If you’ve lived in Abu Dhabi for a while, you’ll probably be aware that once a year the city goes movie mad for the annual film festival. Known as the Middle East International Film Festival for its first three years, its name may have changed (probably to reflect Abu Dhabi’s growing international reputation) but the formula is pretty much the same.
Think opening and closing gala films at the overly luxurious Emirates Palace, with a host of A-listers gracing the red carpet, and the city’s cinemas forgoing the usual slew of brainless action flicks and predictable rom-coms in favour of thought-provoking films, international movies and documentaries.
This year, some 170 films from 28 countries, including 12 world premieres, will be shown, making this the most internationally diverse selection since the festival’s inception – all of them competing for the prestigious Black Pearl Awards.
If you’re lucky enough to scoop a ticket to the opening and closing galas, you’ll be able to enjoy the John Malkovich-fronted racehorse drama Secretariat to start with and the Chinese epic Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame on the final night, before mingling with the stars in the gardens of the Palace.
And by ‘stars’ we mean some of the biggest names in Hollywood. As usual, organisers are remaining tight-lipped about who’ll be attending, beyond confirming Uma Thurman and Adrien Brody will be there. But we’ve heard rumours that Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Scarlett Johanssen (pictured) may well be on their way as well.
Of course superstar attendees are part of every film festival, but away from all the glamour, designer dresses and paparazzi, the organisers are keen to make the festival an egalitarian affair by ensuring your average movie-loving punter is heavily involved.
Although the opening and closing nights are invite only, you can purchase tickets to every other screening throughout the festival, and there will be a string of workshops, Q&A sessions with movie stars and directors, as well as master classes with filmmakers to give you an insight into the whole movie business. For example, last year the superstar Naomi Watts popped into the tent for a chat with the public, where she talked candidly about the pressures of fame and her illustrious career. Time Out even caught Orlando Bloom hanging out in the festival tent, sharing a cup of tea with a couple of everyday fans.
The magical tent in question will be pitched in the gardens of the Emirates Palace, which is the epicentre of all the community events. It may seem exclusive, but organisers are keen that you drop in ad hoc, wearing your Friday best or your dirtiest plimsolls – nobody will stop you. The exact timetable is still being decided as we go to press, but pop in at any time during the tent’s opening hours or pay close attention to www.timeoutabudhabi.com to find out exactly what’s happening in the coming days.
Meanwhile, parents should make sure to mark October 23 in their diaries as the official Family Day. At the National Theatre on the Corniche, there will be a screening of child-friendly cartoons from around the world, followed by a showing of Charlie Chaplin’s all-time classic, The Circus. The general aim of all this is to inspire young talent to start creating their own masterpieces. And proof that this ethos is already having an effect is the Emirates Film Competition, from which more than 40 short films made by up-and-coming directors from the Gulf region have been selected for screening.
No need to feel left out if you don’t have a shiny ticket to the opening gala, then – this festival is obviously for you.
World Premiere!
Wrecked
Canada. Dir: Michael Greenspan. Starring: Adrien Brody, Caroline Dhavernas, Ryan Robbins
Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody’s becoming a bit of a regular at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. After appearing two years ago to promote his crime caper The Brothers Bloom, he’s due another traipse along the Emirates Palace red carpet to publicise his latest offering.
Wrecked is a minimalist indie thriller, interspersed with moments of brutal violence. Brody’s character awakens in a mangled car-wreck at the bottom of a steep ravine, his legs trapped, with no memory of who he is or how he got there. His only company is a crackling radio broadcasting news of a violent bank robbery gone wrong and a corpse in the back seat with a wallet identifying him as one of the perpetrators. As he ventures beyond the wreckage he must rely on his primal instincts, using anything he can find in the surrounding wilderness to increase his chances of survival. Confronted with overwhelming obstacles, both real and imaginary, he must discover his identity and face the consequences of his violent past.
With this barebones scenario established, the film proceeds in increments, giving you a painful insight into a broken man’s search for reality. A grimly fascinating tale, the film is already gaining buzz for another stunning Brody performance. After widespread acclaim for his role in the Spike Lee serial killer drama Summer of Sam, the actor’s crowning moment came with the lead in Roman Polanski’s The Pianist. His portrayal of a Polish musician living under Nazi oppression during WWII led him to become, at the tender age of 29, the youngest ever recipient of a Best Actor Oscar. Since then, he’s gone on to star in the remake of King Kong and Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited. His return to Abu Dhabi will be warmly welcomed indeed.
Emirates Palace: Oct 15, 9.30pm. Marina Mall 6: Oct 16, 7.15pm.
Incendies
Canada, France. Dir: Denis Villeneuve. Starring: Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette
An emotive offering from director Denis Villeneuve, dealing with a pair of Arab-Canadian siblings who discover that their dead father may well be alive. Adapted from a play of the same name, the film premiered to huge critical acclaim at the Venice and Toronto film festivals last month. It’s also been chosen to represent Canada at next year’s Oscars as the country’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film. If recent praise is anything to go by, it could be a genuine contender, so take this opportunity to see it before everyone else does.
Emirates Palace: Oct 15, 5.30pm. Marina Mall 6: Oct 16, 9.45pm.
Top of the Docs!
Cane Toad: The Conquest
Australia, USA. Dir: Mark Lewis
In the 1930s, 100 Hawaiian cane toads were introduced into Australia’s sugar plantations to eat the cane beetles that were damaging the crops. Although the toads managed to reduce the beetles’ numbers, the voracious, highly toxic amphibians also developed a taste for the local fauna. Their effect on Australia’s delicate eco-system has been devastating, pushing many indigenous species to the brink of extinction. Mark Lewis’s quirky and hilarious 3D documentary charts the toads’ exponential population growth and their relentless spread across the arid continent. Lewis injects the film with a playful absurd sensibility, making it a fitting testament to the stupidity of mankind.
Marina Mall 5: Oct 16, 4.30pm. Marina Mall 8: Oct 17, 7.30pm.
Never Let Me Go
UK, USA. Dir: Mark Romanek. Starring Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan
Based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s melancholy and haunting novel, Never Let Me Go is a sci-fi tale of a group of friends brought up in an isolated English boarding school, headed towards a cruel, pre-destined fate. As the full horror of their situation unfolds, the group moves past false hope and misunderstandings to come to terms with the reality of their bleak future. Starring Keira Knightley and actress-of-the-moment Carey Mulligan, the strained dynamics between the friends and their guardians is subtle and intriguing, as is the hopeless love story at the heart of the film.
Emirates Palace: Oct 17, 6.30pm. Marina Mall 6: Oct 19, 6.45pm.
Pink Saris
UK, India. Dir: Kim Longinotto
‘If you’re shy, you’ll die,’ is one of the more memorable aphorisms of the woman at the centre of this documentary. Sampat Pal Devi is the leader of the Gulabi Gang from Uttar Pradesh, whose members wear bold pink saris. Their aim is to support women from the lowest caste in a society where child marriages, dowry deaths and domestic violence are rife. The film is charged with emotion, controversy and corruption, and is the latest in a series of acclaimed documentaries by director Kim Longinotto that examines the plight of women in oppressive situations.
Marina Mall 1, Oct 18, 6pm; Oct 19 3.45pm.
Certified Copy
France, Italy. Dir: Abbas Kiarostami. Starring Juliette Binoche, William Shimell, Jean-Claude Carrière
Juliette Binoche stars in this narrative film from acclaimed filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, in his first fiction feature made outside his native Iran. Famed for his documentary style narrative films, he received critical acclaim for directing such films as the Koker Trilogy and Taste of Cherry. In Certified Copy, Binoche received the Best Actress honour at the Cannes film festival for her portrayal of a French gallery owner and her encounter with author James Miller – played by English operatic baritone William Shimell – as he arrives in Tuscany to promote his new book. Captivated by the publication’s ideas on originality in art, where Miller claims a copy can be as good as, or even better than, the original, Binoche’s character (who remains unnamed throughout the film) offers to give him a local tour. Tense and awkward in each other’s company, the owner of a local café mistakes the pair for a long-married couple, an assumption they play along with, finding that their ‘copy’ of a marriage leaves them room to speak and connect more freely. The film takes a playful and mysterious look at the relationships between men and women, with the shifting, slippery quality of the characters’ interaction giving the feeling that at any point their tentative relationship could break down and be lost.
Emirates Palace: Oct 18, 6.30pm. Marina Mall 6: Oct 19, 9.30pm.
Biggest Buzz!
Let Me In
USA. Dir: Matt Reeves. Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Grace Moretz, Richard Jenkins
When acclaimed European movies receive a Hollywood work-over, the results aren’t always positive. But with early reviews packed with nothing but praise, director Matt Reeves’ reimagining of recent Swedish horror film Let the Right One In looks set to give the negative trend a thorough bucking. The film tells the story of a young boy who builds a relationship with a vampire in small-town New Mexico. It’s from the man behind mould-breaking monster movie Cloverfield, so expect creative cinematography and quirky cuts rather than slick haircuts, taut abdominals and similar Twilight-style nonsense.
Emirates Palace: Oct 18, 9.30pm.
The Ditch
China, Belgium, France. Dir: Wang Bing. Starring Lu Ye, Lian Renjun, Xu Cenzi
The Ditch is a harrowing account of the Chinese citizens accused of being ‘rightists’ by Mao Zedong’s Communist government during the late 1950s. Condemned to forced-labour camps in the arid Gobi desert, they were subjected to brutal, degrading treatment and deprived even the most basic human dignities, while more than 2,500 starved to death. Painstakingly researched through interviews with camp survivors, the film draws on Wang’s experience as a documentary-maker as well as classical Chinese drama. The Ditch evokes the full horror of atrocities committed in one of the darkest periods in China’s history.
Marina Mall 5: Oct 19, 7.15pm. Marina Mall 8: Oct 20, 4pm.
World Premiere!
Carlos
France, Germany. Dir: Olivier Assayas. Starring: Edgar Ramirez, Alexander Scheer, Nora Von Walstätten
Originally a five-hour mini-series made for French TV, director Olivier Assayas has trimmed down his biopic of notorious Venezuelan criminal Carlos the Jackal to a feature-length movie, which will be shown for the first time in Abu Dhabi. Édgar Ramírez (whose Hollywood credits include Che: Part One and The Bourne Ultimatum) tackles the title role alongside a supporting cast of relative unknowns likely to bring a gritty realism to the movie. It could still be a bit long for some at 159 minutes, but, with deft enough editing, Assayas’ film could find itself drawing comparisons to last year’s excellent Mesrine.
Emirates Palace: Oct 20, 6pm. Marina Mall 8: Oct 21, 4pm.
Che – Un Hombre Nuevo
Argentina. Dir: Tristan Bauer
As well as being a poster pin-up for scruffy, left-leaning students and having his face plastered over countless T-shirts, Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevera was also one of the most important political philosophers of the 20th century. Benicio Del Toro’s brilliant portrayal of him in Steven Soderbergh’s Che: Parts One and Two, and Walter Salles’ biopic of Che’s early life, The Motorcycle Diaries, were both thoroughly enjoyable films, but
did little more than go over oft-repeated legends. Tristan Bauer’s fascinating documentary aims to find the man beyond the myth by extensively researching primary sources and the memories of those who were closest to him, as well as Che’s own words and writings. The piece is another accomplished work by Bauer, who’ll be hoping for more festival prizes after his Blessed by Fire film won Best Narrative at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival in 2005.
Marina Mall 1: Oct 21, 6.45pm. Marina Mall 8: Oct 22, 3.30pm.
Homegrown Must-see!
Sun Dress
UAE. Dir: Saeed Salmeen. Starring Habeeb Ghuloom, Marrai Alhayan, Nevin Madhi, Ahmad Abdullah, Sophia Jawad, Hammad Al Hammadi
This year’s film festival will showcase tons of Emirati talent, but if you only catch one flick, make sure it’s this one. Director Saeed Salmeen is one of the rising stars of the UAE scene, and this full-length feature, partly shot in Abu Dhabi, will show you why. The tale centres around a young deaf-mute woman trying to cope in a society where the disabled are castigated. The title refers to a wedding gown, which becomes a symbol of what she can never have. The evocative, dreamlike work will show why Salmeen is tipped to hit the big time.
Marina Mall 6: Oct 21, 7pm. Marina Mall 2: Oct 23, 5pm.
World Premiere!
Kings of Pastry
France, Netherlands, UK, USA. Dir: Chris Hegedus, DA Pennebaker
Directed by legendary documentarian DA Pennebaker (Bob Dylan: Don’t Look Back), the comedic Kings of Pastry follows 16 pastry chefs on their journey through the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvries de France competition. This fascinating documentary gives a never-before-seen glimpse behind the scenes of the contest, as the chefs endure three days of intense and gruelling tests to determine who reigns supreme in the world of pastry. Stakes are high, and the film takes you on a journey of drama and emotion, charting the chefs’ obsession with perfection, the subsequent elation enjoyed by the winner, and the bitterness of failure endured by the losers.
Marina Mall 4: Oct 21, 10pm; Oct 22, 7pm.
World Premiere!
Paan Singh Tomar
India. Dir: Tigmanshu Dhulia. Starring: Irrfan Khan, Mahi Gil, Vipin Sharma
Fans of Indian cinema won’t want to miss this one. It’s based on the real-life story of the eponymous athlete who won the steeplechase gold medal at the Indian National Games for seven years in succession. However, after retiring from the track to his home village he becomes embroiled in a vicious family feud. When enemies attack his family and steal his land, he becomes a vengeful outlaw, a hero to the impoverished masses and a national celebrity. The main character is played by Irrfan Khan, one of India’s biggest crowd pullers, whose acting talents have not gone unnoticed by international filmmakers after starring alongside Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart and Owen Wilson in The Darjeeling Limited.
Emirates Palace: Oct 20, 9.45pm.
The Circus
USA. Dir: Charlie Chaplin. Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Merna Kennedy, Allan Garcia
Chaplin, the king of silent-era comedy, reprises his most famous role as the tramp – a character that inspires both pity and laughter. We find him on a circus fairway, where a stolen meal leads to a police chase. Hilarity ensues when, on taking shelter from the law in a circus tent, the tramp is mistaken for one of the performers, and is soon offered a job by the ringmaster. The knockabout slapstick comedy and daredevil stunts take place alongside a moving love story in this 1920s classic that hasn’t lost its shine. We’re anticipating great things from the brand new restoration, seen as a kind of world premiere at this year’s festival.
Abu Dhabi Theatre: Oct 23, 6.30pm.
Miss it at your Peril!
Metropolis
Germany. Dir: Fritz Lang. Starring: Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich, Brigitte Helm
If you thought influential cinema began and ended with the ’80s action classics, currently being remade left, right and centre to pad out the summer blockbuster schedules, think again. Few films can claim to have had such a lasting effect on the industry as this 1927 black and white epic, painstakingly written and directed by legendary Austrian director Fritz Lang. It’s widely regarded as the first ever sci-fi film for starters, and, as such, provided inspiration for the likes of George Lucas, who famously modelled Star Wars’ C-3PO on Maria, Lang’s central robotic protagonist. For the uninitiated, the film tells the story of a wealthy, bourgeois society set in a dystopian future, and its relationship with a subterranean underclass of workers. Conflict arises as the son of one of the city’s rulers falls in love with one of his supposed inferiors who, naturally, gets turned into a robot. Film scholars have spent decades poring over every frame, analysing and decoding the dialogue and editing to deduce interpretations of Marxist ideology. From our considerably less intellectual perspective, it’s a stunning-looking film that’s an incredible achievement for its day and ought to be experienced by everyone, even those on whom the anti-capitalist overtones are lost.
All this aside, there’s another big reason why Metropolis promises to be one of the highlights of this year’s festival. The version being shown is based on an almost complete copy that was found by chance in Argentina two years ago, making it nearly twice as long as the film you may have seen before. So if you’ve been waiting to see one of cinema’s truly defining moments on the big screen, in exactly the way its pioneering creator intended, this is your chance. Don’t miss out.
Abu Dhabi Theatre: Oct 21, 6.30pm. Marina Mall 2: Oct 22, 3.15pm.
Festival info
•The Festival Tent at Emirates Palace is open from October 15-22 from 5pm-2am. Movie tickets can be purchased from box offices at Emirates Palace, Cinestar Cinema, Marina Mall (from October 4) and Abu Dhabi Theatre, Breakwater (from October 14) or via the website, www.adff.ae.
•Tickets cost Dhs20 for regular screenings, Dhs40 for gala screenings and Dhs10 for students and seniors (over 65), or you can pay Dhs300 for a pass to all regular screenings, Dhs200 for a gold pass to see all the gala screenings, or, for the truly flush, Dhs2,500 for all the films, including opening and closing ceremonies. Visit www.adff.ae for details.
Best of the rest
Catch these if you’re in the mood to watch…
Romance
Chico & Rita
Spain, UK
This animated feature is a sweeping love story set in the Cuban Revolution to the backdrop of a Latin jazz soundtrack from legendary musician Bebo Valdés.
Marina Mall 1: Oct 18, 9pm. Marina Mall 2: Oct 19, 9.15pm.
Adventure
Virgin Goat
India
A poor but proud farmer, after suffering abuse at the hands of his family and the authorities, goes on a dangerous journey with his goat, where he runs into a host of crazy characters.
Emirates Palace: Oct 19, 6.30pm. Marina Mall 2: Oct 20, 7.30pm.
Documentary
The Furious Force of Rhymes
USA
From its origins as an underground movement in New York’s ghettos, hip hop has grown to become a truly international phenomenon. Director Josh Atesh Litle meets a diverse cross-section of the global community, from Palestinian youths to African feminists, who all use rap music as a channel of protest.
Abu Dhabi Theatre: Oct 21, 9.45pm. Marina Mall 2: Oct 22, 6.45pm.
Thriller
Fair Game
USA
Naomi Watts and Sean Penn star in this fast-paced thriller based on the true story of undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame, whose cover was blown by White House officials after her husband criticised the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
Emirates Palace: Oct 21, 9.45pm.
Comedy
West Is West
UK
The sequel to the hilarious East Is East follows the dysfunctional British/Pakistani Khan family as they leave their home in Manchester, England to visit their motherland.
Emirates Palace: Oct 16, 9.30pm. Marina Mall 6: Oct 20, 6.30pm.
Drama
Taming
Syria
A young man runs away with a beautiful girl in defiance of her family. The pair are mysteriously separated in the desert, and he goes about trying to find her with the help of a bitter old hermit.
Abu Dhabi Theatre: Oct 15, 9.30pm. Abu Dhabi Theatre: Oct 19, 4pm.
Children’s film
Esterhazy
Poland/Germany
A young rabbit visits Berlin in 1989 to meet a female bunny, who lives in the shadow of a mysterious wall. Berlin, wall, 1989? Guess what’s about to unfold…
Marina Mall 4: Oct 19, 4pm. Marina Mall 4: Oct 21, 1pm.
A classic
The Mummy
Egypt
Not to be confused with the 1930s horror in which Boris Karloff stumbles around in bandages, this 1973 classic by Egyptian auteur filmmaker Shadi Abdel Salem tells of a fatal predicament facing an ancient tribe who guard a tomb of mummies.
Abu Dhabi Theatre: Oct 16, 4pm; Oct 17, 4pm.
Short film
American Arab
UAE
A concise and direct look at the Arab-American relationship. James Asher, himself an Arab American, asked people across the USA just one question: ‘What comes to mind when you hear the word Arab?’ He uncovers an unsettling abundance of misunderstandings and stereotypes.
Marina Mall 8: Oct 20, 6.45pm; Oct 23, 1pm.
