Film festivals in the UAE should be focused on films from the region even though glamorous big budget Hollywood-style films like Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Life of Pi make for opening night galas that attract local VIPs, especially when stars like Tom Cruise show up.
The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) that ran from December 9-16 doesn’t need the imported glamour anymore; it has enough to offer from the Middle East and North Africa as well as sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia that is of increasingly high quality. And that’s where the focus should be if the intention is to make the UAE the centre of the film industry in the greater Middle East.
For various reasons the Egyptian, Lebanese, Syrian and North African film industries that were dominant at one time have slowed down or stopped due to political developments, economic or other restrictions.
The UAE in the film industry (as in the airline business) has the advantage of having no legacy structures to drag it down. Just as Etihad and Emirates Airlines deploy the newest equipment and excellent crews without the burden of 20 year old planes and labour agreements, so too can the film industry develop all new in a taxless and welcoming environment.
The only drag on the industry could be censorship, but that need not be fatal. The arts can exist and thrive within artificial limits. Directors in Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia managed to produce outstanding films during the communist era when politics was as delicate a subject as it can be today in the Middle East. A Separation, last year’s Iranian winner of the Best Foreign Film Oscar, provides an illustration of what can be done in a climate of political and social restriction.
During the 9th Dubai Festival, 158 films were screened, counting full length features and documentaries as well as film shorts. Out of 158, some 83 competed for the various Muhr Awards: Muhr Emirati, Muhr Arab, and Muhr AsiaAfrica. Inaugurated in 2006 and expanded to AsiaAfrica in 2007, the Muhr Awards distributed USD 600,000 to the winners.
Wadjda, the story of a girl determined to ride her bicycle in conservative Saudi Arabia, took first prize as the best Muhr Arab Feature. A German, UAE, Saudi Arabia coproduction, Wadjda also earned the Best Actress prize for its child star.
As DIFF was winding down, the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority announced a new initiative to promote Dubai by financing three films: 15-30 minutes long, by a trio of young Emirati directors who already have a track record in the industry. Under the theme The Soul of Dubai, the films will be shown at the Gulf Film Festival, April 11-17, and then at international film festivals.
Ali Mostafa who directed City of Life is preparing Don’t Judge a Subject by its Photograph, which is set in the Al Quoz art district. Nayla Al Khaja who directed Malal will create The Neighbor, which is about a new resident who bonds with an Emirati. Khalid Ali’s contribution is The Night, which highlights local culture in following an Emirati family as they celebrate a night of religious significance.
The Soul of Dubai sounds like an excellent project. Every country and city that stands out also attracts criticism; some of it justified, some of it the result of misunderstanding or jealousy. Rather than answering external criticism by heated responses in newspapers and social media, people who love Dubai need to show the world what it’s like.
Most people can’t afford to travel to the UAE to experience it directly. Films can reach and inform a broad and ignorant audience through festivals and internet streaming. Eventually, Dubai may become like New York or London – a city that may be criticized but never ignored.
By Alma Kadragic
