With banners hanging from every lamppost, you can hardly fail to notice when the Abu Dhabi Film Festival rolls into town each October. Going about things in an altogether subtler manner is the all-new Heritage Film Festival, taking place for the first time next week.
Organised by the Goethe Institut, the line-up comprises a set of shorts and features focusing on themes of national identity and the concept of ‘the homeland’. Here’s our pick of the programme.
Wednesday, February 23
City of Life
UAE, 2009
Before the release of Ali F Mostafa’s 2009 drama, the very idea of a UAE film industry was enough to make your average film critic choke on his morning latte. But with high production values and some recognisable Western actors on board (look out for Jason ‘Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels’ Flemyng), Emirati filmmakers are proving themselves a cinematic force to be reckoned with. Set in modern Dubai, the action revolves around the intertwining relationships of three central characters: a rich Arab, an Indian taxi driver and a Romanian flight attendant. With issues of cultural integrity thrust brutally into the spotlight, it’s not hard to see how the film earned its spot in the festival – or its unrivalled popularity with UAE audiences.
Thursday, February 24
Homeland 3, Episode 1
Germany, 2004
A gritty drama feature taken from a TV mini-series by respected German filmmaker Edgar Reitz. The action kicks off just before the fall of the Berlin Wall, with leading man Hermann miraculously reunited with old flame Clarissa. Cast against the backdrop of the most significant political event in recent European history, the re-establishment of a single German identity forms a fascinating parallel, as the pair set about compromising their own ambitions to set up home together. Indeed, it’s this concept of home that has dominated the Munich-schooled director’s career. ‘When the world is boundless and place becomes arbitrary ‘home’ is no longer defined by place, but by time’, he says. ‘Film is the only artistic genre that can capture time.’
Friday, February 25
Madly in Love
Switzerland, 2010
On the face of it, Anna Luif’s second full-length production is a fairly bog-standard tale of romance and rejection. A Sri Lankan boy moves abroad, meets a girl from his homeland over the internet, and said girl agrees to follow her man overseas only to find he’s got bored and shacked up with a local Swiss floozy. Dig a little deeper, though, and there’s more to glean, with main character Devan’s struggle to remain loyal to his roots against the threat of foreign forces likely to strike a chord with many members of the audience. But whether you take it as a complex anti-colonial allegory or a throwaway teen-pleasing love story, this still ought to be one of the festival’s highlights.
Saturday, February 26
Kebab Connection
Germany, 2005
A German comedy film about a Turkish wannabe kung fu director who finds himself embroiled in a bitter battle between a kebab shop and a Greek tavern. Like a sprinkling of chips in your Thursday night shawarma, some odd concoctions just work. Luckily, the ‘wacky’ angle is played with subtlety by director Anno Saul, resulting in some spot-on hat-tipping to various genre films. Of course, it’s the culture clash that arises when the main character’s dalliances with a German girl evoke his father’s wrath that will have likely caught the festival curator’s eye, so remember to scratch your chin and look thoughtful while you’re guffawing.
The Heritage Film Festival takes place at the Heritage Village (on the Breakwater, near the flagpole) from February23-27. Free. All films will be shown with English subtitles. For full film listings, visit www.goethe.de/abudhabi.
