Abu Dhabi Film Festival stuns, inside and out

Just a day before the fifth Abu Dhabi Film Festival swung open its doors on October 13, the executive director Peter Scarlet gave a phone interview to explain what would be going on over the next week and a half. ””Films: The National watches Film reviews, festivals and all things cinema related Film Wanting to highlight the setting for one of the festival’s most eagerly awaited new additions – the giant open-air screen at the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, by the creek with the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in the background – he walked over to his window to describe this rather special view. But the mosque wasn’t there. Nor was the screen. Instead, a sudden sandstorm had conquered the sky, reducing visibility to just a few metres. The omens were not great. “The manager of the hotel got a whole bunch of staff, took what appeared to be every sheet they owned from every bed and table and they covered all 1,200 seats,” says Scarlet. “And the spirit of the sandstorm took notice, turned tail and split. An hour later it was fine.” Thankfully, despite this troublesome warning of her unpredictability, Mother Nature managed to behave herself over the rest of the event, allowing the open-air screenings to continue uninterrupted and – barring the odd splash of high humidity – even with rather pleasant temperatures throughout. The al fresco cinema proved one of the stars of the event, regularly busy as residents from far and wide flocked to watch a broad spectrum of films by the creekside. The Marina Mall’s VOX Cinema, too, where most of the 170-plus films were being shown, was well attended throughout the festival, empty seats few and far between over the weekend screenings. And as for the red-carpeted gala shows at the Abu Dhabi Theatre, those who hadn’t secured a ticket were forced to jostle for a place in the standby queue. With so many films on the schedule, only someone with a working flux capacitor or a time machine could logistically watch them all. But there were still those who tried to squeeze in as much as possible: Linda Abu Awad, 33, a human resources manager, did not miss a single outdoor screening at the Fairmont, and Ahmed Ghaleb, 27, an accountant, watched all eight of the movies in the Naguib Mahfouz – Man of Cinema retrospective. Kristina Hamza, a fashion designer and teacher living in Abu Dhabi, has seen at least 20 films over the course of the festival: “My husband was out of town for work so I had all this time to myself,” she said. Among Hamza’s favourite films were Stockholm East, a Swedish tale of tragedy and romance; The Source, a Moroccan story of female empowerment; Poliss, a moving documentary about a child protection unit in northern Paris; Project Nim, a documentary about the efforts to train a chimpanzee to understand language; and, Chicken with Plums, Marjane Satrapi’s live-action adaptation of her graphic novel set in 1950s Tehran. Chicken with Plums proved a popular choice across the board, picking up the Best Narrative in the festival’s Black Pearl awards, handed out at a special ceremony on Friday night. Taking the Special Jury Award in the same category was A Separation, from Satrapi’s fellow Iranian Asghar Farhadi. The festival proved lucrative for Farhadi, with the rising star also being named Variety magazine’s Middle East Filmmaker of the Year. “Considering that this country is close to mine makes the festival particularly special to me,” said Farhadi. Even closer to home, one of the highlights of the festival was the world premiere of Sea Shadow, directed by and starring Emirati talent and produced by Image Nation, the production house owned by The National’s parent company, Abu Dhabi Media. The coming-of-age drama, set in Ras Al Khaimah, was given a hero’s welcome and the full red carpet treatment at the Abu Dhabi ­Theatre. One complaint about this year’s event was the Hollywood A-list quotient. Whereas last year Uma Thurman, Clive Owen and Adrien Brody strolled the maroon rug, this time, star-spotters were given Evan Rachel Wood, Topher Grace and Lily Cole. That said, Rupert Friend and Tilda Swinton were whisked over for the final day of the festival, giving the last night a bit of big-name buzz. Despite its dark content, Tilda Swinton’s We Need to Talk About Kevin proved another hit, with both screenings completely sold out.