Over the past three weeks, Dubai Mall’s The Picturehouse has been screening one film each week, selected by the British Council at the ‘best of British’. This UK film season has so far seen director Sam Taylor-Wood’s Nowhere Boy hit the screens, followed by Never Let Me Go, starring Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan, while last week saw the late Pete Postlethwaite shine in Brassed Off. This week, StreetDance, the UK’s answer to Step Up hits screens across Dubai. You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to suss out that there’s no unifying theme as far as plotlines go, so what’s this all about?
‘We’re looking to show the UK at historical tipping points,’ explains the British Council’s country director for the UAE, Richard Cotton. ‘Nowhere Boy shows the UK at a particular time in its history, West is West, is a cultural look at a Pakistani family and how they’ve grown through generations in the UK, then there’s StreetDance which is an insight into contemporary hip hop culture.’ He adds that this is by no means a one-off, with similar mini film festivals taking place around the world, citing Beijing as an example.
‘Part of the British council’s role is showcasing UK arts and culture, to create a better cultural understanding between the UK and UAE through the people in those countries,’ says Cotton. He adds that in support of this, they will be showing an Arabic short before each screening, which they hope will give expats in the audience the chance to experience their country of residence through the eyes of Emirati filmmakers. During the film season, which runs until March 15, they’re expecting to see a mixture of both Emiratis and expatriates turning out for the films, each of which are aimed at adults and teens, and run for a week, with five screenings a day.
Cotton insists setting up a season of British films in Abu Dhabi is something they’re currently considering. ‘To some extent, it will depend on the success of this one, but we’re certainly keen to make it annual,’ he explains. But even if the turnout for Dubai is dismal, it won’t necessarily deter them from putting something on in the capital. ‘I think we’re keen to work with partners in Abu Dhabi to take more British films there, and that doesn’t necessarily depend on the success of what we’re doing in Dubai.’
Our top picks from the UK film season
StreetDance
Starring Charlotte Rampling, Rachel McDowall, Patrick Baladi
Runs February 10-15
The Brits enter the dance flick arena with this hopeful story set in London, where a street dance crew are forced to cooperate with an equally reluctant group of ballet dancers if they want somewhere to rehearse. Exceptional choreography and a soundtrack performed by British urban acts including N-Dubz, Tinie Tempah and Chipmunk give this the UK-urban edge.
Made in Dagenham (2010)
Starring Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Andrea Riseborough
Runs February 17-22
Marking another turning point in the UK’s employment history, this dramatisation of the walk-out staged by female employees at a Ford Motor Company’s assembly plant in 1968 depicts events which impacted the Equal Pay Act of 1970. At times comic and others tragic, there’s a stellar performance from Hawkins, who helms the film as the fictionalised leader of the strike.
Topsy Turvy (1999)
Starring Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduner, Dexter Fletcher
Runs March 10-15
It’s 1884, and a successful theatre partnership between Arthur Sullivan and WS Gilbert is on the rocks after critics pan their production Princess Ida. What follows is a marvellous depiction of Victorian theatre, and a look at the pressures of each individual involved in what becomes The Mikado.
