March 14, 2012

This Is Not a Film

By Rashid

Many heard the news about Jafar Panahi, the Iranian filmmaker who was given a six-year jail sentence and a 20-year ban on making films, writing scripts, giving interviews, as well as leaving the country. This Is Not a Film takes place when he’s under house arrest, awaiting his final sentence, he’s so bored that he decides to pick up a camera and start shooting his experience, so what you see in Mojtaba Mirtahmasb to help out, the film is basically an entire day condensed down to 75 minutes.

Although the film was not planned, scripted, researched or structured in a conventional way, it’s still an interesting approach to a film, more extreme and risky documentary filmmaking, that kind-of YouTube amateur video some guy made with his phone that ends up going viral. The problem with filmmakers is that we become so educated and stive to be so professional, that we sometimes overcomplicated the creative process. Somehow, Panahi overcame this obstacle.

The film’s plot  comes together very swiftly, you don’t feel as though this was planned, but at the same time events don’t strike you as being overly unusual, like someone took their sweet time brainstorming a plot. The essence of this film is that you see what he’s going through, what it’s really like for him and his ongoing struggle for art. You feel it with him, the sense of hopelessness and frustration. At some point in the film, Panahi decides to recite and act out parts of his script, the very script that got him into this mess. Although it was an interesting segment, I was concerned that he didn’t utilize the platform to explain what the issue was with the script, why it was censored, why he’s being punished. I didn’t see him doing the opposite either, showing us the film had nothing that needed to be censored. I think the film needed a little of that debate, but overall, it’s well worth the watch.

Check out the trailer:

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January 18, 2012

Interview: Handheld on Dubai One

By Handheld Stories

Handheld Stories co-founder Guy Brooksbank was recently interviewed on Dubai One’s City Wrap, talking about the recent project in Hebron, Palestine and giving viewers a better understanding of what Handheld Stories is about.

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October 28, 2011

Letters to Palestine

By Rashid

Letters to Palestine is a documentary film that showcases unsent letters from the Arab world to the Palestinian people. Now the film is made available to watch in full at the end of this post. Please share it and spread the word.

But how did this documentary project start? It all began with Sanaa’ Dabbagh who runs the Zyara initiative, the name “Zyara” means to Visit in Arabic, and so they send groups of people on a visit to Palestine. This is a journey of discovery, understanding and to answer questions about the real side of Palestine, the people, the communities and why so many people find this place important. Given the fact that just about every Arab passport holder is denied entry into Palestine by Israel, most of the people going on Zyara are non-Arabs. And since the whole idea behind Zyara was to visit, to visit people, then why are the fellow Arab people not visiting? How can we give them an opportunity to visit?

This was when Butheina Kazim came up with the idea of making some sort of video message, something that could be sent to the Palestinian people along with Zyara, as a way of saying “We’re still thinking about you”. Butheina got in touch with me, Rashid Al-Marri and after some brainstorming, we decided to make a 10-minute “documentary-style” video for Zyara.

The key elements to keep in mind were that we only wanted Arabs to be involved, we also wanted to make the video look as diverse as possible, so as many Arabs from different Arab countries as possible. Thankfully, we were based in Dubai; one of the most diverse cities in the world. The next step was to take politics out of the situation, I didn’t think that it was my place, we have plenty of that on Al Jazeera, so I wanted to do something different.

I dis my rudimentary director preparation; a treatment, a script and interview questions. Butheina did all the producer’s work; scheduling, contacting people and so on. One interesting thing we found at this stage was that we sent out requests all over the place, through e-mail and social networks, but we got very little response from people We began shooting in July 2010, it took us almost 2 months to get all of the interviews (about 20 people) and then another 3-4 months of editing because I was taking my sweet time. The first cut was sent off with Zyara in October, we got some great feedback and it gave us a boost to go on.

When did this 10 minute video become a 40 minute documentary? Well, it was when we started doing the first interviews, it seemed like people had a lot more to say than we had previously thought. I also thought to myself that this is great for Palestinians to see, but I think Arabs and even non-Arabs should see this, to understand how and why all these people surrounding Palestine care so much about it, outside of everything we’re constantly bombarded with in the mainstream media.

The film premiered at the Dubai International Film Festival (2010), it screened at the Gulf Film Festival, AMAL Festival and the Emirates Film Competition in the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. It continues to be screened elsewhere, including Zyara. And now, it’s available to watch online. Please share, spread the word and give us your thoughts.

Letters to Palestine on Facebook

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October 12, 2011

Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2011 Picks

By Rashid

Here’s a collection of a few random picks for films that we think are worth seeing at this year’s Abu Dhabi Film Festival. Why? Just because.

1. Sea Shadow

Set in a small seaside town in Ras Al Khaimah, Sea Shadowfollows Emirati teenagers Mansour and Kaltham as they struggle with traditions and conventions on their journey toward adulthood. Bound by family and deeply rooted values, the pair must find the courage to forge their own paths. In this charmingly low-key follow-up to his debut feature The Circle, director Nawaf Al-Janahi combines a nostalgic feel for a simpler time with genuine cultural insight.

2. We Need to Talk About Kevin

Eva (Tilda Swinton) never really wanted to be a mother – and certainly not the mother of an unlovable, manipulative boy who ever more cruelly taunts her inability to impose her authority over him as he grows up. But is it Eva’s own lack of motherly affection that has made her son a sociopath? Beautifully adapted by director Lynne Ramsay (Ratcatcher) from Lionel Shriver’s international bestseller, this searingly honest film holds up a mirror to an entire culture.

3. Habemus Papam (We Have a Pope)

Habemus papam!, the Latin for “We have a Pope!” is the phrase that announces the election of the new pontiff – but what happens if the chosen man does not want the job? Nanni Moretti imagines with comedy and pathos a crisis in the Vatican when Cardinal Melville (Michel Piccoli) refuses to address the Catholic faithful as their new spiritual leader. A psychiatrist (Moretti) is rushed in, but is the new Pope’s problem more serious than nerves?

4. The Wholly Family

On a family vacation in Italy, a bickering couple are so vexed by their son Jake’s bratty behavior that they “send him to bed without any supper.” In this beautifully crafted gem, Terry Gilliam unleashes all the imaginative surprises of his feature triumphs like Brazil and 12 Monkeys as Jake is swept on a dreamlike journey through the hidden places and symbols of Naples.

5. 18 Days

In the wake of the Egyptian revolution of this year, 10 filmmakers come together to provide a look at that monumental series of events from as many perspectives. Of note here is a move away from the urge to document the goings-on around the revolutionary events; the filmmakers choose instead to have the revolution as a background – interacting with it at times, while at other times delving into the lives of the actors and their internal concerns. 18 Days is timely and necessary filmmaking.

1 comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Highlights

October 11, 2011

Film Review: 18 Days

By Rashid

God's Creation

During the Egyptian revolution, many thoughts went through the minds of Egyptians and non-Egyptians alike, both in the conflict and across the world. But the one thought that was most probably going through everyone’s mind was “This would make a great movie”.

Of course, if you have spent a bit of time watching Arab cinema, you probably thought that before the year ends, there would be dozens of films made about the revolution, documentaries, dramas and even docu-dramas. 18 Days is one of those films, in fact, it’s 10 of those films all in one.

I was fortunate enough to attend the world premiere of the film at the Cannes Film Festival this past May, and considering how recent the events in Egypt were, your first thought is that this film was made in haste, just for the sake of making a film (or 10) about the revolution. Now, given that the filmmakers themselves said that the films are not “about the revolution” but are in fact about “events surrounding the revolution”, the film does perform well in that sense, avoiding any factual reports, or day-by-day recollections. It’s simply a series of short films that give us an insight about different peoples’ stories as these events were taking place.

Like the tailor who’s so afraid he locks himself in his own shop, or the boy who watches the girl next door go out to the protests everyday (obviously it turns he loves her), or the old man and his grandson who mistakenly stay out after curfew. The principal idea is that this is not an Al-Jazeera-style report on what happened or a drama based on real people, but it’s a series of short stories about different people who were around during the events.

18 Days will be screening at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival 13-22 of October, you can see a video report on the film here.

10 short films, 10 directors. Some of them are well renowned in Egyptian and Arab cinema, others are relatively new to the field. But in watching the films you get more of a sense of raw talents rather than traditional experience. This raw talent emerges by virtue of the low-budget nature of the film. If this was 10 years ago, low-budget would look low-budget. But in this post-DV era, digital cinema is now more accessible than DV cameras were at the time. The Canon 7D was the exclusive camera used in this films.

Reduced production time, no development time and faster editing workflows mean that these fictional short films were produced so fast after the events, that they’re a sort of interesting side-story of events still headlining news today. But does this make the films better? Does the constant sense of an impending deadline force the directors to immerge with some kind of creative spurt?#Tahrir 2/2

The answer to that is somewhat hard to say. For the most part, you do get a sense of masterful filmmaking at work in some of these films, while in others, it feels almost like the producers were just filling in the gaps. Those gaps tend to linger on and by the 7th or 8th film, you begin to feel like the film is just lingering on. But surprise, surprise, another good short comes along to make you feel better.

18 Days in not the best collection of films, simply because some of them just don’t hold up well. The best of this short collage can stand up on their own and they’re just good enough to make sitting through all 10 worth it.

Visit the official website here: http://www.18days-movie.com/

Get your tickets to the screening at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival here.

Watch the Trailer:

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