The Dubai 48 Hour Film Project

The 48 Hour Film Project is the oldest and largest timed film competition in the world with a mission to advance filmmaking and promote filmmakers. The tight 48-hour deadline puts the focus squarely on the filmmaking, emphasizing creativity and teamwork and 'doing' instead of 'talking'.

Click to read more ...

Berlin-Dubai Festival 2011

The Goethe-Institut in Dubai brings us the second Berlin-Dubai Festival week. Last year's festival addressed multiculturalism and identity through a film screening, book reading and panel discussions. This year's edition will focus on the fashion and the creative industry in Berlin and Dubai and will present the rich diversity and uniqueness of the developments in both cities.

Click to read more ...

Substations by Sinisa Vlajkovic and Mohamed Somji

A new photography exhibition called Substations by Sinisa Vlajkovic and Mohamed Somji portraying some of the last remaining diesel stations in the United Arab Emirates will open next week at The Pavilion Downtown Dubai.  

Based on the few photos I've seen so far, I am really looking forward to this exhibition.

Substations is an intimate reflection on the character and experience of community in Dubai and the UAE; in the background hover questions of invisible economies, urbanity versus wilderness, and changing social values. Sinisa Vlajkovic and Mohamed Somji’s direct, minimalist approach yields rich emotional texture on a decidedly human scale. Illuminating the outskirts of Dubai like flickering candles, their subjects – small diesel stations – provide a respite from the city's dizzying lights and imported glamour. 

Resembling the first stations that were built several decades ago and started the region's diesel trade, these isolated stations are a distinct contrast to the Middle East’s high-profile petroleum sector. It is an exhibit of vernacular architecture: constructed with scavenged materials, they are maintained with simple amenities and local hospitality. They challenge the city’s impersonal modernization with reassurance that there is always time for tea and an armchair conversation.

With its horizon of superlative heights and conspicuous wealth, Dubai is designed to eclipse everything else. Yet the mega-watt metropolis is newly-minted by history's measure, forged into the desert wilderness with an architectural frenzy. To gaze beyond the city limits is to remember that it has not always been so. It is here, at the geographic seams of Dubai's unbridled development, that Vlajkovic and Somji have paused to document the quiet moments of a vestigial culture. They photographed by night on the less-traveled roads, and listened to the stories behind each unique diesel station. 

Unlike their urban equivalents - sprawling corporate conglomerates that function as roadside cathedrals of consumer capitalism, complete with fast food restaurants, convenience stores, promotions, prizes, and uniformed staff - these stations are individually owned and frequented by truckers. Makeshift structures of found objects, colourful neons, and strings of festive lights, the diesel stations are some of the last remaining examples of a culture around which the Middle East evolved.

 

Exhibition details
Date: Opening is on 15th September at 7.30pm. Exhibition will run till 30th October 2011.
Venue: The Pavilion Downtown Dubai, Emaar Boulevard (location map)
Phone: +971 4 447 7025 

www.mohamedsomji.com 
www.sinisavlajkovic.net 
www.behance.net/sinisavlajkovic
www.pavilion.ae 
Substations website

Abu Dhabi Film Festival at The Pavilion - Environment in Focus

The theme for this month's Abu Dhabi Film Festival's film series at The Pavilion is environmental issues.

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)

www.abudhabifilmfestival.ae
www.butheina.tumblr.com
www.pavilion.ae

Film Screening - Empire II

In 1964, Andy Warhol and Jonas Mekas made Empire, a silent black and white film that lacks a traditional narrative or characters. The passage from daylight to darkness is the film's only plot in this 8 hours and 5 minutes long film - with the protagonist played by the iconic building that was the tallest in New York City and the world, The Empire State Building. 

Fast forward to 2010, a sequel an homage, Empire II was made by David Payton, Lohra Ydna and Andre Orione. Filmed on July 27th, 2010 from 6.35pm till 12.02am, this version is in colour and with sound, but just like the 1964 film, its only narrative is the tracking of time from daylight to night fall and starring today's world tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai. 

Empire II will be screened on Monday 4th July at The Pavilion Downtown Dubai’s cinema and will continue to be screened everyday (except on evenings when other films are scheduled to be screened) throughout the month July between 6.35pm and 12.02am (the same hours it was filmed). 

The screening is organised by Brusselssprout*, a curatorial magazine on emergent art published from Dubai that aims to become an open, independent and alternative platform offering free content related to the artistic and cultural world. Brusselssprout's Editor-in-Chief Ignacio Gomez and filmmaker Camille Mallat will introduce the film and Empire II. 

So much has changed since 1964 and I am curious to know why Empire II was made, its relevance to today's audience and what could this film mean in the future. I am also curious to see if there will be anyone interested to sit through the entire film. I doubt I will sit through the whole thing.  

The original Empire was recently screened at the Andy Warhol: Motion Pictures exhibiton in MoMA that ran from 19th December 2010 till 21st March 2011. Listen to this interview with Jonas Mekas who recalls the making of Empire with Andy Warhol and talks about the planning of the shoot, the set up, the premiere screening and the response they got. He ends by saying,  

Don't expect anthing from it. Just relax and permit it to come into your eyes and just look at it with no expectations. Then you will enjoy it. 

* About Brusselssprout
Brusselssprout is a curatorial magazine on emergent art published from Dubai and aims to become an open, independent and alternative platform offering free content related to the artistic and cultural world. It strives, with the help of the curatorial endeavors of artists and projects that can contribute a different layer to the ever more monopolized and homogenized artistic scene. The first three issues set up a Dubai Manifesto by chapters: Dubai Manifesto 1/3 “The Game is not over”, Manifesto 2/3 “Renovating Dreamlands” and Dubai Manifesto 3/3 “Graphic Encyclopedia”. You can download all three issues here. 

Event details
Date and timings:
Launch event on 4th July, 7.30pm (the film will be screened daily from 6.35pm till 12.03am, except on nights when other films are scheduled).

Venue:
The Pavilion Downtown Dubai, Emaar Boulevard, Downtown Dubai (location map)

Phone: +971 4 447 7025
Free entry

www.brusselssprout.org 
www.pavilion.ae
www.jonasmekasfilms.com
www.warholstars.org

Abu Dhabi Film Festival at The Pavilion - Award Winners series

 

Abu Dhabi Film Festival is hosting a film series co-curated by Butheina Hamed Kazem at The Pavilion Downtown in Dubai that will run till August this year.

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)

www.abudhabifilmfestival.ae
www.butheina.tumblr.com
www.pavilion.ae