Monuments by Diego Contreras

Monuments by Diego Contreras is a very short clip of Dubai that was shot in less than 24 hours. 

'Monuments' was shot in Dubai, UAE while on location to produce a commercial for Umbro this past summer. The place is known for its towering monuments in the sand, but its really when you stray away from downtown that you get to absorb the interesting culture and its color.

There are  some scenes that were shot in Abu Dhabi (Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Ferrari World), but the rest of it is in Dubai. It's interesting that Contreras refers to the old central parts of Dubai like Deira and the creek as the part of Dubai that's 'away from downtown'. It makes me wonder if the parts of Dubai with the 'towering monuments' are thought of as 'downtown/central' Dubai by people who are not familiar with the city.

I guess it doesn't help when we have a campaign like Downtown Dubai - The Centre of Now which is currently running on TV and and online. The commercial is promoting some of Emaar's flagship properties which includes Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall and The Dubai Fountain and tries to give the impression that this is 'downtown Dubai'. The description on their YouTube channel goes as far as to describe it as 'the new heart of the city'.

With the continuous development and construction happening in this city, I am worried we are being persuaded to forget the old part of the city and its heart and soul. Old is not gold in this part of the world. 

www.thisisdiego.net
www.vimeo.com/diegocontreras