Unlike the other well-known film festivals held in the UAE – one of which attracts Hollywood superstars while the other brings a wealth of world cinema to our shores – the Gulf Film Festival focuses more on home-grown talent and aims its lens almost exclusively at movies made in or about the Gulf. There are no plush, pricey gala screenings – all films are free and open to the public, and because of this, and the lack of glitz and hype, it is the films that shine the brightest.
While the final programme was yet to be set in stone as we went to press, we’re expecting about 130 films, screened from Tuesday April 10 until Monday 16, ranging from feature premieres to short student movies just a few minutes in length. What all of the movies have in common is a glimpse behind the curtain of the region’s communities.
‘This is where you come to be taken into the filmmakers’ homes,’ says GFF PR manager Mildred Fernandes.
‘GFF is extremely bold and brave. We give the filmmakers the space to show what they want. Here it’s less about quality of production and more about what the filmmakers are trying to say. You have Emirati filmmakers dealing with things you’d never expect. You see the region through the eyes of its people, and it’s completely not what you’d expect.’
Despite the low-key nature of GFF, it’s still an internationally recognised festival that attracts media from across the region, and sometimes further afield. Screenings are split into six competitions, with awards for best local feature, short and documentary, best student short and documentary, and an international competition – yet for most filmmakers the honour is simply appearing.
Gulf Film Festival takes place from Tuesday April 10 to Monday 16 at Grand Cinemas, Dubai Festival City. Entry to the films is free. www.gulffilmfest.com.
A Falcon, A Revolution
Directed by Jassim Al Romaihi, Md Rezwan Al Islam
This student docudrama, made in Qatar, invites viewers to experience the Egyptian revolution from the eyes of a Bedouin, who speaks of how falcons and governments are similar: if you keep them in check, they will do what they are supposed to, and if you let them misbehave, they will.
Cats
Directed by Marwan Al Hammadi
Curious about the lion cubs and leopards photographed popping their heads out of UAE-registered Land Cruisers, or on a leash in JBR? Ambitious student short Cats spotlights four people who keep exotic cats as pets in the UAE, bravely asking these important men why they do it and their long-term plans for their animals.
Divine Intervention
Directed by Yen-Chi Tseng
Two turtles are making a living as street performers when suddenly, their earnings disappear. A fight follows, but neither is to blame. This Taiwanese children’s animation invites viewers to ask who the
real culprit is.
Fatin Drives Me Crazy
Directed by Mohammed Al Sendi
This Saudi Arabia short gets its world premiere at GFF. Fatin and Sultan are young newlyweds who share a loving relationship in modern-day Saudi Arabia. While stuck at home with Sultan at work, no driver around and a car in perfect working order, Fatin struggles to run errands.
Fireworks
Directed by Giacomo Abbruzzese
For 50 years, Taranto in Italy has been home to Europe’s largest steel industry, an immense, hideous complex that occupies every economical, visual and imaginary horizon, making it the most polluted city in Western Europe. On New Year’s Eve, as the fireworks explode, an international group of ecologists decides to blow up the entire factory. A short action thriller from France and Italy.
Halabja – The Lost Children
Directed by Akram Hidou
Twenty-one years after Saddam Hussein’s poison gas attack in 1988 killed up to 5,000 people in this Kurdish town in northern Iraq, and injured up to 10,000 more, the presumed-dead Ali returns to Halabja looking for his lost family. He discovers five families, each of them hoping he is their missing child. A haunting feature film made in Germany, Iraq and Syria.
Hi
Directed by Nayla Al Khaja
A UAE-produced drama focusing on the humble washing line. Can
your laundry make you feel lonely? If your neighbours’ washing line reflects their busy life and the love that surrounds them, and yours pales in comparison, what’s next?
Red Heart
Directed by Halkawt Mustafa
After the death of her mother, 19-year-old Shirin discovers her father’s plans to trade her in exchange for a new wife. Unable to accept this, she escapes to the big city with her secret boyfriend. When he is arrested, she must face the dangers and challenges of her new life alone. A feature-length contemporary version of Romeo and Juliet, set in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Gamboo’a Revolution
Directed by Abdulrahman Al Madani
The Gamboo’a Revolution discusses the phenomenon of the gamboo’a (otherwise known as the beehive hairdo, a.k.a. the ‘camel hump’). This UAE student short asks why young women are embracing the fashion so enthusiastically.
This is London
Directed by Mohammad Bu-Ali
A couple’s mission to send a photograph to their son in London should be an easy task, but when the wife refuses to go to the studio, the photographer has to think of innovative and unusual ways to capture the perfect shot. A professional short film from Bahrain.
Look out for a more in-depth feature on the Gulf Film Festival in Abu Dhabi in next week’s issue.
