By MCN Editor editor@moviecitynews.com
THE 4TH ABU DHABI FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES COMPLETE LINEUP
Secretariat and Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame Bookend Three Feature Competitions and Exciting Sidebar Sections
September 27, 2010, New York, NY – The 4th Abu Dhabi Film Festival will present 70 feature films from over 28 countries. 12 films will have their World Premieres, 4 of which were co-produced with SANAD, the Festival’s new fund that provides development and post-production support for films from the Arab world. The Festival will open on October 14 with Secretariat, directed by Randall Wallace and starring John Malkovich and Diane Lane. Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame by Tsui Hark will close out the Festival with a screening preceding the Black Pearl Awards ceremony on October 23.
Executive Director Peter Scarlet remarked, “This has been a year of numerous exciting developments for our young festival, from our name change and rebranding to the addition of the New Horizons Competition and the launch of our fund SANAD. Our program is the culmination of all the work of our programmers, who sifted and sleuthed their way through over 2,000 submissions for this edition, twice as many as last year. The enthusiastic response to last year’s edition from the international and regional film community raised the bar on what we aimed to offer in 2010 and we’re proud to be unveiling another strong program in which international cinema and films from the Arab world meet “at the same table” again. Showing films from the likes of Abbas Kiarostami, Julian Schnabel, Olivier Assayas, François Ozon and Patricio Guzmán, to name just a few, is always a pleasure. But it’s particularly gratifying to see these directors’ films alongside works from the region. And in particular, we’re very excited to be showing the first fruits of SANAD in the form of several films in our competition sections. As the Festival plays an ever-greater role in helping develop and promote filmmaking from the Arab world, we look forward to seeing even more new discoveries, whether from familiar names or new talents.”
The 12 World premieres in the Festival are Here Comes the Rain by Bahij Hojeij (Lebanon, UAE), Taming by Nidal Al-Dibs (Syria), Homeland by George Sluizer (Netherlands), A Man’s Story by Varon Bonicos (UK), Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace by Harry Hunkele (USA), In/Out of the Room by Dina Hamza (Egypt), Living Skin by Fawzi Saleh (Egypt), OK, Enough, Goodbye by Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia (Lebanon, UAE), Qarantina by Oday Rasheed (Iraq, Germany, UAE), Sun Dress by Saeed Salmeen (UAE), Wrecked by Michael Greenspan (Canada), and Paan Singh Tomar by Tigmanshu Dhulia (India).
The Festival has three competitions for features that offer cash awards totalling 1 million USD. The Narrative and Documentary Competitions are joined this year by the New Horizons section, a competition for first- and second-time directors. Other sections of the Festival include Showcase, an international selection of outstanding films eligible for the $30,000 Audience Award, and “What in the World Are We Doing to Our World?”, films devoted to broadening awareness of significant environmental issues.
The Festival’s highly anticipated special programs include a selection of restored classics and several films from the series “Mapping Subjectivity: Experimentation in Arab Cinema” presented in partnership with The Museum of Modern Art and ArteEast.
The Festival’s short film programs were previously announced.
To mark its 4th addition the Festival is pleased to host two prestigious international juries, the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI – Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique) and the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC), which will present awards to films chosen from the Festival’s program.
COMPLETE LIST OF FEATURE FILMS BELOW
COMPLETE LIST OF FEATURE FILMS
Narrative Feature Competition
The Awards
Films in this section compete for Black Pearl Awards in these categories:
– Best Narrative Film ($100,000)
– Best Narrative Film from the Arab World ($100,000)
– Best Actor ($25,000)
– Best Actress ($25,000)
The selected films in the Narrative Feature Competition:
Carlos
by Olivier Assayas
France, Germany
Chico & Rita (Chico y Rita)
by Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal, Tono Errando
Spain, UK
Cirkus Columbia
by Danis Tanović
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Ditch (Jiabiangou)
by Wang Bing
People’s Republic of China, Belgium, France
Here Comes the Rain (Chatti Ya Dini)
by Bahij Hojeij
Lebanon, UAE
WORLD PREMIERE
Co-produced with SANAD
In a Better World (Hævnen)
by Susanne Bier
Denmark, Sweden
Incendies
by Denis Villeneuve
Canada, France
The Life of Fish (La vida de los peces)
by Matías Bize
Chile
Messages from the Sea (Rassayel El Bahr)
by Daoud Abdel Sayed
Egypt
GALA SCREENING
Miral
by Julian Schnabel
France, India, Italy
GALA SCREENING
Never Let Me Go
by Mark Romanek
UK, USA
Potiche
by François Ozon
France
GALA SCREENING
Silent Souls (Ovsyanki)
by Aleksei Fedorchenko
Russia
Taming (Rodage)
by Nidal Al-Dibs
Syria
WORLD PREMIERE
Virgin Goat (Laadli Laila)
by Murali Nair
India
Documentary Feature Competition
The Awards
Films in this section compete for Black Pearl Awards in these categories:
– Best Documentary ($100,000)
– Best Documentary from or about the Arab World ($100,000)
The selected films in the Documentary Feature Competition:
Che – un hombre nuevo
by Tristán Bauer
Argentina
Children of the Stones – Children of the Wall (Kinder der Steine – Kinder der Mauer)
by Robert Krieg
Germany
China, the Empire of Art? (Chine, l’empire de l’Art?)
by Sheng Zhimin, Emma Tassy
France
Earth Made of Glass
by Deborah Scranton
USA
Homeland
by George Sluizer
Netherlands
WORLD PREMIERE
How Bitter My Sweet! (Bahebak Ya Wahsh!)
by Mohamed Soueid
Lebanon, UAE
A Man’s Story
by Varon Bonicos
UK
WORLD PREMIERE
Nostalgia for the Light (Nostalgia de la luz)
by Patricio Guzmán
Chile, France, Germany
Pink Saris
by Kim Longinotto
UK, India
Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?
by Taggart Siegel
USA
This film is also part of “What in the World Are We Doing to Our World?”
Tears of Gaza (Gazas tårer)
by Vibeke Løkkeberg
Norway
We Were Communists (Sheoeyin Kenna)
by Maher Abi Samra
Lebanon, France, UAE
Work in Progress (Out of Competition):
In My Mother’s Arms
by Mohamed Al-Daradji, Atia Al-Daradji
Iraq, UAE
Co-produced with SANAD
New Horizons Competition
The Awards
Films in this section compete for Black Pearl Awards in these categories:
– Best New Narrative Film ($100,000)
– Best New Narrative Film from the Arab World ($100,000)
– Best New Documentary ($100,000)
– Best New Documentary from the Arab World ($100,000)
The selected films in the New Horizons Competition:
Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace
by Harry Hunkele
USA
Documentary Feature
WORLD PREMIERE
Bill Cunningham New York
by Richard Press
USA
Documentary Feature
El Ambulante
by Eduardo de la Serna, Lucas Marcheggiano, Adriana Yurcovich
Argentina
Documentary Feature
Furious Force of Rhymes
by Joshua Atesh Litle
USA
Documentary Feature
Gesher
by Vahid Vakilifar
Iran
Narrative Feature
In Your Hands (Contre toi)
by Lola Doillon
France
Narrative Feature
In/Out of the Room (Dakhal Kharag El Ghorfa)
by Dina Hamza
Egypt
Documentary Feature
WORLD PREMIERE
The Kingdom of Women (Ein El-Hilweh)
by Dahna Abourahme
Lebanon
Documentary Feature
Living Skin (Jald Hayy)
by Fawzi Saleh
Egypt
Documentary Feature
WORLD PREMIERE
Ok, Enough, Goodbye (Tayeb, Khalas, Yalla)
by Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia
Lebanon, UAE
Narrative Feature
WORLD PREMIERE
Co-produced with SANAD
Once Again (Marra Oukhra)
by Joud Said
Syria
Narrative Feature
Orion
by Zamani Esmati
Iran
Narrative Feature
Qarantina
by Oday Rasheed
Iraq, Germany, UAE
Narrative Feature
WORLD PREMIERE
Co-produced with SANAD
Slackistan
by Hammad Khan
Pakistan, UK
Narrative Feature
Sun Dress (Thawb Al-Shams)
by Saeed Salmeen
UAE
Narrative Feature
WORLD PREMIERE
Co-produced with SANAD
Wrecked
by Michael Greenspan
Canada
Narrative Feature
WORLD PREMIERE
GALA SCREENING
Zephyr (Zefir)
by Belma Baş
Turkey
Narrative Feature
Showcase
Films in this section are eligible for the Abu Dhabi Film Festival Audience Award ($30,000).
Certified Copy (Copie conforme)
by Abbas Kiarostami
France, Italy
Narrative Feature
GALA SCREENING
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (Di Ren Jie zhi Tong Tian Di Guo)
by Tsui Hark
People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong
Narrative Feature
CLOSING FILM (out of competition)
Fair Game
by Doug Liman
USA
Narrative Feature
GALA SCREENING
I Travel Because I Have to, I Come Back Because I Love You (Viajo porque preciso, volto porque te amo)
by Marcelo Gomes, Karim Aïnouz
Brazil
Narrative Feature
Kings of Pastry
by Chris Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker
USA, UK
Documentary Feature
Let Me In
by Matt Reeves
USA
Narrative Feature
GALA SCREENING
The Oath
by Laura Poitras
USA
Documentary Feature
Paan Singh Tomar
by Tigmanshu Dhulia
India
Feature Narrative
WORLD PREMIERE
GALA SCREENING
Secretariat
by Randall Wallace
USA
Narrative Feature
OPENING FILM
West Is West
by Andy De Emmony
UK
Narrative Feature
GALA SCREENING
Women Are Heroes
by JR
France
Documentary Feature
“What in the World Are We Doing to Our World?”
Films devoted to broadening awareness of significant environmental issues.
Sponsored by MASDAR.
Cane Toads: The Conquest
by Mark Lewis
Australia, USA
Documentary Feature
Jane’s Journey
by Lorenz Knauer
Germany
Documentary Feature
Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?
by Taggart Siegel
USA
Documentary Feature
This film is also part of the Documentary Feature Competition
Submission (Underkastelsen)
by Stefan Jarl
Sweden
Documentary Feature
Think Global, Act Rural (Solutions locales pour un désordre global)
by Coline Serreau
France
Documentary Feature
To the Sea (Alamar)
by Pedro González-Rubio
Mexico
Narrative Feature
Waste Land (Lixo Extraordinario)
by Lucy Walker
Brazil, UK
Documentary Feature
Special Programs
Restored Classics
The Circus
by Charlie Chaplin
USA 1928
Metropolis
by Fritz Lang
Germany 1927, restored 2010
The Mummy / The Night of Counting the Years (Al Momia)
by Shadi Abdel Salam
Egypt 1969, restored 2009
This film is also part of Mapping Subjectivity: Experimentation in Arab Cinema
Mapping Subjectivity: Experimentation in Arab Cinema
The Abu Dhabi Film Festival is proud to partner with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and ArteEast in New York to present a selection of the program Mapping Subjectivity: Experimentation in Arab Cinema.
Chronicle of a Disappearance
by Elia Suleiman
Palestine, USA, Germany, France 1996
Divine Intervention (Yadon Ilahiya)
by Elia Suleiman
France, Morocco, Germany, Palestine 2002
Domestic Tourism II
by Maha Maamoun
Lebanon 2009
Experimental Video
The Mummy / The Night of Counting the Years (Al Momia)
by Shadi Abdel Salam
Egypt 1969, restored 2009
This film is also part of Restored Classics
Al Yazerli
by Kais Al Zubaidi
Syria, Iraq 1974
For complete program information visit www.abudhabifilmfestival.ae.
FIPRESCI and NETPAC Juries at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival
Marking its fourth edition, the Abu Dhabi Film Festival is pleased to host two prestigious international juries, which will present awards to films chosen from the Festival’s program.
The presence of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI – Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique) and the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) is sure to broaden the Festival’s collaborative network and enhance the cinematic discourse at the Festival.
FIPRESCI will award the International Film Critics’ Award (also known as the FIPRESCI Prize) at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival for the first time in 2010.
A jury of five FIPRESCI members, headed by the federation’s Honorary President, Andrei Plakhov, film critic, historian of cinema and columnist for Moscow’s Kommersant newspaper, will choose a winner from among the Arabic works in the Festival’s three competitions for feature-length films: Narrative Features, Documentary Features and New Horizons.
FIPRESCI was created in 1930 to promote and develop international film culture and safeguard the professional interests of film critics and journalists. With the protection of the freedom and ethics of the film press as its main objective, the federation’s worldwide network of national committees also works to expand the idea of cinema as an art form as well as a tool of cultural education. The International Film Critics’ Award was established to promote film art and support innovation in cinema.
The NETPAC Award will go to the best Asian film at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, chosen by a jury of three NETPAC members from among the entire Festival selection.
The jury will be chaired by Alberto Elena Díaz, Director of the Granada Film Festival “Cines del Sur” (Cinemas of the South).
Founded in 1990, NETPAC has established itself as a leading platform for the discovery and promotion of Asian cinema. Drawing attention to the emergence of a new wave of Asian cinema at an early stage, the network helped Asian filmmakers gain international exposure by launching the quarterly publication Cinemaya and the NETPAC Award. Now presented at 28 film festivals on five continents, the NETPAC Award has become a yardstick for quality in Asian cinema.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
The Abu Dhabi Film Festival (formerly the Middle East International Film Festival) was established in 2007, with the aim of helping to create a vibrant film culture throughout the region. The event, presented each October by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) under the patronage of its chairman H.E. Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, is committed to curating exceptional programs to engage and educate the local community, inspire filmmakers and nurture the growth of the regional film industry.
With its commitment to presenting works by Arab filmmakers in competition alongside those by major talents of world cinema, the Festival offers Abu Dhabi’s diverse and enthusiastic audiences a means of engaging with their own and others’ cultures through the art of cinema. At the same time, a strong focus on the bold new voices of Arab cinema connects with Abu Dhabi’s role as a burgeoning cultural capital in the region and marks the festival as a place for the world to discover and gauge the pulse of recent Arab filmmaking.
The Abu Dhabi Film Festival is being held concurrently with the The Circle Conference, which takes place October 13-15, 2010. The Circle Conference is organized by the Abu Dhabi Film Commission. For more information visit: www.film.gov.ae.
With the generous support of our sponsors: L’Oréal (Official Beauty Partner); Emirates Palace and InterContinental Hotels (Hospitality Partners); Abu Dhabi Media Company and Abu Dhabi Airports Company (Contributing Sponsors); Robert WAN and CineStar (Suppliers); Zee Network, Zee Television, Radio 1, Radio 2 and MUBI (Media Partners).
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