND ISLAND ISLAND

KURAMO KURAMO KURAMO WATERS WATERS WATERS ATLAS ATLAS ATLAS BEACH BEACH BEACH BARS / CLUBS 9. Chrome

10. Caliente

11. Liquid Lounge

12. Ember Creek

GALLERIES 13.Terra Kulture

14. Nike Arts Centre

15. Freedom Park Lagos

16. CCA Lagos

39

MAPPED LAGOS

HOTELS 1 BOGOBIRI GUESTHOUSE

Bogobiri plays host to a creative crowd from writers and musicians to royalty.

Its 16 rooms stay true to the ethos of the hotel as a space to present African music and art, with the decorations for sale.

2 FEDERAL PALACE HOTEL

3

One of the best business hotels in Lagos, the Federal Palace has a distinguished past as the venue for the signing of Nigerian independence.

Enjoy the spectacular views out to the Atlantic.

SHERATON IKEJA With a list of distinguished guests as long as its terraces, the Ikeja holds its own as a hot spot. Slick service, a great location, well-equipped rooms and a serious gym make this hotel a winner.

4 RADISSON BLU

RODIZZIO Perfect for a night out, this European-style restaurant offers classic meat dishes. Wash it down with cocktails and then make for the dance floor to round off your night in style.

8

ANCHORAGE For five-star Lagos luxury, make for the Radisson Blu’s memory foam mattresses, infinity pool and well-stocked Terrace Bar. The views of the Lagoon are amazing.

RESTAURANTS 5 YELLOW CHILLI

Known for serving the best Nigerian food in Lagos, Yellow Chilli is a favourite with locals as well as tourists. Its carbheavy menus are offset with delicacies from across the country.

6 SAIPAN RESTAURANT

AND BAR The most exclusive restaurant in town.

The rich and famous can be found feasting on an eclectic menu of European fusion.

Reservations required.

7

LA PIZZA Arrive at Manuela’s Residence and you’re likely to be greeted by one of the hotel’s peacocks before any official staff can reach you. The pizza is fantastic and makes this venue worth a visit.

BARS/CLUBS 9 CHROME

If you like things chic, Chrome is the place to head. The clientele are young and beautiful, and take turns posing on the dance floor. The drinks are expensive, but it’s worth a visit for the glam factor.

10 CALIENTE

As popular for its anonymous location as its blend of international R&B and Nigerian hiphop, this club is one for serious partying. Locals and visitors pack the rather small dance floor.

11 LIQUID LOUNGE

This club spills out over two floors. Start the night off by chilling with drinks in the downstairs Ice Lounge before heating things up at Fire Lounge on the top floor. Always busy, always fun.

12 EMBER CREEK

This renovated creekside villa packs in the locals with its relaxed vibe. With an outside bar backed by a plasma screen for sports fans and an open swimming pool for all, it’s a midweek favourite.

GALLERIES 13 TERRA KULTURE

Terra Kulture was founded to promote Nigerian culture, so the comprehensive gallery is supplemented by a bookshop, theatre, restaurant, and a popular al fresco bar.

40

14 NIKE ARTS CENTRE

Owned by local artist Nike Okundaye, the gallery in Lekki focuses on maintaining traditional arts such as quilt making and batik, whilst nurturing the talents of emerging Nigerian artists.

15 FREEDOM PARK LAGOS

A former colonial prison, the gallery and open-air amphitheatre are used to host exhibitions and arts events with high profile speakers in the beautiful garden surroundings dotted by fountains.

16 CCA LAGOS

The Centre for Contemporary Art hosts a wide variety of exhibitions and talks to get the mind whirring. Run by art connoisseur Bisi Silva, it pushes the development and discussion of contemporary Nigerian art.

WWW.RADO.COM

SKYPOD AWARD-WINNING SPINNER DJ YODA TAKES US THROUGH HIS FAVOURITE FILM SOUNDTRACKS

O BROTHER! WHERE ART THOU? One of my favourite films of all time, and the album that got me into country music and Americana. Also the reason I made How To Cut & Paste: The Country Edition. Pure art.

BATMAN I know Purple Rain is more universally accepted as the best Prince-scored movie soundtrack, but I have great memories of the time this movie came out, and I would play this soundtrack repeatedly – on cassette!

FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF

LORD OF THE RINGS Yes, kind of geeky, but something about that main theme makes you want to leap about with a magic sword and slay elves or something.

The best movie soundtracks are completely evocative of the film itself, and you can’t listen to this without being transported to 1986 Chicago suburbs. Close call between this and The Goonies.

WATCHMEN Sounds like the collection of songs we should put in a space capsule and send to distant planets to let them know what the best of our culture has to offer – Bob Dylan, Nat King Cole, Nina Simone, Jimi Hendrix.

42

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/DJYODAUK

WILD STYLE

STAR WARS Yes, an obvious choice, but the power of this soundtrack is undeniable.

The perfect movie theme.

Indiana Jones and ET are both almost as good.

The original hip hop movie soundtrack and still the most authentic sound of 1980’s New York rap that you can hear – sampled to death and rightly so.

JUICE A great ‘golden era’ hip hop movie soundtrack featuring classic rhymes from Eric B & Rakim, Big Daddy Kane and Naughty By Nature. Boyz N The Hood is another classic in this vein.

ILLUSTRATION: NISHIKAWA MAIKO

TWIN PEAKS David Lynch is a true inspiration, and his work with Angelo Badalamenti is always amazing – but this is their best collaboration. My favourite TV show of all time, too.

JACKIE BROWN I have a love/hate response to most of Quentin Tarantino’s movies, but I almost always appreciate the soundtrack.

Kill Bill was incredible, but the 1970’s soul of Jackie Brown appeals directly to my tastes.

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LOCAL VOICES

LIGHTS, CAMERA, TRACTION?

SHOOTING THE UAE

WAEL AL SAYEGH WONDERS WHETHER THE REGIONAL MOVIE INDUSTRY IS READY TO GO GLOBAL

ILLUSTRATION BY VESNA PESIC

T

o trace the history of film in the Gulf, you must first look west to Egypt, the historic bedrock of Arab film. Even as far back as 1917 it boasted more than 80 cinemas. Timeless images of Abdul Halem, Fareed Al Atrash, Yousif Wahbi, Koka and Serag Muneer reflect a period of liberalism in the Arab world which, even by today’s standards, can be described as ‘edgy’. Short skirts, women smoking, even cocktail parties featuring dancing and drinking were commonplace on the screen during the 1950s.

Back then actors and actresses did more than just act. They were singer-songwriters, composers, dancers, poets and artists. Even today, those monochrome Egyptian films stand the test of time and are still regularly aired on cable TV. Dubai’s first open-air cinema was the Al Watan in Al Nasr Square.

Depending on the number of rupees (the common currency before the UAE’s formation) you had to spare, you could either sit up front, sharing a bench with other customers, or have a seat to yourself towards the back. Refreshments came in the form of old-style bottles of Pepsi or 7-Up which could be bought while you watched the film. There were other outdoor cinemas in the city, like the Jumeirah Cinema, opened in the 1960s and eventually catered to the workers building Port Rashid.

In the early 1970s more modern indoor set-ups were established, with the Plaza Cinema near Union Square in Deira being the most notable. Although the films on offer at the Plaza were mainly Hindi or Egyptian, with the addition of some Lebanese productions, there was also the odd Western film. For instance in 1972 the Plaza held a screening of The Godfather.

45

As time moved on, more and more Western movies, particularly those with Arab actors, were shown.

Academy Award nominee and two-time Golden Globe winner Omar Sharif, is a name that still causes ladies of a certain age to flush and smile with pleasure. He is perhaps the greatest Arab acting ambassador of all time. His roles in blockbusters such as Dr Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia right up to his recent part in the wonderful adaptation of Eric Emmanuel’s

Sufi tale Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Quran are enjoyed by many in the Arab world with pride and admiration.

The region began to attract the attention of Hollywood film-makers when it started to play a greater role in global economics thanks to oil and gas. The combination of ancient desert sands and modern skyscrapers was made for the camera lens. Famous films at least partly shot in the UAE include Dam 999 , The Kingdom , Syriana

and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol , the fourth in the series.

International film festivals such as the Dubai International, the Abu Dhabi International and the Doha Tribeca have given Arabic filmmakers a chance to display their work to an international audience, and to rub shoulders with the stars of the industry. Locally produced films successfully reaching an international audience include Ali Mustafa’s City of Life, which was significant in giving local film

A BRIEF HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD HELLRAISERS

46

1932

1936

1938

1940

The Irish acting legend Peter O’ Toole was drunk on an almost permanent basis, once bringing a girl to a Soho play and sitting down to watch it before realising he was meant to be on stage. That he is still alive is a miracle.

Married five times and, according to Rolling Stone, “one of Hollywood’s most notorious drug addicts”, Dennis Hopper was stone cold crazy. He was also remarkably talented, and, eventually sober as well. Genius.

One of the all time hell raising legends, British actor Oliver Reed died as he lived, suffering a heart attack after drinking three bottles of rum, eight beers, whiskies and beating five Royal Navy sailors in arm wrestling.

The son of a prostitute, thrown out of school at age 14, Richard Pryor once stabbed a soldier for laughing at a racist joke. He also set himself on fire while indulging, none of his antics taking away from his comic genius.

LOCAL VOICES

makers more clout, and thus making it easier for more Emirati films to get made.

The challenges of dealing with censors, applying for permission to film in public places and the social stigma against the region’s actresses appearing on screen without a headscarf are just some of the challenges homegrown film-makers face. Then there is the ultimate challenge: attracting funding. A lasting foundation for the UAE’s film industry is being

laid by institutions such as the New York Film Academy’s campus in Abu Dhabi, and Image Nation.

Image Nation’s first Emirati production is Sea Shadow, directed

by Nawaf Al Janahi and written by Mohammed Hassan Ahmed. The film is an Emirati love story set in a rough part of the northern emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.

Hollywood’s beginnings in the first decades of the 20th century grew into a ‘golden age’ during the 1930s. While the world’s economies

dealt with the great economic depression, movies helped to lift spirits at a time of financial despair.

Escapism is one of the great assets of cinema. The current international economic climate should therefore create the ideal conditions for the emergence of a new wave of creative original cinematography.

Arguably, the world has never needed the movie industry more than it does today. Whether the region can play a part in this remains to be seen.

1949

1952

1965

1975

John Belushi was the ultimate comedy heavyweight with an appetite to match his frame. He died of a drug overdose in LA after a life of tragic excess. Food, drugs, women, booze: he went through it all in huge amounts.

The boxer turned actor turned boxer turned actor has burned about as many bridges is as possible. But despite the fights, the botched surgery, the womanising, the drinking and the failures, Mickey Rourke is a legend.

Born into Hollywood royalty, Charlie Sheen was always something of a brat. This matured into a penchant for women, booze and alternative substances which culminated in his famous public meltdown last year.

Angelic ET star Drew Barrymore was a star by the time she was six. She quickly descended into recreational hell: smoking at nine, boozing at 11, other substances by 12.

She has recovered; her film career has not.

47

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INTERVIEW

MY TRAVELLED LIFE JON RONSON, 44, WRITER

turn off their iPad. I think more and more

ON FLYING

people will only pretend to turn things off, but

ON KEITH RICHARDS

I don’t feel any anxiety when the plane starts

keep them running secretly. That will probably

I was sat next to Keith Richards from

to vibrate with turbulence, and I chuckle

cause a crash in the end.

the Rolling Stones. The plane we were

sardonically to myself at the people who

on started juddering weirdly. Everybody

are irrationally worried about it. But I do get

panicked. A guy in front turned to me and

rather anxious when travelling, and when I

ON PLANE ETIQUETTE

Keith and told us that the last time this

come in to land and I’m seeing the lights

A friend of mine once made a documentary

happened they gave everybody Marks and

of whatever small town in the Midwest of

about plane crashes and it turned out that

Spencer vouchers. The captain said, “we

America I’m landing in I feel miserable and

the passengers who survive tend not to be

have problems with fuel, we’re going to

have to remind myself that there’s a purpose

the ones who assume the crash position but

turn round and try and make it back to

to it all, and that purpose is writing books.

the ones who run frantically about, shouting

Heathrow”. The guy in front turned again

and screaming. But if the plane did start

and whispered the vouchers, the vouchers.

going down I would dutifully assume the

Keith said to me, “I don’t care, this is fun. I’ll

ON LUXURY

crash position. Even then, as we plummet to

tell you who will be annoyed though, Mick”.

If I’m going long haul, I have to go business

Earth, I wouldn’t want to transgress normal

And Mick Jagger was at the front of the

class. I can’t stand economy anymore. For me,

moral conventions.

plane and turned around and waved.

it’s a kind of punishment. Life’s too short. But you get more interesting people in economy.

The people that are most fun to talk to. In business it’s standoffish, self-satisfied. In terms of people I’d rather be in economy, in terms of legroom and service I’d rather be in business.

ON RULES I don’t understand why some flights let you turn on your phone during taxi and other flights won’t. I find it incomprehensibly abhorrent – that you can do it on one airline and not on another. I can’t imagine any plane will ever crash because somebody forgot to 49

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BUILT 1948

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A RC H I T E C T U R E M APPED

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Melbourne hosts the first tennis Grand Slam of the year. www.australianopen.com

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CHINESE NEW YEAR Welcome in the Year of the Dragon in style. www.beijing-tourism.com

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BURNS’ NIGHT Edinburgh celebrates the life of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns. www.edinburgh.org

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MAIN P. 58 • DE NIRO’S RISE AND FALL

P. 68 • adventures in bollywood

P. 76 • Brazil’s cinematic problem

SILVER SCREETN RAITS

OR INTIMATE P EGENDS OF MOVIE L

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e Niro! No discerning movie lover can resist a shiver at the mere mention of the name. We can’t help ourselves. For film-crazed fanboys of a certain age, it triggers a wistful look, a narrowing of the eyes, perhaps a small, involuntary, deeply respectful nod. What Brando was to an earlier generation, Robert De Niro became for ours: dark, moody, edgy, a radical presence in the cinema.

In his heyday of the late 1970s and early 1980s, De Niro was troubled, he was brooding; he was the ultimate outsider, the ultimate existential tough guy. He had an aura of mafioso danger — even though the actor himself is actually part Irish, and in the course of his career has played few actual gangsters. He was lethally sexy in a way we would all like to be, and because he cultivated a kind of anti-glamour and working-class ordinariness, and often played characters who were wrecked and ruined, his fanbase could sort of secretly imagine being like him. A bit.

Other stars build their careers on trying to make the public love them, and only try really nasty roles if they are so hugely successful that this is a career risk they can afford to indulge, or if they are so badly on the skids that they might as well try it. For Robert De Niro, it was different. He became big in the 1970s with roles that no other conventional star 60

DE NIRO AND THE CAST OF THE CLASSIC GANGSTER FLICK, GOODFELLAS

would touch, often working with that director of genius, Martin Scorsese. He was the lairy hoodlum in Mean Streets, the traumatised Vietnam vet in The Deer Hunter, the loathsome, bloated ex-boxer in Raging Bull, the psychotic loner in Taxi Driver, gabbling at his own reflection, pulling a gun on himself. What

DE NIRO BECAME BIG IN THE 1970S WITH ROLES THAT NO OTHER MOVIE STAR W OULD TOUCH self-respecting De Niro fan hasn’t in his teen years, or college years, or even later, secretly tried it out in front of the bathroom mirror: “You talkin’ to me? YOU TALKIN’ TO ME?” And in those days, the press and the public took actors seriously.

There was no sneering at “luvvies”. When the news about De Niro’s weight-gain dedication for Raging Bull emerged, it

was received with utter, hushed respect.

But all De Niro fans know that, when discussing our idol, there comes an awful moment in the conversation. An awful moment when someone asks what the great man has done since, say, Raging Bull. Well, there’s King Of Comedy of course, someone will say. There’s Midnight Run, someone else will add eagerly — his likeable, atypical comedythriller road movie with Charles Grodin.

And there’s GoodFellas, of course, in 1990. Great film, De Niro fans nod earnestly, and … De Niro was good in that. Heat, in 1995, obviously with Al Pacino….and …. and oh… oh, there’s ….

Oh no. Could it be that from then on, and for an awfully long time now, De Niro has just been completely rubbish?

An elder statesman coasting on longlost achievements? It’s all very well comparing De Niro to Brando. But Brando came back. Brando was down and out, and then came back in The Godfather, Last Tango In Paris and Apocalypse

DE NIRO

Now; he was older and fatter and madder but he still had it, no question. De Niro, on the other hand, appears to have mislaid it.

For younger audiences, De Niro is that old guy seen laughing intently, and perhaps a little uneasily, at Ricky Gervais’ ribbing at the Golden Globes ceremony.

Of course, he has sort of re-invented himself as a bit of a comic turn these days — even putting in a good-sport cameo on TV’s 30 Rock. He’s made comedies like Analyze This, playing a troubled mobster in therapy, and of course Meet The Parents, playing Ben Stiller’s father-in-law. Those were commercially successful movies — but does this new comedy jag match up to the former greatness? And we De Niro fans wake up at 3am, staring at the ceiling, trembling, bathed in cold sweat, whispering to ourselves one terrible question: Is Robert De Niro even all that funny in them?

For me, the absolute low point came with his role as the corrupt politician in Robert Rodriguez’s cod pulp shocker, Machete, after which I staggered out of the cinema, suppressing a sob. De Niro had just texted in an awful performance.

Frankly, Donald Trump could have done it as well, or better. And there was an appalling close-up of De Niro getting shot, gurning and wincing — very much like the zany “Argh!” expression Michael Winner made in the Esure Insurance TV ads, when he was rear-ended at the wheel of his car. Oh my God, we were thinking. Is this Robert De Niro?

For far too long, De Niro has been relying on stock facial mannerisms: the crinkly-eyed grin, or the rat-trap mouth, lips pursed in annoyance, or the slightly goofy laugh, with the tongue pressed slightly against the upper teeth.

So what happened? What is this gurning Italian-American elephant in the room? Why did we fall out of love with Bob? Is it that he isn’t getting the roles any more? Or was his intuitive 62

acting style so instinctive that he never developed the formal technique that might have opened up his range for older roles? Or is it that he isn’t working with directors of Martin Scorsese’s calibre? Are his excursions into directing, with movies like This Boy’s Life and The Good Shepherd, a wrong move? Or did his Tribeca film production and restaurant business simply burn up too much of his energy?

Well, maybe. Or it could be that the real problem is with us, his whining fans. After all, De Niro is a massively successful, thoughtful and intelligent professional who created some of his best work in his youth. So what? Isn’t that normal? Why are we complaining about him — are we just projecting onto De Niro some of our own anxieties about fading

DE NIRO TEXTED IN AN AWFUL DISPLAY. DONALD TRUMP COULD HAVE DONE THE JOB BETTER prospects and career disappointment?

This was an actor who was steeped in the idea of acting as an art, as a craft, and as a vocation. He trained with the formidable method guru Stella Adler, at a time when her young students, according to De Niro’s biographer John Parker, were required to stand when she entered the room and say: “Good morning, Miss Adler. We are pleased to meet you and look forward to embarking with you on a journey to discover our art.”

The man himself got a break working with Brian De Palma on his underground, experimentalist movies, and playing opposite his mentor, Shelley Winters, in the pulp movie Bloody Mama. Then the Godfather movies came along, and the sensational renaissance of Marlon Brando brought De Niro into

the big league. Basically, this glorious Second Act in Brando’s career formed the beginning of De Niro’s First Act. De Niro played the young Vito Corleone in Godfather 2. His work with Scorsese began around this time, and Mean Streets and Taxi Driver were the movies that got him his place in the Actors’ Hall of Fame.

What also emerged around about then — to his colleagues, if not quite yet to the public — was De Niro’s monumental commitment to research and to immersing himself in the part.

For Godfather, he travelled to Sicily and spoke to locals and studied them, and real Sicilians and Sicilian-Americans were astonished at how accurately he imitated their speech. For Taxi Driver, he renewed the cab licence he once had as a struggling out-of-work actor, and drove around, picking up fares.

For Raging Bull, he went into training as a middleweight boxer and his trainer quite seriously believed that he could be, if he wished, a professional fighter. For his role as a musician in New York, New York — an old-fashioned musical with Liza Minnelli — he learned how to play the saxophone.

And that role offered a tiny clue to a possible problem. Some felt that his fanatical dedication to mastering the saxophone (awe-inspiring as it undoubtedly was) had caused him to neglect more basic work on the role.

The De Niro doubters had one dark suspicion: it could be that his legendary method of those days had something dysfunctional in it, a symptom of some compulsive disorder. His astonishing performances in those days were arguably like those of a 12-year-old savant who can sketch Rheims Cathedral at a single glance — but from whom no further artistic achievement can be expected.

That is a harsh and inaccurate assessement, in my view. Of course, De Niro, like many great interpretative

DE NIRO

iconic

DE NIRO DOWN THE YEARS: TAXI DRIVER, THE GODFATHER, RAGING BULL AND ANALYZE THAT, MEET THE FOCKERS AND KILLER ELITE

searing artists, may have had psychological wounds. Some say that star quality is not a question of having something extra, but something missing: something that you will try to fill — perhaps desperately — with performance. But that is the case for many great actors.

Either way, it isn’t the sort of thing you can keep doing. If you need to keep working and to explore other aspects of the business — like producing, developing projects and directing — then maybe hardcore method immersion isn’t practical.

Let’s go back to that great performance as Jake La Motta in Raging Bull. For me, it is one of the great American movies, and one of the great American performances.

For my money, Brando never produced anything as good, and, for what it’s worth, neither did Jack Nicholson or Dustin Hoffman, two of the ‘new breed’ of actors who came to prominence at roughly the same time as De Niro. When Jake fights in the ring, it is an electrifying nightmare.

When he transforms, slowly, horribly, into a fat old has-been, it is a stunningly convincing change. But could that film, 64

legendary with De Niro’s brilliant transformation, give us a clue to his decline? By becoming such an authentically

COULD DE NIRO’S TRANSFORMATION IN RAGING BULL GIVE US A CLUE TO HIS DECLINE? poignant older guy, De Niro robbed himself of his own career’s Second Act. Brando’s audience was fascinated by the great man playing the corpulent capo, or misanthropic lover, or crazed and muttering warrior in his cave in Vietnam. De Niro had already done it all, back in 1980, in the final scenes of Raging Bull. He accelerated into his ‘Fat Elvis’ years. And then came back out again. Where could he go from there?

You can also see in De Niro’s face the point at which the troubled, vulnerable young man is solidifying into De Niro, the middle-aged character actor with not much more than one character to play.

Compare De Niro’s face in Taxi Driver,

especially when his character, Travis Bickle, talks to the unattainably gorgeous Betsy. Or, when he tries to get through to her on a public payphone. He looks almost like a boy — an emotionally hurt boy.

But as the 1980s went on, those memories of De Niro’s raw youth faded.

And both Scorsese and De Niro (and especially Jodie Foster) had been badly shaken by the revelation that a lone would-be killer had been inspired by Taxi Driver to make an assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan. (Many people forget that Taxi Driver does not end on the horrendous scene of carnage, but with a weird and satirical coda, in which Betsy attempts to make contact with Travis, because, well, she is sort of impressed with what he’s done.) So De Niro was propelled into a kind of political adulthood of media controversy.

His persona was well established.

But there seemed no obvious way to develop it. When Jack Nicholson made The Witches Of Eastwick in 1987, he did a lot of things with his “handsome devil” image — he refined it, he sent it up, he sold it with renewed vigour to the

AD

DE NIRO

d

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ody par

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s slap cinemagoing audience. His eyebrow was raised, his tongue was in his cheek — but it bolstered his stock price in the celebrity marketplace. Serious and high-minded De Niro didn’t do anything like this to his image, apart from the comic turns he produced in the 2000s.

In any case, De Niro began his personal project in 1989: Tribeca Productions, followed by the Tribeca Grill, defiantly in the middle of his beloved New York.

The centre of the movie universe might have been LA — and movie moguls might have preferred cheap Canadian filming locations like Vancouver and Toronto — but De Niro was sticking with his New York heartland, and encouraging people to make films in the city he adored.

And he was not merely going to produce movies: every star in Hollywood has some production company or other, often mere vanity projects that studios have to tolerate to keep the star sweet. Yet this was very serious. And, perhaps eccentrically, it was going to be welded to his restaurant.

Food and films? Quite a combination.

It needed all De Niro’s concentration to keep it going and he started taking 66

some very iffy movies to keep it all afloat. Mistress? The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle? Ones to forget.

DE NIRO SHOULD TEAM UP WITH ONE OF THE BEST INDIE DIRECTORS OF THE 21ST CENTURY But he has every reason to be proud of Tribeca. When 9/11 hit, De Niro was at the very centre of the action: the archetypal, tough New Yorker, determined that his city’s morale should survive.

He began the Tribeca Film Festival shortly afterwards, as a gesture of faith.

Perhaps De Niro just laughs at those who complain that he is not offering performances to match those of his youth. Perhaps he takes a sanguine view of the Hollywood anxiety carousel and says: look, I’ve been there, done that. I created immortal performances that live in film forever. Now I have a wide range of friends and interests that goes beyond the world of acting.

If De Niro thinks that, then good luck to him. But I have another thought. A sudden late flowering is always possible.

Woody Allen is someone else who is always being accused of having lost it.

But recently, his movie Midnight In Paris broke his personal box-office record and showed that the spark was still there.

It’s a question of finding the right director. So here is my proposal: De Niro should team up with one of the greatest indie directors of the 21st century, Alexander Payne. Payne got a wonderful performance out of Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt , throwing aside Nicholson’s old twinkly-eyed, grinning routine.

He has also been feted for doing something similar with George Clooney in The Descendants. So let Alexander Payne direct Robert De Niro in an autumn years drama, give him a real part.

The great man needs a script and a director worthy of him, and we De Niro fans need to hold our heads high again.

I’m quite certain it’s going to happen.

Philip French is the Observer’s film critic

68

IMAGE: MEENA KADRI

69 PHOTO: KIM ERLANDSEN

BOLLYWOOD ADVENTURES

uns, knives, a locked tea plantation, restless natives, a crooked producer and a truckload of hired goons: welcome to Bollywood – or at least the version you won’t see on the big screen. So how did I, a mere film journalist, get embroiled in this heady world? Well, it all started off quite innocently. Less then a decade ago I was working as a journalist and sometime festival organiser when a friend asked me to spend some time in LA to collaborate on a script – a natural extension (or so I thought) from writing about film, to writing for film.

I went to the States and we wrote – in my humble opinion – several masterpieces that would change the face of cinema forever. Alas, Hollywood did not share our enthusiasm, and in most cases our scripts came back unread with warnings about sending unsolicited manuscripts.

Not long after, a producer, who has won an Indian National

70

Award for best feature, asked a family member of his to write a commercial.

As I was jobless in Mumbai at the time, and the family member in question was somebody I had made an experimental short film with, I cowrote the commercial. That remains unproduced. But the producer was sufficiently impressed with our writing skills to commission a Bollywood feature script, an adaptation of an English-language Indian stage play.

We set to with enthusiasm and created a risqué, boundary-shattering comic gem. A Bollywood actor’s production company was due to produce and, shock, horror, we even got paid. Alas, the company’s next release was a disaster and our film quickly disappeared from view. The producer retained his faith in me and threw a series of Bollywood script commissions my way – again, all works of art. And again, all unproduced.

So, when I was commissioned to write my first book, a chronicle of Bollywood, I leapt at the chance. As I was finishing the book, I got acquainted with another producer. I ignored the fact that he was a thoroughly unpleasant individual – he had the charming habit of speaking through half-chewed portions of food and drunkenly frequenting houses of ill repute. I ignored all this as he had offered me the chance to direct a film.

The only caveat was that I had to adapt (i.e, steal) the story from a wellknown Malayalam film.

Eager to direct and make my mark in Bollywood, I agreed.

Halfway through the writing stage I was bundled off with a crew and some cast to a rural tea estate to shoot the film. The producer decided to remain

in Mumbai, not wishing to sully his hands with the minutiae of production.

I was writing scenes, looking after production and trying to direct, all at the same time. There was also no money forthcoming from Mumbai and the crew was getting increasingly restless.

The area we were in was so remote that mobile calls were impossible. After a few days, the estate owners locked us in and refused to let us continue shooting until they had received some money.

They were awfully nice about it and very apologetic, being extremely decent people. They also continued to feed us.

The producer finally sent an assistant with just enough money to placate the estate owners, but none for the crew. The assistant took me aside and informed me in low tones that he was carrying a gun and a small arsenal of knives and swords.

Predictably, it all ended rather badly, as I ended up surrounded by unpaid crew members baying for money, or my blood, as their houses had been washed away by the tsunami that had just devastated the South Indian coastline.

I did not want to leave the crew like this, but, also possessed a healthy sense of self preservation, I escaped in the middle of the night. The producer finally showed up the next day with a truckload of heavies and dispersed the crew using that most effective of ploys – the threat of grievous bodily harm.

That film has never been made and regrettably the producer, after having subsequently inflicted this delightful

BOLLYWOOD ADVENTURES

experience on other film-makers, continues to roam the earth a free man. If only I had known at the time that he had connections with the mafia and had spent time in jail for fraud.

This is not to say that all of Bollywood is populated by such elements. On the contrary, most people I have met are hard working people committed to bringing the cinema they believe in to the screen, be it an independent film about starving farmers or a fullon blockbuster with song sequences shot across the world. Most of the stars I have had the good fortune to meet in person are humble, humane and, in some cases, extremely erudite.

Some have resisted the temptations that stardom affords; others succumbed but have since recovered. I have personally been approached by some beautiful women for a role, in exchange for which favours would be rendered.

Sadly, I turned these down. Surely several others in my position wouldn’t have.

There are also numerous stories of Bacchanalian and Dionysian excesses. If these exist, they are behind closed doors. I am too lowly to be invited to those hallowed gatherings.

72

Perhaps my annoying routine of sleeping at 10pm and rising at the crack of dawn to write disqualifies me in a city that comes alive at night. Though things are changing rapidly, in Bollywood a

writer is usually at the bottom of the food chain. It is thanks to the presence of superstars like Aamir Khan, for whom the script is paramount, that the hitherto humble writer is given his place in the sun. For example, though it had a bankable star in Imran Khan, a proficient director in Abhinay Deo and was produced by Aamir Khan himself, the real hero of the recent comedy Delhi Belly is the writer Akshat Verma, who wrote a script so perfectly balanced and correctly honed that it put many veteran Bollywood writers to shame.

After my directorial mishap, I resolved to write only for bonafide Bollywood names. Unfortunately, the people I chose

were on a downward spiral and they were happy to take my work but reluctant to pay me. Another play adaptation that was offered to me seemed like salvation, but there was a greedy middleman involved that scuppered the project.

Battered and bruised, but with my love of film intact, I returned to the less lucrative, but much safer, world of movie journalism. So what of this industry that is at once frustrating and beguiling, and that has bewitched hundreds of millions around the world?

Bollywood, or the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai, has its origins in 1970s Bombay. Indian gossip columnist Bevinda Collaco claims to have invented the phrase, but the Oxford English Dictionary credits it to British crime writer HRF Keating as used in his 1976 novel Filmi, Filmi, Inspector Ghote. Many of the industry’s stars abhor the usage, preferring instead ‘Indian Film Industry’.

Though, in the West, Bollywood remains synonymous with Indian cinema, the fact remains that it is merely a fraction of the Indian film industry. Bollywood makes up less than a quarter of the films that India

BOLLYWOOD ADVENTURES

produces annually. The South Indian film industry, comprising the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada language industries, accounts for more than 75 per cent of all Indian film production and revenues.

Yet, Bollywood remains India’s most visible and celebrated film export, and the term is used for the country as a whole. Hindi cinema, though made in India’s national language, is definitely not

74

representative of the country as a whole.

Numbers aside, Bollywood has long enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with Hollywood. Many Hollywood films have served as ‘inspiration’ – to employ the euphemistic term used in Mumbai – for Bollywood, with films being lifted wholesale and ‘Indianised’

to suit market tastes. This practise has lessened in recent years thanks to the emergence of young directors who are telling fresh, Indian stories that are rapidly finding favour with audiences.

Anurag Kashyap, one of the poster boys of the new Bollywood, endured years of struggle, with his films banned,

unreleased or failing at the box office.

When he decided to make a Gen X alcoholsoaked version of the 1917 novel Devdas, no one gave it a second thought, especially as the story had been committed to celluloid in India at least 11 times before.

The edgy Dev.D proved a box-office hit.

Similarly, Dibakar Banerjee’s Love, Sex Aur Dhokha had no known stars and was based on the novel concept of three stories told through found footage (CCTV cameras, hidden cameras), was also a box office success. However, the success of these films doesn’t mean the traditional Bollywood movie is dead.

Far from it. Overblown, and mostly incomprehensible to a Western audience, films like Bodyguard, Ready and Wanted, all starring the workingman’s hero, Salman Khan, remain huge hits.

As for Bollywood’s penchant for stealing ideas from the West, that is declining due as much to the presence of the litigious Hollywood studios in India, as it is to the new wave of Indian creatives.

The Hollywood majors also have a shrewd eye on the lucrative Indian market. Having realised that there are few Indians outside the cities for English-language films, studios have now taken to dubbing Hollywood films in the major Indian languages, resulting in a dramatic rise in their market share.

This is the policy the studios already employ in Latin America and Europe.

They are also producing films in some major Indian languages, choosing to join, rather than beat, the domestic behemoth that is Indian cinema.

Bollywood, meanwhile, is busy remaking South Indian hits. The Salman Khan vehicles Bodyguard, Ready and Wanted were all remakes, and some intrepid film-makers have even taken the bold step of buying rights from Hollywood before setting to work on their own remakes.

Today, the world is aware of the

colourful, musical cinema that is the staple of mainstream Bollywood, though actual audiences in cinemas outside of its South Asian home base are limited to expatriates.

Bollywood’s charm overseas is mainly due to its song and dance numbers.

Historically, India’s ancient Sanskrit language dance dramas, which were succeeded by folk theatre, liberally used song and dance in message-driven narratives as a means of keeping the audience

engaged – it was a natural progression for this style to evolve into cinema.

Bollywood may be bewildering to a first-time viewer, since it encompasses several distinct genres within the same narrative and has multiple subplots rather than a single throughline Hollywood style. Some may deride this as a confusing kitchensink approach, but like most things Indian, there is a basis in history.

Most Indian movie plots are derived from the country’s ancient epics, The Ramayana and The Mahabharata. Those works, although they have overall story arcs, often delve into dense and complex sub-stories that are intrinsic to the epic narrative. Similarly, most performance art in India is governed by the concept of the nine ‘rasas’, or emotions, as elucidated in the venerable Natya Shastra. Whatever its origins, and love it or hate it, Bollywood is here to stay.

Naman Ramachandran is a screenwriter and film journalist based in India 75

O T T E H GFABULOUS

EY A, TH INEM C TY I N C ILIA T OF C Z A A P R IM HAN OF B O THE O OFFER T T INKS E H U T RIOS LY D RE T RLD EMET MAIN A LOT MO D E WO , T H A R T L ORS, VE S XPE WHEN HE FA UNTRY HA ILM E O THE ACT W T F F N O A O K T HO IC THIN THE C ALK AMER G TO S TO T IMIN D. YET ES. SOUTH L A O I G E Z R F O BRA VI WHO A CINEMA TO MO AVELS TO NGOS D GHET N R LIAN A T RAZI EOU IVES B H T F T A O A E M DE , CR ER SI TORS E OTH H DIREC T D ORL THE W

M

ention Brazil to most people

reality, these make up a minority of

Rocha, regarded it as their social –

and the first images they will

the 90-odd films made each year in

even revolutionary – duty to turn their

conjure are of football, samba

a cinematically bustling country (in

cameras on the iniquities of their society,

and carnival, quickly followed by those of

2012 that is expected to be 120, a number

making films about the extreme poverty

drug wars and the favelas. It’s a dichotomy

that outstrips the production of many

of the city slums in the south of the

that somehow sums up the South

European countries). But they are

country, and in the desert hinterlands of

American country, a heady mixture

often the most talked about, and the

the north east. Pereira dos Santos made

of light and darkness, joy and despair.

most successful. This year the favela

perhaps the first favela film, Rio 40°,

That said, it’s notable that the most

film Elite Squad 2 became the biggest

back in 1955. Crime was not a concern

famous of recent Brazilian films, both

home-grown film in Brazil’s history.

at that time, or a particular subject of

at home and internationally, are those

But the question that grips many

the film; nevertheless, its documentary-

concerned with just one side of the

of those Brazilians concerned about

style presentation of an underclass

story – the negative, the crime and

their country’s image, is that these

that the rest of Brazilians pretended

social injustice that is epitomised by

movies, however good they may

didn’t exist was so controversial that

the slums of Rio de Janeiro. It’s as if

be, are clouding the bigger picture.

it was banned. (The charge, from an

film-makers and their audiences are

Favela films represent a complex

establishment comically scraping the

fully signed up to that journalistic

cultural phenomenon, which actually

barrel for justification, was that the

rule that the best news is bad news.

has its roots in an earlier, golden age

temperature in Rio never rose to 40°.)

Fernando Meirelles’ City Of God,

of Brazilian cinema, in the 1960s and

Today’s film-makers are not political

in 2002, was the trailblazer for a new

1970s. Back then, the Cinema Novo

in the same way as the Cinema Novo

sub-genre of crime movies, which

movement of directors, which included

directors, but many share their desire to

you could call the ‘favela film’. In

Nelson Pereira dos Santos and Glauber

shed a light on the country’s problems,

76

77

GHETTO FABULOUS

while revealing the different faces –

secret, the drug wars that had taken

social, ethnic, geographic – of their

over the city’s hillside favelas. Then, in

immense country. And there is a lot

2002 Meirelles adapted the best-selling

to talk about: the problems of poverty

book by Paulo Lins, which covered two

and social exclusion in Brazil have

decades in the life of the eponymous

intensified over the past 30 years and are

City Of God favela, focusing on the

now accompanied by a virulent crime

rise of the drug trade and the heavily

scene – notably the heavily-armed drug

armed war between rival gangs.

CITY OF GOD IS NOT ONLY A MOVIE, IT’S A STATEMENT, A BOREHOLE IN OUR NATIONAL PSYCHE

wars that have become synonymous

I remember when City Of God

Lula, who would later become president,

with favela life and have given Rio one

premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

urged the then president to see the film

of the highest murder rates in the world.

The film wasn’t in the competition,

in order to understand the extent of the

recent

yet it was on everybody’s lips as being the

urban tragedy. Arnaldo Jabor, one of

renaissance in Brazilian cinema,

coolest film on Le Croisette – exciting,

Brazil’s most important intellectuals,

Walter Salles, had his breakthrough

brilliantly made, with a compelling

wrote: ‘This is not only a film. It is an

in the 1990s with two films, Foreign

authenticity.

was

important fact, a crucial statement, a

Land and Central Station, which

distributed around the world and gained

borehole in our national conscience.’”

The

‘godfather’

of

the

City

Of

God

Meirelles, whose cast was made up almost entirely of boys from the favelas, has noted the ‘amazing response’ in the City

Of God favela itself. “They loved it. We did big screenings, for two thousand people.

“I think it was the first time they had seen their experience on film. Nobody had filmed inside favelas, using their language, in a way that was so close to their real life. I think that’s why they liked it. They saw themselves.”

This sums up an important aspect of City Of God and other crime-related films, whether set in favelas or elsewhere: far CITY OF GOD’S PORTRAYAL OF LIFE IN A FAVELA WON IT PLAUDITS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

from being exploitative, they are serious, socially-minded films, which reveal a part

showed the country’s problems as it

four Oscar nominations, including

of society that might not normally

emerged from years of dictatorship,

best director for Fernando Meirelles.

feature in cinemas. As well as being

followed by democratic, yet equally

It’s one of the best crime films of the

entertaining genre movies, they

damaging, neo-liberal governments.

new millennium.

generate important debate. Such films include the prison drama Carandiru

But it was Salles’s brother, João

In Brazil itself, the film’s depiction

Moreira Salles, who took the movie

of Rio’s slum problems could not be

and Elite Squad , which dealt with the

camera back into the favela. His

ignored by the country’s politicians.

thorny issue of police corruption. The

extraordinary documentary, News

Walter Salles, who produced City Of

favela film isn’t the sole domain of men:

From A Private War, co-directed with

God, noted that, “It’s rare for a film to

two of the best female perspectives are

Katia Lund, lifted the lid on Rio’s guilty

create such heated debate in Brazil”.

Tata Amaral’s Antônia, about a group

78

GHETTO FABULOUS

of friends who try to escape a São Paulo

else but these violent and depressing

with very well-established ‘adversaries’ of

slum by forming a girl band, and Lucia

crime sagas. I know Brazilians living in

the so-called world cinema, from France,

Murat’s Another Love Story, which

London who get very frustrated by what

Argentina and Japan, to name a few.

sets Romeo and Juliet in a Rio favela.

they see as the narrow-mindedness

“Fortunately this is changing in the

José Carlos Avellar, the leading

of distributors, and the resulting

national market,” she adds. “Hollywood

Brazilian film critic, observes, “The

damage to their country’s image.

films are still the most popular at the

favela is a real problem of daily life

“You know, with about 90 Brazilian

box office, but Brazilian productions of

in Brazil. In fact, Rio is one of the few

films released each year, the local

many different styles have surpassed

cities in the world where the ‘margin’

industry includes most genres,” says

any expectations, from television-style

of society is in the centre – the favelas

Elaine Guerini, a Brazilian reporter for

comedies, with TV actors and plots

are not outside the city, they are in the

the film magazine Screen International.

transferred to the big screen, through

middle. It’s impossible not to see a favela,

“For instance, comedies and films with

‘spiritualist films’ to controversial

wherever you are. So you cannot ignore

spiritual themes are very popular.

documentaries. Hopefully it won’t take

them. And you should not ignore them.

“The problem is the expectation of the

long for foreign audiences to be captivated by many other stories we have to tell.”

“For a Brazilian audience today, the

international market in terms of Brazilian

big successes are often the films that

films. The vision is still stereotyped and

Truth be told, Brazilian comedies,

present themselves as connected with

conservative, since they always look

especially those influenced by the

the real situation,” he adds. “City Of God ’s

for violence and misery in our movies.

telenovas that are much more popular

success was partly due to the fact that it’s

“We do have those themes, they are

in Brazil than any films, are never likely

a marvellous film, but also because it’s a true story. Carandiru was the same.”

It might seem odd that such hardhitting, in many ways depressing, tales as Carandiru or Elite Squad and

Elite Squad 2 can do well at the local box office. But in Brazil directors and audiences seem to share a belief in the

US MOVIES ARE THE RICH MEAL, EUROPE, THE DESSERT AND BRAZILIAN MOVIES THE BITTER COFFEE

to break out internationally; they are, for the most part, awful. Other hugely successful films, such as The Two

Sons Of Francisco, a biopic about the country’s famous country music duo Zezé di Camargo and Luciano, are just too parochial to catch on abroad.

But at the same time, there is an

resonance, as material, of their own lives.

part of Brazilian reality. But it is not

incredible range of Brazilian cinema,

Moreover, Brazil is a country for which

all. As the film-maker Carlos Diegues

which has nothing to do with crime or

the maxim that truth is stranger than

usually says, in the international

favelas or telenovas, which is terrific.

fiction could have been invented: where

banquet of cinema American films

In recent years, I’ve liked The Year My

else in the world can police and drug gangs

will always be the succulent meal, the

Parents Went On Vacation, an engaging

attacking each other with machine guns

Europeans are the sophisticated dessert,

coming-of-age tale that somehow

and rocket launchers, while down the

while Brazilian productions play the part

managed to combine dictatorship and

hill, in chic Ipanema, the middle classes

of the bitter coffee, served afterwards.”

soccer; House Of Sand, a sprawling

are obliviously doing their shopping?

Carolina Souza, the cinema project

historical and romantic drama, set in

Unlike other Latin American

manager for the Embassy of Brazil

the Brazilian desert and with a sweep

countries, where there is a divergence

in

and aesthetic that brings to mind

between films with local success

Brazilian

a

The English Patient; the dream-like

and those that strike a chord with

vicious circle, whereby for a film

and unsettling Happy Desert, which

international audiences, with Brazilian

to be successful both in Brazil and

concerns a young woman’s yearning

cinema these films are one and the same.

abroad it has to be a ‘favela movie’.

to escape her dreary life for Europe;

And that represents a downside of the

It is frustrating, but understandable.

and Suely In The Sky, a contemporary

favela film phenomenon: they dominate

The Brazilian film industry has a long

fiction following a young mother’s

the overseas market for Brazilian cinema

history, but I dare say that it’s only now

attempt to control her own destiny in

to such an extent that non-Brazilians

maturing and finding its own path.

the country’s dusty, deprived north-east.

could be forgiven for assuming that’s

“And when it comes to distribution

Many of these films have been highly

all there is, that Brazil makes nothing

abroad, Brazilian films have to compete

successful on the festival circuit, with

80

London,

agrees.

films

have

“Apparently, entered

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GHETTO FABULOUS

Aïnouz regularly winning prizes at the Rio film festival, but also in Europe. His latest, Silver Cliff, recently opened the Cinema of Brazil festival in London, which Souza and her embassy colleagues have organised for the past five years.

“Our focus is on British and other nationalities and they make up more than half of the audience, steadily increasing in percentage year after year,” says Souza. “The audience’s response to the films varies a lot, but is mainly positive. And the most common comment is ‘thank you for showing me that Brazilian cinema is more than just City Of God ’.”

Silver atypical

Cliff

is

an

enthralling,

account

of

a

woman’s

IF THE CRIME FADES, THEN SO MIGHT THE GLOBAL OBSESSION WITH BRAZIL’S CRIME MOVIES nocturnal wandering through the streets of Rio after being left by her husband. The reason it is unlikely to progress from a festival appearance to a commercial release in London is simply habit: a narrow, or perhaps nervous, view of audience tastes.

Let’s not forget that favela films fit a tradition of gangster movies that, in any nation, usually guarantee a crowd. It’s a harder call when it comes to an art house film.

If one factor dictates a change in the international fortunes of Brazilian cinema, it could be an end to favela films themselves, at least as gangster movies. José Padilha, an intriguing director who likes to stir up controversy, has possibly had the last word on the 82

A BRAZILIAN POLICE MAN ON ALERT INSIDE A RIO DE JANEIRO FAVELA

genre with Elite Squad 2, a convoluted and depressing (though also thrilling) dystopia that suggests that politicians, cops and gangsters together will drive Rio society towards oblivion.

It’s hard to know where to go after such a film – and Padilha is leaving for Hollywood to remake Robocop.

Moreover, police claim to be winning the battle to rid Rio’s slums of the drug gangs ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. If they are successful, soon the story itself will feel far less urgent than it has in the past decades.

If these crime movies were to fade, the road could be cleared for a plethora of talented directors whose stories reflect a country with a physical and cultural diversity that others can only dream of.

Who knows, perhaps a run of quality films with non-favela subjects could break the habit – and exercise the imagination – of those who govern what foreign language films we watch.

There is another way of looking at this, which is that favela films will continue to dominate abroad, only they will be an altogether different kind of favela film; a twist on the current genre.

From the moment that Meirelles and Lund entered the favelas, training actors for City Of God, cinema has become an obsession for many there.

There are a number of NGOs teaching film-making throughout Rio’s slums, and dozens of teenagers are shooting their own films. Whether their stories feature poverty and drugs, or new subjects, theirs is likely to be a new, refreshing perspective.

“I think it’s so different to having a guy like me, from the middle class, going to a favela and telling their story,” says Fernando Meirelles. “Now they are telling their own stories.”

Demetrios Matheou is the editor of Faber’s New South American Cinema.

83

sean sean connery leaves his basement flat in london for a game of golf in 1962. he had just become a star thanks to his performance in the bond film dr no.

84

behind the

screens photographic portraits of some of the 20th century’s movie icons

86

marilyn monroe takes the subway in grand central station, new york in 1955. monroe was finally starting to be taken seriously by hollywood, partly because of her studies at the actors studio in the city.

87

PAUL paul newman having makeup applied while starring in john huston’s 1972 comedy western the life and times of judge roy bean. newman was one of the most charismatic actors hollywood has ever produced.

88

89

faye faye dunaway at the beverly hills hotel the morning after she won the oscar for best actress for network at the 1977 academy awards. this terry o’ neill shot is one of the most famous oscar pictures ever taken.

90

91

michael michael caine plays up to his hard man image for the camera in 1965. caine made his reputation in films such as get carter and alfie, and became one the first british actors to make it big in the united states.

92

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james dean looks over his shoulder as he sits on a tool box while watching a car rally in the states in 1955. dean was to die in september that year while driving a porsche 550 spyder in northern california. he made only three movies, all cementing his status as a screen icon.

94

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This is very much the Bohemian neighbourhood of Rio. It has a distinct retro vibe, and has changed little since it was founded in the 18th century. The area is home to many artists, so make sure you have a wander around the picturesque streets.

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3 4

3 SAMBODROMO

If it is carnival season then the place to be is the Sambodromo.

Designed in 1984, this building hosts various music concerts and practices for Rio’s famous carnival. Pure hedonism.

5

This magnificent building used to house the main bank of Brazil, however, in the 1990s it was converted into a cultural centre that now hosts exhibitions, movies and theatre productions.

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RIO DE JANEIRO

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One of the most stunning barrios in the city, Palermo is full of elegant old houses that have been converted into, amongst other things, restaurants and eclectic boutiques.

2 LA BOCA

Head for the brightly coloured tourist walkway, Caminito, is filled with colourfully painted houses and art stalls, and is the home of the famous Boca Juniors football team.

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One of the country’s national sports, learning to play polo in Buenos Aires is a must. There are plenty of stables that will allow you to play, or teach you if you’ve never played before.

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Nearby there is a giant obelisk built on the site where the Argentinian flag was raised for the first time.

Summer Temptation EVERYTHING SEEMS BETTER IN THE SUMMER – ESPECIALLY LUXURY holidays. None more so than Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa’s Summer Temptation package which offers an all-inclusive two-night stay, including nature based activities, at the stunning conservation-led resort for AU$ 1,450 per person twin share in a Heritage suite, saving AU$ 500.

The Emirates-run resort set in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area offers guests pre-dinner canapés and summer inspired cocktails on one evening of their stay and discount on all spa treatments and products from 6 January to 31 March 2012.

Should guests wish to stay for two nights or more from Sunday to Thursday inclusive they will receive a complimentary 60-minute spa treatment per person.

: CALL 733 290 9 9 2 1 : +6 MAIL OR E- IONS@ AT V R E S RE EY.COM NVALL WOLGA S I IT: M OR V Y.CO E NVALL WOLGA

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EMI RATES NEWS

15%

EN VIRONMENT

FLIGHT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

THE ADAGE ‘LEAD BY EXAMPLE’ WAS taken to heart as Emirates flew a special CO₂ saving flight to the United Nations’ annual environmental conference (COP17) in South Africa, last month.

The INSPIRE flight, which used best practice in-air and on-the-ground techniques to reduce flight emissions, saved over five tonnes of CO₂, transporting passengers, including the UAE Delegation, to the COP17 conference in Durban.

With the goal of achieving the ‘perfect flight’, the INSPIRE

E L TO COM OF JET FUE E IV T A ERN FROM ALT BY 2020 SOURCES O VIRO.AER SOURCE: EN

programme looks to bring together airlines, airports and air navigation service providers to establish a range of best practice operational procedures. To achieve this the plan is to implement flexible routing systems that will allow flights to take the most direct and optimum route, let them conduct uninterrupted climb and descent paths, and replace the jet-fuel reliant systems that power grounded aircraft with a more environmentally friendly system.

The aircraft used for the Dubai to Durban INSPIRE flight was a Boeing 777-300ER, one of the most fuel-efficient aircraft in the world.

The flight not only demonstrated measurable fuel savings, but highlighted aviation’s commitment to environmental leadership.

ELECTRIC CARS

Gas guzzlers beware: an army of electric cars could be on the road sooner than you think, as three of the world’s top car producing nations signed an agreement last month pledging to produce electric cars en masse.

The informal agreement by the European Union, the United States and Japan is expected to kick-start the production of electric cars in their manufacturing sectors.

Currently, different sets of guidelines for electro-mobility are being developed on both sides of the Atlantic and in Asia. This new agreement will go a long way in helping to develop a standard set of rules.

“The regulatory cooperation agreement will help to increase the market potential for this important breakthrough technology, contributing to competitiveness and more sustainable road transport,” said European Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani.

700,000 REEF PROTECTION

DEFORESTATION DROP

TOP MARKS

LITRES – THE AMOUNT OF JET-FUEL SAVED

Australia is looking to set

Deforestation in the

to 6,238 square

Ethical Traveler has

PER YEAR BY THE ENGINE ALLIANCE GP7200

up the world’s biggest

Brazilian Amazon fell

kilometres, down

published a list of the

ENGINES ON THE EMIRATES A380 FLEET,

protected marine park off

to the lowest level on

10.9 per cent from a

world’s top ten ethical

COMPARED TO ITS RIVALS.

the country’s north-east

record between August year earlier when 7,000 destinations. The criteria

coast. The government

2010 and July 2011,

km/sq. was chopped

evaluates responsibility for

is hoping that the

according to Brazil’s

down. The Brazilian

environmental protection,

approximately 1 million

National Institute of

Amazon accounts

social welfare and human

$1.3 trillion

square kilometre area will

Space Research.

for more than 60 per

rights. The list includes

THE AMOUNT THE AVIATION INDUSTRY

help protect coral reefs

Forest clearing during

cent of the entire

Argentina, Barbados,

WILL INVEST IN NEW AIRCRAFT OVER THE

and wildlife.

the period amounted

Amazon rainforest.

Latvia and Palau.

NEXT DECADE.

.SOURCE: EMIRATES

SOURCE: ENVIRO.AERO

100

EMI RATES NEWS

COMFORT

BEFORE YOU R JOU R N EY CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE TRAVELLING IF YOU HAVE ANY MEDICAL CONCERNS ABOUT MAKING A LONG JOURNEY, OR IF YOU SUFFER FROM A RESPIRATORY OR

IN THE AIR

CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITION. PLAN FOR THE DESTINATION – WILL

TO HELP YOU ARRIVE AT YOUR destination feeling relaxed and refreshed, Emirates has developed this collection of helpful travel tips.

Regardless of whether you need to

rejuvenate for your holiday or be effective at achieving your goals on a business trip, these simple tips will help you to enjoy your journey and time on board with Emirates today.

SPECIAL MEDICATIONS? GET A GOOD NIGHT’S REST BEFORE THE FLIGHT. EAT LIGHTLY AND SENSIBLY.

AT TH E AI R PORT

SMART TRAVELLER DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

YOU NEED ANY VACCINATIONS OR

ALLOW YOURSELF PLENTY OF TIME FOR CHECK-IN.

TRAVEL LIGHTLY

AVOID CARRYING HEAVY BAGS THROUGH THE AIRPORT AND ONTO THE FLIGHT AS THIS CAN PLACE THE BODY UNDER CONSIDERABLE STRESS. ONCE THROUGH TO DEPARTURES TRY AND RELAX AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

REHYDRATE WITH WATER OR JUICES FREQUENTLY.

CARRY ONLY THE ESSENTIAL ITEMS THAT

DRINK TEA AND COFFEE IN MODERATION.

YOU WILL NEED DURING YOUR FLIGHT.

MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE

DU R ING THE FLIGHT CHEWING AND SWALLOWING WILL HELP EQUALISE YOUR EAR PRESSURE

KEEP MOVING

DURING ASCENT AND DESCENT. BABIES AND YOUNG PASSENGERS MAY SUFFER MORE ACUTELY WITH POPPING EARS, THEREFORE CONSIDER PROVIDING A DUMMY.

LOOSEN CLOTHING, REMOVE JACKET AND

EXERCISE YOUR LOWER LEGS AND CALF

GET AS COMFORTABLE AS

AVOID ANYTHING PRESSING AGAINST YOUR BODY.

MUSCLES. THIS ENCOURAGES BLOOD FLOW.

POSSIBLE WHEN RESTING AND TURN FREQUENTLY.

WEAR GLASSES

USE SKIN MOISTURISER

AVOID SLEEPING FOR LONG PERIODS IN THE SAME POSITION.

W H EN YOU ARR IV E TRY SOME LIGHT EXERCISE OR READ IF YOU CAN’T SLEEP AFTER ARRIVAL.

CABIN AIR IS DRIER THAN NORMAL THEREFORE

APPLY A GOOD QUALITY MOISTURISER TO

SWAP YOUR CONTACT LENSES FOR GLASSES.

ENSURE YOUR SKIN DOESN’T DRY OUT.

102

EMI RATES NEWS

CCAABBIN IN W ILLLBBEE CCRREEW W WIL HELLPP HHAAPPPPYYTTOO HE NEEEEDD IIFFYYOOUUN

CUSTOMS & VISAS

E C N C A T N S A I T S S S AASSMI PLEETTIINNGG E CO MPL CO MSS TTHHEEFFOORRM

TO US CUSTOMS & IMMIGRATION FORMS WHETHER YOU’RE TRAVELLING TO, OR THROUGH, THE UNITED States today, this simple guide to completing the US customs and immigration forms will help to ensure that your journey

is as hassle free as possible. The Cabin Crew will offer you two forms when you are nearing your destination. We provide guidelines below, so you can correctly complete the forms.

CUSTOMS DECLAR ATION FORM

IMMIGR ATION FORM

All passengers arriving into the US need to complete a CUSTOMS DECLARATION FORM. If you are travelling as a family this should be completed by one member only. The form must be completed in English, in capital letters, and must be signed where indicated.

The IMMIGRATION FORM I-94 (Arrival / Departure Record) should be completed if you are a non-US citizen in possession of a valid US visa and your final destination is the US or if you are in transit to a country outside the US. A separate form must be completed for each person, including children travelling on their parents’ passport. The form includes a Departure Record which must be kept safe and given to your airline when you leave the US. If you hold a US or Canadian passport, US Alien Resident Visa (Green Card), US Immigrant Visa or a valid ESTA (right), you are not required to complete an immigration form.

104

FLEET GUI DE

ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR

WILL EXPIRE ALONG WITH

TRAVEL AUTHORISATION (ESTA)

YOUR PASSPORT.

IF YOU ARE AN INTERNATIONAL

APPLY ONLINE AT WWW.CBP.GOV/ESTA

EMIRATES NEWS

TRAVELLER WISHING TO ENTER THE UNITED STATES UNDER THE

NATIONALITIES ELIGIBLE

VISA WAIVER PROGRAMME,

FOR THE VISA WAIVER *:

YOU MUST APPLY FOR

ANDORRA, AUSTRALIA,

ELECTRONIC AUTHORISATION

AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, BRUNEI,

(ESTA) UP TO 72 HOURS PRIOR

CZECH REPUBLIC, DENMARK,

TO YOUR DEPARTURE.

ESTONIA, FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, HUNGARY, ICELAND,

ESTA FACTS:

IRELAND, ITALY, JAPAN, LATVIA,

CHILDREN AND

LIECHTENSTEIN, LITHUANIA,

INFANTS REQUIRE AN

LUXEMBURG, MALTA, MONACO,

INDIVIDUAL ESTA.

THE NETHERLANDS, NEW

THE ONLINE ESTA SYSTEM

ZEALAND, NORWAY, PORTUGAL,

WILL INFORM YOU WHETHER

SAN MARINO, SINGAPORE,

YOUR APPLICATION HAS BEEN

SLOVAKIA, SLOVENIA, SOUTH

AUTHORISED, NOT AUTHORISED

KOREA, SPAIN, SWEDEN,

OR IF AUTHORISATION

SWITZERLAND AND THE

IS PENDING.

UNITED KINGDOM**.

A SUCCESSFUL ESTA

*

APPLICATION IS VALID

** ONLY BRITISH CITIZENS QUALIFY UNDER THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAMME.

FOR TWO YEARS, HOWEVER

AD

80 mm wide x 224 mm high

SUBJECT TO CHANGE

THIS MAY BE REVOKED OR

2

THE AVERAGE TIME IN MINUTES BETWEEN DEPARTURES OF AIRCRAFT SERVICED BY DNATA:

T HE AMOUNT OF ONBOARD WASTE IN KG RECYCLED BY EMIRATES FLIGHT CATERING AND DNATA AIRPORT OPERATIONS:

3.3 MILLION

105

EMI RATES NEWS

106

ROUTE MA P

ROUTE MA P

EMIRATES NEWS

107

EMI RATES NEWS

108

ROUTE MA P

ROUTE MA P

EMIRATES NEWS

WHERE ARE YOU GOING? TELL US OR UPLOAD A PIC AT

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109

EMIRATES EMI RATES NEWS NEWS

FLEET FLEETGUI GU DE I DE

ET INS E L F THE NTA

CO OF LEET ADE UP F R S OU ES. M PLANE LAN R P E S 0 G 7 E 1 N N ASSE GO PLA 161 P R A 9C AND

Boeing 777-300ER Number of Aircraft: 65 Capacity: 354-442 Range: 14,594km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 64.8m

Boeing 777-300 Number of Aircraft: 12 Capacity: 364 Range: 11,029km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 60.9m

Boeing 777-200LR Number of Aircraft: 10 Capacity: 266 Range: 17,446km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 64.8m

Boeing 777-200 Number of Aircraft: 9 Capacity: 274-346 Range: 9,649km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 60.9m

Boeing 777-200F/777F Number of Aircraft: 2/3 Range: 9,260km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 64.8m 110

FOR MORE INFORMATION: WWW.EMIRATES.COM/OURFLEET

FLEET GUI DE

EMIRATES NEWS

Airbus A380-800 Number of Aircraft: 20 Capacity: 489-517 Range: 15,000km Length: 72.7m Wingspan: 79.8m

Airbus A340-500 Number of Aircraft: 10 Capacity: 258 Range: 16,050km Length: 67.9m Wingspan: 63.4m

Airbus A340-300 Number of Aircraft: 8 Capacity: 267 Range: 13,350km Length: 63.6m Wingspan: 60.3m

Airbus A330-200 Number of Aircraft: 27 Capacity: 237-278 Range: 12,200km Length: 58.8m Wingspan: 60.3m

Boeing 747-400F Number of Aircraft: 4 Range: 8,232km/9,204km Length: 70.6m Wingspan: 64.4m

AI RCRAFT N UMBERS AS OF 3 1/ 0 1/ 2 0 1 2

111

AD

NEX

TM

ONT

H

80 mm wide x 224 mm high

W

e are putting our technology hats on next issue and exploring the brave, new(ish) world of bleeps, bytes and geekery. We also take a look back at the bizarre world of John DeLorean and his doomed attempts to set up the car company of the future. We go behind the scenes of the biggest tech conference in the world and take to the tourist trail in, er, Palo Alto, Silicon Valley. And of course, there is our usual mix of interviews, reviews, opinions and random bits. Don’t miss it.

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