The Abu Dhabi Film Festival starts today and after sharing my top 20 picks, it would be remiss of me if I didn't highlight the focus on Algerian cinema at this festival.
Part of this year's Abu Dhabi Film Festival is a programme called "The Spirit of Independence: Algerian Cinema" which celebrates the 50th anniversary of post-independence Algerian cinema. The line up includes rare screenings of films that inspired a national Algerian cinema, plus the most famous Algerian film of all time, The Battle of Algiers, a great and timeless film (if you've never watched it before, this is your chance.
Here's the full line up.
The Battle of Algiers (1966)
One of the most influential political films ever, Gillo Pontecorvo’s incendiary street-level agitprop classic vividly re-creates a key year in the tumultuous struggle for independence from the French in the 1950s. Screening and ticket information.
Chronicle of the Years of Embers (Chronique des années de braise / Waqai’ Sanawat al-Jamr) (1975)
The first and only film from the Arab world to be awarded the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina’s lyrical epic traces the Algerian revolution against the French through the experiences of a peasant. Screening and ticket information.
Opium and the Baton (L' opium et le baton) (1969)
Ahmed Rachedi’s adaptation of Mouloud Mammeri’s novel about resistance fighters follows members of the a family who are at once separated and united by the war for independence. (Please note this film will be screened only in Arabic with French subtitles.) Screening and ticket information.
Inspector Tahar's Holiday (Les vacances de l'inspecteur Tahar) (1972)
The Adventures of Inspector Tahar was a well-loved series of comedies directed by Moussa Haddad in the 1960s and 1970s featuring a comic pair of detectives. Here the duo investigate a murder at a Tunisian resort. Screening and ticket information.
Z
A pulse-pounding political thriller, Greek expatriate director Costa-Gavras’s Zwas one of the cinematic sensations of the late sixties, and remains among the most vital dispatches from that hallowed era of filmmaking. This Academy Award winner—loosely based on the 1963 assassination of Greek left-wing activist Gregoris Lambrakis—stars Yves Montand as a prominent politician and doctor whose public murder amid a violent demonstration is covered up by military and government officials; Jean-Louis Trintignant is the tenacious magistrate who’s determined not to let them get away with it. Featuring kinetic, rhythmic editing, Raoul Coutard’s expressive vérité photography, and Mikis Theodorakis’s unforgettable, propulsive score, Z is a technically audacious and emotionally gripping masterpiece. (via Criterion) Schedule and ticket information.
Still from Salam Ghourba (Farewell Exile) This summer, NYU Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Film Festival will be hosting Summer Screenings at the NYUAD Downtown Campus in Abu Dhabi focusing on films from Morocco, India and Iran. The film series kicks off tomorrow, Wednesday 11th July with two films from Morocco.
Salam Ghourba (Farewell Exile) Director: Lamia Alami | Morocco | 2011 | 15 mins | Arabic w/ English subtitles Winner of Best Film from the Arab World in Short Film Competition at ADFF 2011
In an underprivileged Moroccan neighborhood, Fatima is waiting to join her husband who migrated to France. Will the husband's letter potentially secure a brighter future for her and her son, 10 or will she have to make a crucial sacrifice?
Les Hommes Libres (Free Men) Director: Ismaël Ferroukhi | France, Morocco | 2011 | 99 mins | French, Arabic w/ English subtitles Winner of Best Director from the Arab World in Narrative Competition at ADFF 2011
Younes, a young Algerian immigrant in Nazi-occupied Paris, is arrested by the French police and forced to infiltrate the Grand Mosque of Paris. Collaborationist French authorities suspect the mosque's founder of issuing forged documents to Jews and members of the Resistance. Within the cloistered world of the mosque garden, Younes befriends the mesmerizing singer Salim Halali, who is Jewish. As persecution increases, Younes takes up the fight for freedom and joins the ranks of the Resistance.
Event details Date: Wednesday, 11th July 2012, 7.00pm-9.00pm Venue: NYUAD Downtown Campus, Abu Dhabi (location map) Free entry, but you need to register here in advance
I cannot recommend this enough, so if you've not watched this film before, a fan of cinema and live in Abu Dhabi, please don't miss this. I wrote a short piece about this film last year, you can read it here.
Highly controversial for its bleak depiction of Egyptian society, Youssef Chahine's Cairo Station marked the director's movement to more socially conscious stories about the urban poor and dispossessed.
Chahine plays the cripple Kenaoui and is joined by Egyptian cinema stars Hind Rustum and Farid Chaouqi, performing as people who live in and around a train station but are never afforded the luxury of travel.
Cairo Station highlights ways that Chahine's films are cosmopolitan while maintaining a strong sense of Egyptian identity.
Event details Date: Saturday, 7th April 7pm-9pm Venue: NYUAD Downtown Campus, Abu Dhabi (location map) Free screening, but you need to RSVP here.
Sunday 7th August | Monday 8th August | Tuesday 9th August at 9:00 pm
Alamar (To the Sea) Directed by Pedro Gonzalez Rubio | Italian, Spanish | Mexico | 2009 | 70 min
This modest, achingly beautiful and poetic tale sets the delicate interplay of parent and child against the stunning backdrop of Mexico’s Chinchorro coral reef. A recently divorced man wishes to impart his Mayan heritage to his young son before they must separate for good so the two embark on a voyage out to sea. The amazingly unobtrusive camera captures the pair’s long sun-soaked days spent spear-fishing and nights sleeping in the stilt-hut community of their elders. Alamar explores with minimalist perfection the deep bonds people share with each other and with nature.
Wednesday 10th August | Thursday 11th August | Friday 12th August at 9:00 pm
Jane’s Journey Directed by Lorenz Knauer | English | Germany | 2010 | 107 min
Jane's Journey is an intimate look at the life of living legend Jane Goodall and a timely call to save the planet she cares so deeply about. Acknowledged as the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall has recently shelved her scientific work to travel and raise awareness of environmental issues. This fascinating documentary explores her brave and revolutionary career, as well as the activism that she considers her most important work to date.
Sunday 14th August | Monday 15th August | Tuesday 16th August at 9:00 pm
Queen of the Sun: What Are The Bees Telling Us? Directed by Taggart Siegel | Italian, English | USA | 2010 | 82 min
In 1923, scientist Rudolf Steiner predicted that in 80 to 100 years, the honeybee population would collapse. With the advent of Colony Collapse Disorder, that prediction is coming true. In this remarkable exploration of the profound importance of bees in the balance of nature, director Taggart Siegel embarks on a pilgrimage around the world, talking with some of the unsung heroes who are dedicated to the survival of the bees – and indeed, of our own species.
Event details: All the films have English subtitles. Free entry, but seating is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis (screenings start promptly at the specified time). Venue: The Pavilion Downtown Dubai, Emaar Boulevard (location map)
This is a great initiative since the majority of films shown at our film festivals don't really get distributed or screened later at our cinemas to a wider audience after the festival. I just wish this series was hosted in a proper cinema hall across the Emirates instead of a mini cinema hall in Dubai where seating is quite limited. More needs to be done to promote non-Hollywood and regional films and I could never understand why there's no co-operation bewteen our cinemas and film festival organisations throughout the year. If you have an answer to this, please let me know.
Anyway, here's the line up for this month. The theme is Award Winners and it will be a chance to see some of the past Abu Dhabi Film Festival winners. Please spread the word, go and enjoy these wonderful films.
Thursday, 9th June at 7.30pm | Friday, 10th June at 5.30pm and 7.30pm
El Ambulante, Best New Documentary - ADFF 2010 Directed by Eduardo De La Serna, Lucas Marcheggiano & Adriana Yurcovicha Spanish | Argentina | 2010 | 84 min
Armed with a camera, a lamp and enough charm to persuade townspeople to join his dreams, a mysterious nomadic filmmaker moves from one Argentine village to another, turning out a feature film in 30 days and making a profound impression on those left in his trail. www.elambulantedoc.blogspot.com
Thursday, 16th June at 7:30pm | Friday, 17th June 17 at 5:30pm and 7:30pm
Gesher, Best New Narrative Film - ADFF 2010 Directed by Vahid Vakilifar Azeri, Farsi, Kurdish | Iran | 2010 | 84 min
A vivid and touching depiction of the grinding toil and camaraderie in the day-to-day lives of migrant laborers in the gulf region, this is the story of three men who drive a beat-up car to the coast of southern Iran to take menial, low-paying jobs at a natural gas refinery. An interview with the film director Vahid Vakilifar.
Thursday, 23rd June at 7:30pm | Friday, 24th June at 5:30pm and 7:30pm
Pink Saris, Best Documentary - ADFF 2010 Directed by Kim Longinotto Hindi | UK, India | 2010 | 96 min
The latest work by celebrated director Longinotto follows Sampat Pal, the volatile leader of the Gulabi Gang, a cohort of women in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh who advocate for women’s rights. The film ultimately suggests that emancipation is urgent work that requires the participation of individuals who are just foolish enough to defy the status quo.
Thursday 30th June at 7:30 pm | Friday 1st July 1 at 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm
10 to 11, Best New Middle Eastern Director - ADFF 2009 Directed by Pelin Esmer Turkish | Turkey, France, Germany | 2009 | 110 min
The director relates the story of her uncle Mithat, focusing particularly on his passion for collecting memories from the randomness of daily details. It gets harder, however, once his deteriorating health begins to trouble him and impedes his efforts. Finally, he is forced to pass his errands on to his doorman, Ali, who resorts to a different path. www.10to11.com
Event details: All the films have English subtitles. Free entry, but seating is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis (screenings start promptly at the specified time). Venue: The Pavilion Downtown Dubai, Emaar Boulevard (location map)
I was in Abu Dhabi last week for the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, so it was a movie marathon session for me at the Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi Marina Mall and the Abu Dhabi Theatre, which in my opinion was the best location and wish more films were screened there. The theatre has an old school charm to it and was surprised when some of my friends from Abu Dhabi said they'd never been inside.
Inside the Abu Dhabi Theatre It was sad to see not all screenings were full. The local press was mainly promoting the big and obvious titles (i.e. anything that had big Hollywood names or Arab films with political or war storylines). Many of the smaller gems hardly got any promotion in the press or not enough promotion - which could explain why those screenings weren't packed.
I was very happy to see that almost all the non-Arabic movies were subtitled (something the Dubai International Film Festival doesn't do which I've written about before).
The festival was spread over 10 days, screening 172 films from 32 countries. For next year, it might be worth considering reducing the number of films (and maybe the days) to have a more compact schedule, hopefully more films can be watched by more people. Also please schedule less in the mall cineplex and schedule more in the Abu Dhabi Theatre and please, please improve the quality of food and beverages at the theatre as what was on offer was quite abysmal.
Here's a list of what I watched during the week, overall, I was very happy with what I saw, there were a couple of disappointments and there were a couple of films I really wanted to see but just didn't have the time.
Documentaries: The Kingdom of Women: Ein El Hilweh (Mamlakit Al Nisa'a Ein Hilweh) is a great story of women's resilience from Ein El Hilweh (the largest Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon) directed by Dahna Abourahme and told through interviews & beautiful animation by Lena Merhej.
Women Are Heroes, is a must see if you are interested in art with a cause. It's about JR, an anonymous photographer (or “photograffeur” as he likes to call himself, graffeur is French for graffiti artist). He describes his work as “political activism that uses art” and in this film you see his work and the impact of his large scale portraits infiltrating slum areas in Brazil, Kenya, India and Cambodia. It's powerful work, made me cry and really inspired me. During the week of the festival, it was announced that JR won the 2011 TED Prize worth $100,000. JR, whoever you are, wherever you are, I salute you.
Bill Cunningham New York introduced me to the wonderful Bill Cunningham. An absolute gem of a man, ahead of his time, full of integrity and vision. Wish there were more people like him.
Lixo Extraordinario (Waste Land)is another documentary about art for positive change. It's about the inspirational work by the amazing Vic Muniz. Set in Jardim Gramacho, one of the world’s largest garbage dumps situated on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. Vic Muniz finds six catadores (pluckers) and creates breathtaking installations using their photographs and the recyclable materials they collect in order to survive. The outcome is inspiring and transformational on so many levels.
El Ambulante (The Peddler) from Argentina is a wonderful look at Daniel Burmeister, a nomadic filmmaker, who creates "handcrafted films" and its impact on the villagers he involves in the process. Anyone complaining they can't make a film because of financial restraints should really watch this and be inspired to do whatever it takes to make their films.
Bahebak Ya Wahsh! (How Bitter My Sweet!) is set in two cities in Lebanon and is a story about life in Lebanon today told through six different characters. Although it has some comedy moments, sadness reigns throughout.
A Man's Story about Oswald Boateng is a very well crafted documentary made in 12 years about a man who's brilliant at his craft. So inspiring and I really enjoyed it more than I imagined. It was also great to have Oswald Boateng and the director Varon Bonicos present for the question and answer session after the screening.
Feature Films: The Mummy / The Night of Counting the Years (Al Momia), a restored treasure from Egyptian cinema that was made in 1969. Loved that the dialogue was in classical Arabic. It had a very minimal setting- almost felt like watching a play on stage. A very slow paced film with some very deep thoughts. Silent Souls (Ovsyanki), a Russian fable for adults. A subtle film with beautiful cinematography about deep love, a love that can be suffocating. It ended with a line 'Only love has no end'. It also won Best Narrative Film at this festival.
Emirates Competition Short Narrative, a very disappointing selection of short films. It was painful to sit through and I really wish the selection was of better quality. Out of what I saw, Night Guard was the best of the lot and One More Day had potential.
Potiche, a delightfully funny film set in France in the 1970s. I was really transported into that era, the music and outfits were great. It was also great watching Gerard Depardieu (who was present to open the movie) and Catherine Deneuve together and the scene with their disco moves on the dance floor is one of my favourite scenes from Potiche.
La Vida De Los Peces (The Life of Fish), a painfully beautiful film from Chile. An emotionally charged film about heartache, loss and wondering what if. The music soundtrack is just as moving. I was pretty much in tears the whole time. I absolutely love this film.
Al Yazerli (The Foreman)is a reminder how liberal Arab cinema was over 30 years ago. An Iraqi/Syrian production from 1972 and directed by Kais Al Zubaidi, it's a bold movie (and a bold choice by Abu Dhabi Film Festival) about sexual taboos, childhood imagination and reality. It had nudity without vulgarity and artistic expression without censorship. Shame the screening I attended was half empty. An important film for cinephiles.
Zephyr, a slow and intriguing film from Turkey set in the beautiful countryside. But within that beauty lies darkness and something sinister. What happens at the end is quite shocking, it made me gasp out loud in the cinema.
Hævnen (In a Better World) from Denmark had a great cast with two wonderful child actors. The pain of a child suffering from loss and abandonment is hard to watch, but nevertheless, a very good film.
Carloswas disappointing. I was hoping this would be one of my favourites, but many scenes in this film felt disjointed and some of the acting was very cliched. Maybe the original TV version that is over five hours long is better than this shortened version. Metropolis was pure pleasure to watch. The extended 152 minutes added depth to the previous versions that most people have seen. The only thing missing was a live orchestra to enhance the experience. It's amazing how a film from 1927 is still so relavant after all these years. I Travel Because I Have to, I Come Back Because I Love You (Viajo porque preciso, volto porque te amo) is a beautifully titled film and a lovelorn travelogue set in Brazil. Very experimental, an original piece of work and overall just fantastic.
So that's my experience at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. It was a fun week and thanks to the friends (old and new) that hung out with me.
What was your highlight from the festival? What did you watch? Which one was your favourite/least favourite?
The Abu Dhabi Film Festival will begin next week, from 14th-23rd October. There are over 170 films in this year's festivals, including short and full length feature films, documentaries, restored silent films and some avant garde titles.
Here are my top 20 picks for the festival. You will notice there's a strong presence of movies about photography and travel in the list, but that's because if you know me by now, these are high on my list of interests.
I have not included any of the short films as there are too many to go through, besides, I always prefer not to know the stories in advance when it comes to short films. I have also excluded some popular titles that are touring the film festival circuit, mainly because they clash with other movies I want to watch and in the case of Let me In, I refuse to watch the US version till I see the original Swedish version, Let the right one in first.
Let me know if you have your own list and see you at the movies.
Children of the Stones - Children of the Wall
Twenty years after his 1989 film Intifada, Robert Krieg returns to Bethlehem with a photograph in hand: six boys posing for the camera, victorious. Children of the Stones – Children of the Wall sees Krieg tracking down those same boys, thus illuminating two decades of the situation in Palestine. Now leading productive lives, the film’s subjects still reside in a much-changed Bethlehem, where Israel’s Security Wall is a constant reminder that there is no new normal in Palestine. Schedule and ticket information.
The Mummy / The Night of Counting the Years (Al Momia)
The most famous of Egyptian auteur films and one credited with contributing to the shaping of Egyptian cinematic national identity, The Mummy’s ritualistic atmosphere is beautifully calibrated by Shabi Abdel Salam, in this restored print. The film tells of a fatal predicament facing the ancient Horbat tribe, setting a deadly moral dilemma at Deir al-Bahari, the site of the discovery of the legendary cache of royal mummies in 1881. The exteriors, filmed exclusively at dawn and dusk, lend the film an eerie, evocative quality. Schedule and ticket information.
Silent Souls (Ovsyanki)
The rites and rituals of the Merja people, an ethnic minority once resident in the Volga region of Russia, form the backbone of this lyrical, dreamlike movie about love and loss. After his beloved wife Tanja dies, Miron calls on his best friend, Aist, to help him in his final farewell. As the ravishingly photographed story unfolds, it becomes apparent that Aist and Tanja were once more than friends. Along the way, the Merja myths and traditions transform the film into a haunting fairy tale. Schedule and ticket information.
Kingdom of Women
This documentary is an enchanting ode to the resilience, intelligence and valor of Palestinian women from Ain el-Hilweh. The largest refugee camp in Lebanon, it has endured war and destruction through several Israeli invasions and the long-drawn-out Lebanese civil war. In recording the lived experiences of generations of mothers, daughters, sisters and wives, director Dahna Abourahme collaborates with illustrator and animation artist Lena Merhej to produce a visually poetic register of a history doomed to remain oral. Schedule and ticket information.
Women are Heroes
For three years, French photographer and street artist JR travelled through communities in Brazil, Kenya, India and Cambodia, meeting and photographing the women who are often the first victims of war and the last to be considered in peacetime. In the resulting film, he documents the reactions to his large-scale images, which infiltrate public spaces. But he also focuses on people in interviews that are as amazingly full of life as his photos. Ambitious, deeply empathetic and gorgeously shot, Women Are Heroes is a mosaic of experiences honoring the will of communities to build, and finding joy beyond struggle. Schedule and ticket information.
Potiche
Set in a colorfully wacky version of 1977, Potiche gives Catherine Deneuve one of her best roles in a decade as a trophy wife-turned-triumphant-factory boss in this sparkling adaptation of a French boulevard-theater play. Deneuve plays Suzanna Pujol, a well-off housewife in thrall to tyrannical husband Robert (Fabrice Luchini). When labour trouble erupts at the provincial umbrella factory that Suzanna’s father founded and Robert is taken hostage, Suzanna calls in her communist former lover Babin (Gerard Depardieu) to negotiate with the workers. Schedule and ticket information.
The Life of Fish (La vida de los peces)
The Life of Fish is a contained, intimate film about a traveler who does not belong anywhere. Andrés, a travel writer living in Berlin, has briefly returned home to Chile, where he attends a friend’s birthday party. This celebration serves as the film’s only setting; in a quiet but penetrating and emotional 83 minutes of real time, Andrés says goodbye to old friends, reflects on fate and commitment – and confronts the love of his life. Schedule and ticket information.
Al Yazerli (Al-Yazerli)
The yazerli is the foreman who provides work to day laborers. This film’s poetic, non-narrative structure simulates the mind of a young boy forced to leave school and find work on the docks. Al-Yazerli spans the length of his workday, using minimal dialogue and evocative music and sounds. The filmmaker uncovers the imaginary world of a boy whose destiny seems bound to poverty and manual labor, and the physical harshness and repressed sexuality of his daily life become poignantly tangible. Schedule and ticket information.
Certified Copy (Copie Conforme)
As resistant to facile interpretation as any of his other work, Kiarostami’s first narrative effort in years is also his first made outside Iran and his first film with a bona-fide movie star. Juliette Binoche was honored as Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival (where the film premiered last May) for her performance as a French-born gallery owner who encounters an English author who has come to Tuscany to promote his book on originals and copies in art. Their encounter isn’t really a romantic comedy but rather an always-playful glance at how men and women relate to each other. Schedule and ticket information.
Bill Cunningham New York
Cycling through the streets of Manhattan, shooting with a Nikon film camera, 81-year-old Bill Cunningham is focused in his quest to capture emerging fashion trends. In his weekly columns in The New York Times, he captures the rapt attention of the fashion and society scenes, while his ascetic lifestyle is an interesting contrast to the extravagant world he is committed to representing. Bill Cunningham New York is a touching profile of a New York original. Schedule and ticket information.
To the Sea (Alamar)
This modest, achingly beautiful and poetic tale sets the delicate interplay of parent and child against the stunning backdrop of Mexico’s Chinchorro coral reef. A recently divorced man wishes to impart his Mayan heritage to his young son before they must separate for good, so the two embark on a voyage out to sea. The amazingly unobtrusive camera captures the pair’s long sun-soaked days spent spear-fishing, and nights sleeping in the stilt-hut community of their elders. To the Sea explores with minimalist perfection the deep bonds people share with each other and with nature. Schedule and ticket information.
Zephyr (Zefir)
Turkey’s Belma Baş makes a breathtaking feature debut with Zephyr. The film’s protagonist, an eleven-year-old girl, lives in a rural wonderland in the care of her grandparents. The landscape around Zefir is unfalteringly beautiful and darkly fascinating, but she largely views it with restrained indifference. As she struggles with issues of abandonment and loss, the film eventually takes the full fathom of the devastating degree to which she has been allowed to grow up without guidance. Schedule and ticket information.
Waste Land (Lixo Extraordinario)
Waste Land is an inspirational documentary about Vik Muniz, the renowned Brazilian artist known for using non-traditional materials to create his socially conscious work. Lucy Walker’s camera follows Muniz to a massive dump outside Rio de Janiero where, working with several extraordinary catadores – locals who glean recyclable materials to survive – he creates a breathtaking installation. Muniz treats his subjects and collaborators with dignity; the palpable transformation of their consciousness by the creative process is extraordinary. Schedule and ticket information.
Carlos
French director Olivier Assayas brings to the big screen a streamlined version of his masterful five-hour television production about the notorious international revolutionary and terrorist, Carlos the Jackal. It’s a dynamic, convincing and revelatory account of a wanted man’s career that creates an extraordinary you-are-there experience. Assayas’s account treads dangerous waters in covering international politics, terrorism, history, religion and sex – and handles it all with great intelligence and skill. Schedule and ticket information.
El ambulante
El Ambulante is the unlikely story of one Daniel Burmeister, a mysterious nomadic filmmaker often thought to be a legend in the Argentinian independent cinema community. Discovered in Cordoba province, Burmeister’s story proves true: he drives his crumbling car from village to village, where he proposes to make a film using the townspeople as his cast, requesting only food and lodging as payment. One month later, this culminates in a public screening of the film. El Ambulante explores Burmeister’s motives and methods, as well as the profound impression he makes on the communities left in his trail. Schedule and ticket information.
Metropolis
This 1927 epic – the first real science-fiction film – is one of the most famous films ever made and, until now, one of the most elusive, since it was cut to nearly half its original running time shortly after its original release. Two years ago, a nearly complete copy was discovered by chance in Buenos Aires, and this marks our first opportunity to view Fritz Lang’s masterpiece the way it was originally intended. The screening will feature a performance of Gottfried Huppertz’s original score for full orchestra. Schedule and ticket information.
I Travel Because I Have to, I Come Back Because I Love You
This singular film is an experimental love letter to the arid, dramatically sparse land of Brazil’s northeast. A geologist conducts a survey for a new canal that will improve the lives of many but will uproot those in its path. Along the way he confronts his own sense of abandonment, which is reflected in the landscape and in the lives affected. Strikingly composed of snapshots and footage in many formats, I Travel Because I Have To is a visceral, deeply personal blend of road-movie and travelogue. Schedule and ticket information.
A Man's Story
African in origin, superstar men’s fashion designer Ozwald Boateng has journeyed from the North London suburbs to London’s posh, iconic Savile Row. A real oddity in his industry, Boateng inhabits a vibrant, surreal world, surrounded by the jetset, colored by the lens of glamor both implied and actual. Shot over twelve years by director Varon Bonicos, A Man’s Story shows us a man in process, as well as in progress. It’s a biographical documentary as unique, layered and compelling as its subject. Schedule and ticket information.
OK, Enough, Goodbye (Tayeb, Khalas, Yalla)
Gently balanced between caustic, comic and offbeat, OK, Enough, Goodbye is an improbable coming-of-age story. In Tripoli, where family bonds run deep, a forty-something man still lives with his elderly mother and has given up on the idea of becoming independent. But when she suddenly leaves him, he is left with nothing but the company of the city and what it offers. Elegantly filmed with non-professional actors, the film delivers an unassuming, incisive – and funny – critique of masculine identity in contemporary Lebanon. Schedule and ticket information.
The Circus
The Circus, perhaps Charlie Chaplin’s most perfect blend of hilarity and pathos, is a true miracle of comedy. We meet the Little Tramp in typical straits: broke, hungry and destined to fall in love. On a circus midway, he chows down on a stolen hot dog and is soon pursued by a policeman. A series of signature sight gags and pratfalls ensues, in counterpoint with a poignant tale of unrequited love. The quintessential Chaplin film, presented with his own musical score. Schedule and ticketing information.
But I am looking really, really, really looking forward to the screening of the restored prints of Charlie Chaplin's The Circusand Fritz Lang's Metropolis. (You should know by know how much I love silent movies and so glad they're included in this festival.)
I'm also glad to see that the Abu Dhabi Film Festival has partnered with New York’s Museum of Modern Art to present 'Mapping Subjectivity: Experimentation in Arab Cinema'. The films include:
Chronicle of a Disappearance by Elia Suleiman Palestine, Israel, USA, Germany, France
Divine Intervention (Yadon Ilahiya) by Elia Suleiman (2002) France, Morocco, Germany, Palestine
Domestic Tourism II by Maha Maamoun Lebanon Experimental Video
The Mummy - Night of Counting the Years (Al Momia) by Shadi Abdel Salam (1969) Egypt
Al Yazerli by Kais Al Zubaidi, Kais Alzoubaidi, Kais Al Zubaidi (1972) Syria, Iraq Documentary Feature
I will be sharing more information about the festival over the next few days, in the meantime, here are the trailers for The Circus and Metroplis.
Thursday, October 11, 2012 at 7:15AM 
