Cinema Roundup - January 2026: “The world had an order”
I was mostly sick during the first half of January, so my first outing was on January 9 to watch Greenland 2.
Quite a few big titles that premiered at film festivals last year were released in Dubai in January - No Other Choice, All That’s Left of You, Hamnet.
I hadn’t seen the last two so was happy to finally get the opportunity to watch them. I was underwhelmed with Hamnet and questioned all the hype around it. I found All That’s Left of You very moving. I was looking forward to rewatching No Other Choice after seeing it in Venice last September, but found myself not enjoying it as much as the first time. I even included it in my list of favourite films of 2025. It made me wonder why I felt so differently the second time.
I curated a programme for short films for Night School 2026 at Jameel Arts Centre, and moderated a discussion with Majid Al Ansari, director of Hoba / The Vile at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.
Towards the end of the month I travelled to Amsterdam to make my way to Rotterdam to attend the film festival.
More below.
FILMS I LIKED:
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Nia DaCosta)
VOX Cinemas - Wafi City, Dubai
“I do remember there was a sense of certainty. The world had an order. A way about it. There were dramas and upheavals, inevitably, but the foundations, they seemed unshakable.”
I was happy to see that music by Duran Duran from the 1980s had a place in a post-apocalyptic world. Dr Kelson is a proper Gen X.
All That’s Left of You (Cherien Dabis)
VOX Cinemas - Festival City, Dubai
“I'm here to tell you who is my son, but for you to understand, I must tell you what happened to his grandfather.”
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (Mary Bronstein)
Koninklijk Theater Tuschinski aka Pathé Tuchinski, Amsterdam
“Nothing is familiar or real. Ever. Every time I feel this way I get further and further away from being in myself, and, like, I can never get back.”
NOT GREAT BUT HAD A GOOD TIME:
Greenland 2: Migration (Ric Roman Waugh)
VOX Cinemas - Waf, Dubai
“You have a chance to start over again. The chance to build a better place. A better world. One led by kindness and compassion and understanding. One not just worth living in, but living for.”
Hell in Paradise (Leïla Sy)
Star Cinemas - Al Ghurair Centre, Dubai
“Stay away from these people.”
Babysitting in a five star island hotel resort gone wrong. Needed more Maria Bello. Rushed ending.
Primate (Johannes Roberts)
VOX Cinemas - Festival City, Dubai
"Who the fuck has a pet chimp?"
When first see Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah) on a video call with speaker on whilst boarding her flight to Hawaii. I thought to myself right away she (and her friends) will deserve everything bad the chimpanzee will do to them later.
FAVOURITE REWATCHES:
Silent Friend (Ildikó Enyedi)
Theater Rotterdam Schouwburg, IFFR
I first watched this at the Venice International Film Festival last September and was happy to get another chance to watch it. A beautiful and tender film about connections between humans and nature, and science and curiosity.
Hoba / The Vile (Majid Al Ansari)
Intercontinental Dubai Festival City, Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
This was a rewarding second viewing after watching it when it was released in our cinemas last October/November. I was invited by the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature to introduce the film and moderate a talk with the director after the screening. It was a fun discussion about the making of the film, finding the cast and why he made the film. Will write more about this in a separate post.
FAVOURITE REP SCREENINGS:
The Yacoubian Building (Marwan Hamed, 2006)
Pathé Schouwburgplein, Rotterdam, IFFR
After only watching it aired on TV (or maybe it was on VHS) many years ago, I was happy to finally get a chance to watch this film on the big screen at IFFR 2026. It was part of the festival's focus on films by Marwan Hamed. Sadly, the screening quality was poor, it looked like a mid-low quality version found on YouTube, and the English subtitles had so many spelling mistakes.
Nevertheless, I was happy to watch it because I know a film like this would never be funded or made today in Egypt. A damning portrayal of Cairo and Egyptian society during the Mubarak years depicted through different residents in one building - with a great cast, including some of the biggest names in Egyptian cinema - Adel Emam, Nour El-Sherif, Yousra, Issad Younis.
Desperately needs to be restored.
WANTED TO LIKE:
Baab (Nayla Al Khaja)
VOX Cinemas, Festival City, Dubai
A new film from the United Arab Emirates released in cinemas should always be celebrated, just because so few are made. But sadly, I couldn’t connect with this story about a troubled woman which took its time to reach a rushed and inconclusive ending which I feel harmed the film. I’m still trying to unpack this and would like to write more about it another time.
Lastly, films programmed by me for Night School 2026 at Jameel Arts Centre:
Wunderland Kalkar (Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoin, 2024, 5 min)
Al Basateen / The Orchards (Antoine Chapon, 2025, 25 min)
Okay Keskidee! Let Me See Inside (Rhea Storr, 2025, 19 min)
The Architect of Luxor (Jocelyn Saab, 1986, 18 min)
Bad for a Moment (Daniel Soares, 2025, 15 min)
Everything I watched in January: https://letterboxd.com/hindmezaina/diary/films/for/2026/01/