Arab stars grace the red carpet

ABU DHABI — For a change, the red carpet on the opening day of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF) belonged to stars of the Arab world. Actors, producers and directors such as Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Khaled Abol Naga, Faris Alhilo, Bushra, Sami Kaftan and Maher Salibi, walked under the glittering lights last night at Fairmont Bab Al Bahr.

Most of the jury members were also among the special guests to walk the red carpet, including Egyptian actress Laila Eloui, Iranian screen legend Fatemeh Simin Motamed-Arya, American actress, model and athlete Aimee Mullins and French actress Marianne Denicourt. Also among the night’s prominent guests were celebrated Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako (‘Life on Earth’, ‘Bamako’), one of the principal voices of world cinema and president of ADFF’s jury in 2008. Sissako will be holding one of the master classes on October 15, at 11.30am, at the Fairmont here.

The best of Gulf in the film and TV industry were present on the opening night of ADFF with actors, singers, filmmakers and celebrities such as Huda Al Khatib Janah, Dr Habib Ghuloom, Haifa Hussein, Mohammed Al Mansour, Haya Abdelsalam, Ali Al Ali, Moza Al Mazrouei, Khaled Ameen, Tarek Al Ali, Abdullah Boushahri, Mahmoud Boushahri, Ibrahim Al Hasawi, Ahmad Iraj, Ahmad Al Jasmi, Zyna Karam, Abdel Mohsen Nemer and Ghanem Al Sulaiti gracing the occasion. “This is a Middle Eastern and Arab film festival and for the opening night we are delighted to be welcoming a group of distinguished actors and directors from the region, including some of the best-known names from the Gulf,” said Eissa Saif Rashed Al Mazrouei, director of Special Projects for Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH).

With the red carpet over, it was time for the first movie of the night to roll. For the first time in the festival’s history, the screening took place outdoors, in a specially set up outdoors cinema on the beaches of Fairmont Hotel.

Outdoors movies will go on every night here for the duration of the festival. The hotel is planning to keep the beach front cinema open for several weeks after the closing of ADFF on October 22. Another good news about the Fairmont outdoors screening is that tickets are free, although they do need to be obtained from the box office at the hotel’s lobby.

Monsieur Lazhar by Canadian filmmaker Philippe Falardeau was a perfect choice as the opening movie for an Arabian film festival with worldwide ambitions. Canada’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2012 Oscars, Monsieur Lazhar is the personal story of an Algerian immigrant teacher, who takes over as a substitute for a group of school children, whose previous teacher had been murdered — a story of grief, broken hearts, compassion and immigration status.

“We believe that we have succeeded to a large extent in placing ADFF as an important stop in the international film festivals map, by appealing to a large audience that was drawn by cinema productions presented by the festival each year, and taking in international experts that have artistic, cinematographic, and managerial skills,” said Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, vice chairman of ADFF, advisor for Cultural and Heritage at the Court of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, and director general of ADACH.

“In this edition, we maintain our strategy that aims at empowering new talent in the UAE, and providing them with an opportunity to reach an international audience. We also seek to transform Abu Dhabi into a film industry hub. We aspire to consolidate the success of the already-launched diverse initiatives, such as the ‘New Horizons’ competition, and the SANAD Fund, as we keep up building community cooperation with different partners. We mention in this context our cooperation with Masdar to introduce the Award for Environmental Films. Event series include an initiative to honour a number of winners of the Noble Prize in Literature, open-air screenings, and Family Day. Debates on the future of cinema and the impact of recent regional developments will be organised and will feature leading filmmakers, and industry professionals,” he added.

More than 3,000 featured films and documentaries from 102 countries submitted their participation in this fifth edition of ADFF. Of this, 86 films from 35 countries have been selected for the different sections of the festival. In addition to this, 1,900 short films from 87 countries sought participation, of which 94 from 24 countries have been chosen. The Emirati Film Competition, which this year celebrates 10 years, drew 177 films produced in the Gulf, 46 of which have been now selected to be screened. — silvia@khaleejtimes.com