Arab Cinema Finds an Niche in Western Film Festivals

In honor of Egyptian courage and expression of freedom, the International Cannes Film Festival will host Egypt film and filmmakers at the 64th International Film Festival as the first ever guest country at the Cannes IFF, May 11 - 22, 2011.

The Festival will also honor late Egyptian directing legend Youssef Chahine and screen 18 Jours (18 DAYS), as well as a grouping of short films by several Egyptian directors filmed during the nation's January 25th revolution. Profits from the films will go toward political and public education programs in rural Egypt. O.K., I'm down with the funds for rural public education programs but a bit skeptical about the motives of political education. That is very vague.

The third Arab Film Festival Berlin, organized by Cinemaiat - Friends of the Arabic Cinematheque Association, will be held from November 2 to 10 this year. The festival's main program will present recent works by Arab filmmakers, and this year's special focus section on humor will present films of varied lengths and production dates.

Feature films, documentaries and shorts made in the last three years are eligible for Berlin, as long as they are directed or produced by an Arab filmmaker/production company, or present an issue closely connected to the Arab world. The submission deadline is June 30, 2011.

The Fourth Gulf Film Festival (GFF) at Dubai, drew to a close April 20th and ended on a high note. There was a week-long showcase of 153 films from 31 countries screened free to audiences in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Arabian peninsula.

GFF 2011 drew more than 1,400 submissions from 98 countries for its fourth edition, recorded a 11 per cent growth in audience compared with its 2010 edition, highlights the growing popularity of the festival and emerging and established Gulf filmmakers among local and regional audiences.

The 2011 edition also saw one of the strongest Gulf turnouts, including the highest-ever submissions from the UAE and Qatar, and significant representation from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Iraq. In all, the 2011 line-up included 59 world premieres, 13 international premieres, 15 Middle East premieres and 15 Gulf Coast premieres.

The GFF has no graphic I can use with this post, so I used the graphic from the other film festival held in Dubai, the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). The DIFF is more open to Westerners than the GFF. This year's DIFF edition, along with Enjazz Film Market, will be held December 7 - 14. Please click the title of this post for more information.

One of the reasons Arab cinema has made monumental strides in quality films is the filmmakers in the Gulf region now have access to production funds for five short films annually, following a new collaboration between the Gulf Film Festival and the Dubai Film Market's Enjaaz program, that aims to support filmmakers from the Arab world.

This new Enjaaz fund offers Gulf-based filmmakers up to $50,000 per project, complementing the existing funding of up to $100,000 per project offered every year by Enjaaz to features and documentaries in the post-production phase. The first application cycle for the fund closes June 1.

Arabic film festivals also offer huge monetary prizes to film festival winners, anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000 per win. A glass or gold plated statue doesn't cut it with these guys. The statue must be in pure gold studded with diamonds, rubies and/or sapphires.

So, whoa up there you Americans, Brits, or European Union members. I suggest you do not pack your bags for these film festivals just yet. Many of these splendorous affairs are not open to you as competitors or, perhaps, as visitors. Some are by invitation only. Click the title of this post for more on these festivals.

Dubai Film Festival Opens Wednesday

With all the publicity about the financial difficulties and huge debts of Dubai, one of the seven Arab Emirates, I began to wonder if their international film festival would be held this year. Word came yesterday that it is indeed on, and the 6th edition will open this Wednesday, 9 December, for the usual seven-day run, ending on the 16th.

The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) is a non-competitive festival. The main purpose is to showcase contemporary and classic global cinema, exhibit their invited guests, and raise money for charity. This is their third year to host the Cinema Against AIDS Dubai, a gala to raise funds for AmfAR. That's the charity Elizabeth Taylor founded in honor of the late actor Rock Hudson and others.

There are, however, obvious signs of cut-backs. Last year over 400 films were shown. There were lavish parties and huge cash prizes. This year, the film list has been cut to something over 170 from 55 countries, which is more inline with some other festivals. The approach this year is that the films are culturally diverse, providing movies for all ages and tastes. Plus, there are several package deals, providing an easy way to choose films, find significant cost savings for movie enthusiasts, and orders may be placed online.

There will be the usual cadre of film stars and directors. The opening night gala movie will be Rob Marshall’s NINE, starring Daniel Day Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench, Kate Hudson and Sophia Loren. Marshall directed CHICAGO, which garnered six Oscars®, including Best Picture. He also directed MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, and is scheduled to direct the next installment of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN.

To make sure there will be plenty of glitz with the glam, the festival has partnered with world-renowned Cartier as the Official Jeweler. France is the country In Focus this year. Children’s favorite Alvin and the Chipmunks return with their "Squeakquel" for the Cinema for Children section, and Disney will bring THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG. The Festival will host it's first-ever Acting for the Camera Workshop for school students, presented by Dubai Pearl, and it is open to school children ages 11 through 17. All sections help emphasize this year's "something for everyone" theme.

For much more in English, including how to get updates on your mobile phone, click the title of this post and visit their Official Website. Click for Arabic.

Here Comes Cannes 2008

Harrison Ford in Indy4

The Riviera resort of Cannes prepares to welcome the who's who of filmdom Wednesday. That's the opening day of the 61st Cannes International Film Festival, which means the festival is much older than the majority of the potential attendees.

One of the biggest premieres at the festival will surely be INDIANA JONES and the KINGDOM of the CRYSTAL SCULL, or Indy4 for short. It is screening out of competition. Of course, it would be unlikely to win the Golden Palm (Palme d'Or), anyway. But, it will generate a lot of excitement.

One of the longest features, Steven Soderberg's CHE (a.k.a., GUERRILLA - USA, France, Spain), a two-part, four-and-a-half-hour epic on Argentine revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, will premiere in competition. Benicio del Toro stars as the charismatic Guevara.

These are only two top motion pictures in the 12-day movie marathon, which will command world attention while cinephiles watch for the two, or three, break-out feature films that will make cinematic history in 2008. Then, the question becomes, "Will any one of the favorites at Cannes claim the biggest prize of all, the Oscar® for Best Motion Picture of 2008?"

You can read about Cannes, and 18 other major and/or popular festivals already completed this year, on my Film Festivals Page. This year, I am dividing the festivals into three sections. Every year, I add more, and every year I write more, so it was the only sensible thing to do. Cannes completes Part I for 2008, which began with Palm Springs in January.

Part II is now online. It begins with Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in June, and ends with the New York Film Festival, opening in late September.

Next up will be Part III, beginning with the International Film Festival of Catalonia (Sitges, Spain) the first week in October, and probably ending with the Dubai Festival in mid-December. I can't say for sure yet because the Dubai dates run very close to the New Latin American Festival in Havana, Cuba.

Part III should be online by the last of August. By the end of October the action will shift to my Awards Page, which is the time the Oscar race really shifts into high gear, but there will still be some interesting film festivals to follow until Christmas. Then, my Film Festivals Page for 2009 begins.

I think you will find my Festivals Page handy. I try to note interesting tidbits, sometimes from my personal experience, and I always include handy links to help viewers quickly find the information in which they may be most interested. You can access the page by clicking the title of this post, or the permanent link on the right sidebar. Hope you enjoy!

New Movies About Islam: Con and Pro

Two new movies about Islam have been released so far this year. The con is short (17 minutes), and is described as a hate diatribe against Islam. The other is a feature love story (88 minutes), definitely pro Islam.

The short is by the Dutch politician, anti-immigration activist, filmmaker Geert Wilders. It is called FITNA, an Arabic word often translated as "strife," and tomatoes are flying at it from every direction.

The feature, VERSES OF LOVE, is from an Indonesian Muslim filmmaker, Hanung Bramantyo. It has received a rousing reception in Indonesia, which has almost a 100 percent Muslim population, and a "ho-hum" from the rest of the world. It should be extremely well received at the next Arab Emirates' film festivals in Dubai or Abu Dhabi this year, should it screen in either. Read about the Dubai and Abu Dhabi festivals last year on my 2007 Film Festivals Page.

By far, FITNA, has received most of the attention. It was posted on the Internet by YouTube, and others, but has since been removed because of general outrage due to its visuals and rhetoric.

Because both of these are mainly religious propaganda meaning, "a one-sided argument often untrue," I have posted about each in more detail on my Universal Mind Warp blog. Click the Title on each post for a major link.

I did see the images in FITNA, but the dialog was in Dutch, and I haven't seen anything of the other one, so I cannot judge either at the moment.