Experimental filmmaker Gérard Courant, who holds the world record for the longest film ever made, the 156-hour Cinématon, will be in the spotlight at this year's Gulf Film Festival on screens across Dubai Festival City, the venue of this year's festival.
Cinématon, made over 33 years and featuring short, silent self-portraits of more than 2,347 people from all walks of life - from filmmakers including Jean-Luc Godard, Youssef Chahine, Ken Loach and Terry Gilliam to models, comedians, psychologists, historians, artists, academics and even children - all shot with a Super 8 camera in single takes.
The films not only provide a glimpse of Courant’s stylistic ingenuity, but also the breadth of the subjects he has explored. Each film is approximately 3 1/2 minutes long and if watched back to back, it will take you around 6 days to complete all 156 hrs.
Courant is one of the most prolific filmmakers of recent times, with more than 300 films to his credit (including Aditya, 24 Passions, She’s a Very Nice Lady, Shiva, Marilyn, Guy Lux, and Nuns and Rasage), he is also a master of conceptual and lyrical cinema. In addition to Cinématon, his work includes contemplative feature films, films made of still images and negative images, films that revisit a single event over 24 years.
Masoud Amralla Al Ali, Festival Director of the Gulf Film Festival said,
The showcase of Courant’s films is intended to inspire emerging filmmakers to experiment with various media, styles and interpretations and find their own way. Courant and his body of work embody what the Gulf Film Festival is trying to achieve. His films are avant-garde; they defy conventional methods of filmmaking to create works that are in a league of their own. He is relentlessly devoted to his craft, investing time and energy into breaking new ground. He is a fine example for filmmakers trying to find their own voice, and we are delighted to welcome him to Dubai.”
Needless to say, I am very, very, VERY excited about this and will try to watch as many as I can during this festival. As a taster, here are 10 clips I found online (my favourite is Terry Gilliam), you can see more here (the complete Cinématon list can be found in Gérard Courant's website). Watching these clips made me wonder what would I do if I had a camera in front of me for 3 minutes.
The 4th edition of the Gulf Film Festival returns this month from 14th-20th April at Dubai Festival City and will screen more than 150 films, all free to the public.
“The Gulf Film Festival celebrates cinematic excellence in the Gulf, offering a solid platform for regional talent to highlight their competencies. This year, complementing our credo of promoting regional filmmaking, we are also opening doors to showcase international shorts for the first time in the region, which will serve as an interactive experience for participants. Short films are a compelling artform that capture the dynamism of cinema within a short span of time. By inviting international talent to the Gulf Film Festival, we want to highlight the diverse approaches in short filmmaking across the world.” Masoud Amralla Al Ali, Festival Director
Whilst the Dubai International Film Festival is the older and more glamourous sister festival and showcases films from around the world, the Gulf Film Festival is the humble younger sister that focuses on films from the Gulf region and this year will also include films from around he world including non-traditional film markets such as Afghanistan, Lithuania, Gabon, and Kyrgyzstan. If you have not been introduced to films from the Gulf, this is your chance to get acquainted
Here are my top 20 picks of short films, full features and documentaries from/about the region. See you at the festival, front row and centre.
Hamama (UAE) Director Nujoom Al Ghanem
Hamama is nearly 90-years-old, a spiritual healer renowned as a living legend across the United Arab Emirates. Blessed with an incredible gift of healing, she nevertheless has to face her increasing frailty which threatens to impact her work and her livelihood. Her skills are incredibly valuable to hundreds who continue to visit her each day where she lives in Al Dhaid (Sharjah), seeking her essential cures. Yet, Hamama struggles with the responsibility of providing the care that is so greatly needed, while confronting her own personal hardships.
The Philosopher (UAE) Director Abdalla Al Kaabi
Baggio is a successful footballer, martial artist and a pianist living the high life with his fame and fortune. Unfortunately, all of the perfections do not help satisfy that urging need in Baggio to do ‘something’ with his life. So he embarks on himself to drop all his titles and adopt a new title as a – philosopher! But if only things were that easy!
Al Seefah (UAE) Director Mohammed Ghanim Al Marri
"Al Seefah" translates to the word beach in Arabic. A fictional drama that conveys the problems that many UAE nationals face, as explored through the eyes of an old fisherman. With new fishing restriction laws being put into effect, fishermen are struggling to preserve their ancestors' source of living. This film demonstrates how an old fisherman reminisces about the old days when it was possible for anyone to place their fishing nets in the sea without paying fines.
telePhoni (UAE) Director Hassan Kiyany
telePhoni tells the story of a nine-year-old boy who discovers a secret through the first test shots taken on his new iPhone.
Soweer (UAE) Director Saud Merwesh
A traditional game lies between the reality and the imagination.
Letters to Palestine (UAE) Director Rashid Al Marri
Letters to Palestine is a documentary film which gathers the voices of various Arabs who are sending their unread letters to the Palestinian people living under occupation in current day Palestine. It captures the stories which never had the opportunity to reach the homes and the families of the Palestinians living under occupation. From young to old, the Arabs captured in this film have the chance to send their love, their stories, their aching for Palestine to the homes, families and children of Palestine.
Al Kandorah (UAE) Directors Lamya Al Mualla and Maitha Al Haddad
A social commentary on the national attire directed.
Sabeel (UAE) Director Khalid Al Mahmood
Two small boys live with their elderly grandmother in the mountains of the UAE. Spending their days tending their vegetables and then selling produce on the road, they have to earn enough money to buy medicine for their sick grandmother. This sweet, poignant film explores their lives and the world in which they live.
Kanary (Qatar) Director Sophia Al Maria
Kanary is a coming-of-age story about an alienated Qatari teenager (Najla), who rebels against her family and their rules. But when she is caught riding in a car with a boy, a dramatic duel between father and daughter ensues.
A Night to Remember (Saudi Arabia) Director Fahmi Farouk Farahat
Two films by director Fahmi Farouk Farahat’s will be screened at this festival, the documentary A Night to Remember is a docudrama of music and dance set in the holy city of Makkah. His other film, The Corporation is a comedy about working in a mixed-gender office, a rarity in Saudi society.
Maher's Camera (Saudi Arabia) Director Mansour Al Badran
Mansour Albadran’s comedy Maher's Camera follows a talented photographer who decides to participate in a photography competition about tourism in Saudi Arabia and has to face several difficulties.
Photon (Saudi Arabia) Director Awadh Alhamzani
A short documentary about the story of a pioneer photographer, Sufyan Al-Khazraje, who left Iraq to Sweden when he was young. He left with a dream. Later , his art won over Swedish prize for photography 10 times in a raw. It's the journey of a photon, started from a peaceful soul that learned to live in harmony lined up with contradictions forced by absence of home and being in different times and places at the same time.
The Power of Generations (Bahrain) Director Mohammed Jassim
Mohammed Jassim’s thriller The Power of Generations shines a light on the developments that the region has witnessed from the beginning of time. A commentary on progress, its fragility and the importance of maintaining development, the film revolves around a man sitting in a chair in the desert, when the world around him starts to evolve and devolve.
Lulwa (Bahrain) Director Osama Al Saif
Lulwafocuses on the sensitive issue of sexual harassment, from a personal to the community level. The film tells the story of the glamorous Lulwa, who is harassed by a family member as well as a leading community figure, and the repercussions within her family and the reactions of the community at large as the wrong people are implicated in the traumatic incidents.
The Quarter of Scarecrows (Iraq) Director Hassan Ali Mahmood
Flocks of crows attack a rich landowner’s property. The landowner tries a variety of ways to prevent them from eating his harvest. A fierce battle ensues between the two parties with the village children becoming victims of the conflict.
Leaving Baghdad (Iraq) Director Koutaiba Al-Janabi
Leaving Baghdad follows the personal cameraman to Saddam Hussein, as he tries to escape the grip of the regime, while being pursued around the world.
Golakani Kirkuk (The Flowers of Kirkuk) (Iraq) Director Fariborz Kamkari
The Flowers of Kirkuk is the story of a young doctor who must choose between her family traditions and her own dreams in 1980s Iraq.
Fragments of Life and Death (Iraq) Director Mano Khalil
Mano Khalil’s Fragments of Life and Deathshows stories of people who stayed alive by chance after mass killings carried out by the regime.
Goodbye Babylon (Iraq) Director Amer Alwan
Goodbye Babylon tells the story of an American soldier drafted to Iraq whose initial belief in the mission of liberation starts to fade over his three years in the nation
Baghdad Film School (Iraq) Director Shuchen Tan
In 2003, only a few months after the liberation of Baghdad, two Iraqi born filmmakers opened the first independent film school in Iraq. Baghdad Film School is the true story of the first independent film school in Iraq and its students’ struggle to fulfil their dreams of making films in the midst of chaos, fear, death, and hardship.
The Heritage Film Festival is the first open-air film festival held at the Heritage Village in Abu Dhabi brought to us by the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region. The festival which starts will screen Emirati, German and Swiss films and will run till 26th February.
The theme of this film festival is "Homeland & Identity" curated by Masoud Amralla Al Ali and Philip Bräuer. After each screening, the film directors and experts will engage in a discussion and answer questions by the audience.
Entry is free and all the films will have English subtitles.
Venue: Heritage Village on Breakwater Island, Abu Dhabi Corniche (location map)
Schedule:
Opening Night, 23rd February 2011, 7:30 pm
Being Local by Andreas Steffan (Germany-UAE, 2007, 26 min, in cooperation with Ahmed Al Mazrouei and Nasser Jabber) A documentary about the life of college students and a study of a young Emirati's life between consume and heritage - it tries to depict the essence of being a young Emirati in the enigmatic metropolis of Dubai. The director follows Ahmed Mazrouei through his every day of studying and free time activities – a charismatic young Emirati around whom a group of Emirati men in their mid-twenties gather for various reasons and activities: driving fast cars on Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Street, listening music in Western music stores in the biggest malls and sitting around campfires in the desert while philosophizing about life.
ID Swiss: Hopp Schwyz by Fulvio Bernasconi (Switzerland, 1999, 11 min) ID can stand for "idea" as well as for "identity": One of seven episodes contributed by the younger generation of Swiss filmmakers, offering highly personal views of their homeland as a place which is in fact a fascinating kaleidoscope of several different cultures. Directed by Fulvio Bernasconi, the son of Italian immigrants and grew up in Tessin (Switzerland) feels his inner conflict between Italy and Switzerland and tries to discuss this conflict by means of a soccer match between Switzerland and Italy: But in which goal should the ball score?
City of Life by Ali F. Mostafa (UAE, 2009, 98 min) City Of Life is an urban drama set in Dubai that explores the existing complexities within an emerging multicultural society's race, ethnicity and class divide. A privileged Emirati male, a disillusioned Indian taxi driver and a European woman's paths are about to collide and irrevocably impact one another's lives. (I reviewed this film last April, you can read it here.)
Second Film Night, 24th February 2011, 7:30 pm
Mountain Sheikh by Naser El Yaqoobi (UAE, 2008, 11 min) The film depicts the ways of live of men in the United Arab Emirates and their resolution. It tells the story of an old man who works alone in a stone pit in the mountains. He talks about his work and own way of life, which will most probably disappear with him.
ID Swiss: Who, when, where by George Wageh (Switzerland, 1999, 10 min) ID can stand for "idea" as well as for "identity": One of seven episodes contributed by the younger generation of Swiss filmmakers, offering highly personal views of their homeland as a place which is in fact a fascinating kaleidoscope of several different cultures. Directed by Wageh George and is Egyptian who grew up in Cairo and only his love to a woman from Helvetia brought him to Switzerland. Wageh has the chance to become a Swiss citizen soon. That is why he is exploring what makes a "real" Swiss.
Heimat (Homeland) 3 - Chronicle of a turning point in history Episode 1 - The happiest people in the world by Edgar Reitz (Germany, 2004, 100 min) On the eve of the fall of the Berlin Wall Hermann meets by chance his early love Clarissa in Berlin. They decide to stay together and buy the "Günderrode-House" - an old timbered house near the river Rhine. Thus Hermann returns to his old homeland. He visits his village and his brothers while Clarissa finds two construction workers from Leipzig for the reconstruction of the house. The two workers Gunnar and Udo follow her from the east to the west for this "profitable" job. Hermann and Clarissa are busy with their careers and their dream of a life together seems to fade. And Udo and Gunnar spent a momentous Christmas holiday with their families in Munich.
(The Heimat Trilogy deserves a festival of its own, divided into 11 feature length films, over 16 hours long, it's about a "people's history of Germany" in the 20th Century as lived by the Simon family and the people around them. As the rural way of life is challenged by technological advances, the Nazis come to power and Germany is divided in two, this gripping story follows the effects upon ordinary people. A moving and complex story about the various meanings of 'homeland'. This trailer covers the entire trilogy, and you can read more about Heimat 3 here.)
Third Film Night, 25th February 2011, 7:30 pm
Dhabyaniyah – Girl from Abu Dhabi by Sandra Staffl (Germany-UAE, 2008, 23 min, in cooperation with Fatima Helal Mohammed Al Balooshi and Raweya Abdul Hakeem Al Muflahi) A documentary about the life of two female Emirati students at the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi in and outside of the college. Going on desert trips to explore their roots in the morning and going shopping to Abu Dhabi’s shopping malls to explore new fashion trends in the evening. Thus the girls lead a life between modernity and tradition and challenge the traditional position of Emirati women with their very own means. They dream of being independent, having their own business and self-fulfilment.
Foreign.Yaban by Hakan Savas Mican (Germany, 2007, 18 min) The film tells the story of a young Turk who lives and studies in Berlin. When his mother arrives from Turkey to see him he is confronted with his Turkish side that seems not to be part of him.
Door by Waleed Al Shehhi (UAE, 2008, 18 min) The film is about a journey into the invisible human depth - through the search of a missing door. It is the door of life.
Madly in Love by Anna Luif (Switzerland, 2010, 85 min) Everything is ready for the big party. Devan wants to marry Nisha – and now the bride-to-be is on her way to Switzerland from Sri Lanka. The two young people only know each other via Skype. Siva, a cool and hip rapper, doesn’t understand why his cousin wants to get married and teases him all the time. Devan’s father, however, is delighted with the prospect of the forthcoming marriage. But just before the wedding, Devan gets to know an attractive, self-confident woman called Leo. For the first time in his life he feels deeply understood – and falls in love with her head over heals. Confused and excited at the same time, Devan is torn between true and promised love.
Fourth Film Night, 26 February 2011, 7:30 pm
Once by Nayla Al Khaja (UAE, 2008, 15 min) The film revolves around the day Hamda, a young Arab teenager plans to meet her boyfriend Saeed for the first time. The film shows the journey Hamda goes through to see Saeed for half an hour. The journey shows Hamda's best friend, Amna, cover for her, Hamda lying to her father, Hamda going to the hair salon transforming herself from a young girl into a beautiful young woman and then travelling to her date with the excitement of meeting and fear of getting caught. Hamda thrives on excitement yet knows the big risk she is taking by seeing Saeed for the first time. Hamda and Saeed get to meet, however not all goes to plan.
ID Swiss: Mixed upby Nadia Fares (Switzerland, 1999, 14 min) ID can stand for "idea" as well as for "identity": A documentary consisting of seven episodes contributed by the younger generation of Swiss filmmakers, offering highly personal views of their homeland as a place which is in fact a fascinating kaleidoscope of several different cultures. The contributions have been collected, edited and given a certain coherence by the producers Werner Schweizer and Samir. Directed by Nadia Fares, the daughter of an Egyptian father and a mother from the Swiss city of Bern, today she lives in Lausanne, New York and Cairo always searching for her roots between Cairo and Emmental.
The Kebab Connection by Anno Saul (Germany, 2005, 96 min) Ibo is of Turkish origin and lives in Hamburg. Being a big Bruce Lee and Jet-Li fan he is dreaming of Germany’s first Kung-Fu film. When his German girlfriend Titzi tells him that she's pregnant, he can't face up to this – at least not right away. Ibo’s father Mehmet is furious when he hears about the pregnancy. In his view, it is okay to sleep with a German, and it is okay to wake up with a German, but to have a baby with a "non-believer"… He throws his son out of the flat and Ibo ends up staying with Lefty, the son of a Greek taverna-owner. And Titzi's mother is also far from convinced, asking the question, "Did you ever see a Turkish guy pushing a baby carriage?" But finally Ibo practices nappy-changing and attends a course for expectant mothers.
Monday, April 11, 2011 at 7:36PM 
A social commentary on the national attire directed.
