Abu Dhabi Film Festival

Abu Dhabi Film Festival أبو ظبي السينمائي
Abu Dhabi Film Festival
Location	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Founded	2007
Language	Arabic English
Official website

Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF) (Arabic: أبو ظبي السينمائي‎) is an international film festival. Created in 2007, the ceremony is held annually in October in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of the ADACH. The ADFF aims to encourage and foster the growth of filmmaking in the Arab world by showcasing movies from the region alongside standout productions from prominent international filmmakers.^[1]

Inaugural festival

The first festival debuted with 152 movies and 186 screenings shown in five Abu Dhabi venues. A total of 76 feature films and 34 short films from over 35 countries competed for the Black Pearl Awards. Well-known celebrities who showed up for the awards were: Michael Gaston, the British actor Joseph Fiennes, and well known French actress, and Eva Green. Some of the Arabic personalities who attended were:Muna Wassef, Yousra, Elham Shaeen, Mostafa Shaban, and Abdulaiziz Al Jazem. The initial MEIFF was produced by Egyptian celebrity host Nashwa Al-Ruwaini. After the 2008 festival, Al-Ruwaini was removed and now serves on the advisory board, and Peter Scarlet, formerly of the Tribeca Film Festival, assumed duties in 2009.

Re-branding

In 2010, UAE based Brash Brands www.brashbrands.com assisted ADACH to develop the Festival's brand, allowing it to compete more effectively with Dubai Film Festival, Doha Tribeca Film Festival, Cannes, etc. With the changes came the move from MEIFF to Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

Sponsorship

The festival is sponsosred by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (often abbreviated as ADACH). It is the institution in charge of conserving and promoting the heritage and culture of Abu Dhabi, and administered by a board of directors chaired by H. E. Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan.^[2]

Headlining features

With a new branding scheme, and in its second year under the command of Executive Director Peter Scarlet, the 2010 ADFF is making a strong effort to breakout from a cluttered festival junket in the Gulf Region. This year there are six feature films and two documentaries that are attracting a considerable amount of industry buzz.

In a Better World by the Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier, takes a look at the lives of two families in small-town Denmark as they become intertwined through an uneasy friendship of two boys. The official Canadian entry to the Oscar also bows in Abu Dhabi. Incendies, directed by Denis Villeneuve, is based on a play by Canadian-Lebanese writer Wajdi Mouawad, and tells the story of a mother’s cryptic will that forces her grown children to confront the prospect that the father they thought dead is alive, and that they have a brother. From Egypt is Messages from the Sea by Daoud Abdel Sayed, which follows the story of Yehya, who returns to Alexandria, the city of his youth following the death of his mother, where he encounters the new face of the ancient, portrayed as a decaying metropolis. Cirkus Columbia,^[3] is also considered an Oscar contender. Directed by Danis Tanovic, who won the Best Foreign Language Oscar with his film No Man’s Land in 2002. Cirkus Columbia follows a wealthy ex-pat who comes home to his small village in Yugoslavia in 1991.

Two documentary films, both dealing with current tensions in the Middle East, are highlighting the 2010 Abu Dhabi Film Festival. Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace, directed by American director Harry Hunkele and produced by American Emmy-award winning producer Arick Wierson, tells the story of the secret closed door negotiations and power-plays that enabled U.S. President Jimmy Carter to forge the historic Camp David Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt.^[4] The film stars Jimmy Carter, former U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, CNN anchorman Wolf Blitzer, and, in a rare on camera appearance, former U.S. Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger.^[5] The Oath^[6] is documentary from director Laura Poitras that tells the tale of two men, Abu Jandal and Salim Ahmed Hamdan, whose meeting launched them on juxtaposed paths with Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, 9/11, US military tribunals and the U.S. Supreme Court.^[7]

There are two major Hollywood features opening at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. Making its world premier is Secretariat,^[8] directed by Randall Wallace, starring Diane Lane and John Malkovich is an adopted biopic of the eponymous racehorse Secretariat. Making its Middle East premiere is Fair Game, starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn and directed by Doug Liman, the political thriller tells the real life story of Valerie Plame, American CIA agent outed by the Bush Administration in an effort to discredit revelations of falsified evidence in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Celebrity involvement

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival, known for attracting a bevy if big Hollywood names, has confirmed that A-list stars Uma Thurman and Adrien Brody will attend this year´s festival^[9]

Press

In October, 2009, the UK Guardian published an article about the origins and intent of the MEIFF. The article noted that although the host country, Abu Dhabi, at present has only a small indigenous film-making industry, the film festival could serve a variety of constructive purposes.^[10]

MEIFF 2009 Black Pearl Award winners

In 2009, 16 Black Pearl awards were given in 3 major categories (narrative, documentary, and short films). Also given were also 7 Jury Special Mention awards, and one Audience Choice Award. Among all entries worldwide, the best film winners were as follows:^[11]

The Black Pearl Award for Best Narrative Film - $100,000

Hipsters (Stilyagi)

Director: Valery Todorovsky (Russia)

The Black Pearl Award for Best Documentary Film - $100,000

The Frontier Gandhi: Badshah Khan, A Torch for Peace

Director: T. C. McLuhan (Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, USA)

The Black Pearl Award for Best Narrative Short - $25,000

The Six Dollar Fifty Man

Director: Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland (New Zealand)

The Black Pearl Award for Best Narrative Short - $25,000

Wagah

Director: Supriyo Sen and Najaf Bilgrami (Pakistan, India, Germany)

MEIFF 2008 Black Pearl Award winners

The Black Pearl for Best Narrative Film - $200,000
Disgrace
Director: Steve Jacobs. Producers: Anna Maria Monticelli, Emile Sherman, Steve Jacobs

The Black Pearl for Best Documentary – $150,000
Stranded
Director: Gonzalo Arijon. Producer: Marc Silvera

The Black Pearl Special Jury Prize- $125,000
Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love
Director and Producer: Elisabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

The Black Pearl for Best Actress - $75,000
Fawzia: A Special Blend
Actress: Ilham Shaheen

The Black Pearl for Best Actor - $75,000
Wild Blood
Actor: Luca Zingaretti

The Black Pearl for Best Artistic Contribution - $75,000
Laila's Birthday
Screenwriter: Rashid Masharawi

The Black Pearl Audience Choice Award
Saving Luna
Co-Directors: Suzanne Chisholm & Michael Parfit. Producer: Suzanne Chisholm

The Black Pearl for Best Narrative - Short Film- $75.000
The View
Co-Directors: Hazim Bitar & Rifqi Assaf. Producer: Amman Filmmakers Cooperative

The Black Pearl for Best Documentary – Short Film- $75.000
Breadmakers
Director: Yasmin Fedda. Producers: Jim Hickey & Robin Mitchell The Black Pearl for Best Animation- Shot Film- $75.000
Jacinta
Director: Karla Casteneda. Producer: Luis Tellez

The Black Pearl for Best Narrative – Student Films – $25.000
Illusion
Director: Burhan Qurbani. Producer: Fabian Gasmia

The Black Pearl for Best Emerging Filmmaker – Student Films- $25.000
Lullaby
Director: Serena Abi Aad. Producer: IESAV

SANAD

In 2011, the Abu Dhabi Film Festival launched the SANAD development and post-production fund for cineastes from the Arab world. With the goal of encouraging independent and auteur-based cinema, eligible filmmakers now have access to financial grants, screenwriting and pitch workshops, and personal meetings with industry mentors and experts.^[12]

See also

• Dubai International Film Festival
• Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage

References

1. ^ Abu Dhabi Film Festival
2. ^ http://www.adach.ae/en/portal/adach/about.authority.aspx
3. ^ http://ticketing.abudhabifilmfestival.ae/eng/film.aspx?ID=3147
4. ^ http://ticketing.abudhabifilmfestival.ae/eng/film.aspx?ID=2148
5. ^ http://www.backdoorchannels.com/
6. ^ http://ticketing.abudhabifilmfestival.ae/eng/film.aspx?ID=1994
7. ^ http://www.theoathmovie.com/
8. ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/world/news/e3ia720786bb43ba0b0042e74911c23bc1a
9. ^ .http://www.emirates247.com/entertainment/events/thurman-brody-to-attend-abu-dhabi-film-fest-2010-09-28-1.296294
10. ^ "Just Add Cash - Abu Dhabi's Instant Cinema", UK Guardian, 27 Oct 2009 [1], accessed 27 Oct 2009.
11. ^ "MEIFF Announces Winners of 2009 Black Pearl Awards" [2], retrieved 29 Oct 2009.
12. ^ AFAC and Abu Dhabi Film Festival Partner to Support Arab DocumentariesThrough the SANAD FilmLab

External links

• Abu Dhabi Film Festival - Official website