GFF12 Daily Issue #3 - 12th April 2012
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Transcript of GFF12 Daily Issue #3 - 12th April 2012
![Page 1: GFF12 Daily Issue #3 - 12th April 2012](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022081822/568c366c1a28ab023597f896/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
By Qudsiya Siddiqui
The Bahraini film industry
comprises of budding
independent film makers whose
films deals with realistic issues.
With the cinema slowly expanding
its foundation, there are more than
ten Bahraini films being showcased
at the 5th edition of the Gulf Film
Festival. Ammar Abdulla Al Kooheji is
the director of Sokoon; a film where
women are the central characters
living in a male-dominated society and
overcome their problems together.
The film showcases the basic
human rights which women
are deprived of. He says, “For
a woman, there is no question
about nationality or religion, each
woman should be respected.” When
questioned about the challenges
he faced in making the film, he said,
“There was no support from
Bahrain, I made the short-film
on my own personal finance, so
that was my biggest challenge.”
The new generation of storytellers
who with their talent and skills
used hands- on filmmaking, are two
young Bahraini women filmmakers
Noora Kamal and Aisha Almuqla.
They directed a 2.5 minute silent
film – ‘Movement [Ta7reek]’, where they experimented with
exaggerated comedy to showcase
how family and society controls
an individual’s decisions in life.
Noora Kamal says, “Being a
filmmaker in Bahrain is considered as a
hobby or just an activity, not accepted
as a career.” Presenter Aisha Almuqla
added, “With our movie we wanted to
show that one should be proud of their
culture, and be open-minded when it
comes to making decisions in life.”
With the lack of production
houses in the country, many Bahraini
filmmakers self-finance their projects.
Noora Kamal said, “We had immense
support from family and friends.
While one held lights, the other
a camera and helped us setup for
the film, all personally financed.”
The Bahraini filmmakers are
honored to be finalists to the
Gulf Shorts competition Film
Festival and making an excellent
platform to showcase their talent
and capability in producing films.
Day 03 - April 12, 2012
TOP
STO
RY Bahraini filmmakers hope to break stereotypes and raise awareness
GFF DAILY
“Nothing is eternal; everything ends” – Aisha AbdullahAisha Abdullah’s short film ‘Beginning. End’ focuses on the immortality of human life of
how there is a beginning and an end attached to it. The film is based on the life cycle
demonstrating the phase of childhood till death.
The suggestion for the film was provided by the scriptwriter, Ahmad Zain. Storytelling has
netted an impressive response so far, as it done through the usage of shadows. The story is
depicted with the help of strong shadows that were difficult to achieve in the cloudy days of
Abu Dhabi, where the film is shot.
According to Aisha Abdullah, “The message we’re trying to send out through this film is that
nothing is everlasting or eternal; everything has to end one day or the other. The example of
human life makes it easy to demonstrate how an existence is obliterated someday or the other.”
Aisha Abdullah is a passionate female filmmaker, who has won several awards such as first
prize in the shorts category of the Al Nawa Media Awards in the United Arab Emirates University
(UAEU).
Still from Movement (Ta7reek), a 2.5 minute silent film which experiments with exaggerated comedy to showcase how family and society controls an individual’s decisions.
Aisha Abdulla, director of ‘beginning. End’ - Gulf Shorts FeaturesPhotocredits: Lizelle Rodrigues
ORGANIZER: MEDIA PARTNER:
Parveen Aman, Actress of SokoonPhotocredits: Hileri Bilakhia Click here to meet the filmmakers
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Qatari cinema: opportunities and possibilitiesBy Syeda Nawab Fathima
Qatar is a land known little for its
films. But judging by the young
Qatari filmmakers at GFF, this is soon
to change...
Suzannah Mirghani, a filmmaker
from Qatar is showcasing her
first movie called Hamour at the
festival. “It has been a wonderful
experience. I had the opportunity
not only showcase my movie
but interact with film-makers
from various regions.” she says.
Hamour tells the story of Indian
fishermen in Qatar, as expatriates’
form an integral part of the region.
Qatari cinema has grown in the past
few years and Suzannah credits this to
the Doha Film School for inculcating
a professional attitude towards
filmmaking.
Rezwan Al-Islam, an upcoming
filmmaker says that making films is all
about the script and your eagerness
to explore the possibilities. “As a
filmmaker you will always have
challenges. Shooting in the summer
heat is not easy but we manage
our time and still do it. We must
overcome these challenges or we will
lose the opportunity.”
Rezwan and his classmate started
their movie, A Falcon, A revolution as
a class assignment and entered the
festival, after hearing rave reviews
from those who saw their work.
Both filmmakers feel GFF is
essential for serving as a platform
to showcase the unique movies of
young and upcoming filmmakers.
“There are very few filmmakers
who would make films not of popular
demand but push the boundaries for
more serious cinema. The best thing
about GFF is the variety of movies.
We have Indie movies rather than the
popular blockbusters,” says Rezwan.
Creative management in the film businessBy Nazia Fatma
Angus Finney, established businessman in the
London media markey conducted a workshop
on creative management in film business on
yesterday, 12 April.
According to Finney, “Creative people should
be treated way beyond the monetary and the
commercial goals of any media industry”. He
mentioned that writers, directors, and producers
can be a source of creative people with each
industry having their own source of creativity.
Factors like ownership, responsibility, recognition
and the organizational structure attract creative
people.
The management can encourage creativity by
rewarding and requesting creativity. The structure
of the organization is also very important because
if you get it right, you will get new talent and loyalty
Pixar, the animation firm is a true example of this.
From the producer’s point of view, the individual
must be good at creating and maintaining
relations, protecting the talent and being a buffer
with finances and creative elements. Due to the
evolving online market, the distributors will be up
for a challenge as it will cause the decline of the
TV and the DVD market. This will change the way
the movies are financed. Creative management is
essential to the film business and the success of
any movie.
WORKSHOPS
WHAT’S NEXT?
Publication by the Media and Communcations Department, Manipal University DubaiExecutive Editors: Mr. Joseph John, Mr. Sabir Haque Technical In-Charge: Mr.Sambhram Pattanayak Managing Editor: Ms. Megna Kalvani
Proofreader: Rabab Kazi Production Designer: Sneha Wadhwani
ONE-ON-ONE
Angus Finney highlights the element of business in entertainment
Photocredits: Arathi Devadas
Filmmakers hope to propel local art scene with ‘Glitter dust’By Samiha Naaz and Christine Cherian
Katy Chang and J.R Osborn, director and
producer of ‘Glitter Dust: Finding Art in
Dubai’ respectively share their experiences
on the set of their feature–length
documentary based in Dubai.
1.Your previous film ‘Nanjing Road’ was
based in Shanghai. How was the journey
from Shanghai to Dubai in terms of shooting
Glitter Dust?
Katy Chang: The journey from Shanghai
to Dubai has been great! Dubai has helped
us cultivate a lot of relationships while
shooting the film. We had a lot of University
students interning and assisting us during
our shoot. In fact, everyone was surprised
how our film was an independent film. We
actually started filming the second day after
we landed and it was a great experience. We
learnt everything about the city in a week.
J.R Osborn: I had been studying in the
Middle East, Yemen and Jordan, but had
never been to Dubai. When I did come here,
I started off as a professor at the American
University of Dubai. We noticed there were
no stories about the art scene in Dubai, about
the culture. We felt that it was important
to capture the essence of art in Dubai.
2.Did you face any difficulty while filming
in Dubai?
J.O: The only difficulty we did face
were the sandstorms, other than
that everything went smoothly.
3.What triggered you to make this film?
KC: As the art scene in Dubai was not given
much focus , through this feature – length
documentary, we tried to bring out the art
and culture of the Dubai. This is for all those
art lovers out there, as well as for everyone
else. There was no script as such for this
movie. It was their own voice and story.
4.Your interest lies in filming food. Are you
an avid cook too?
KC: Yes! I love filming food. Cooking is
something I’m passionate about and enjoy it. The
fresh spices and different types of cuisine that I
try out, the whole feel of cooking is just great!
5.Do you plan on expanding your
production studio?
KC: Yes, definitely we are planning to
expand. We are looking out for gallery space,
as well as planning on having a kitchen.
It is going to be more on a creative base.
6.What is your next project about?
KC: My upcoming project is based on food. The
project’s name is ‘Baba – Cooks’. It’s more on the
personal level, since it is based on my father and
how he survived the Great Chinese Famine, and
overcame all the difficulties to become a chef.
7.What advice can you offer budding
filmmakers, especially students in the region?
KC: There is a definite scope for the students to
explore and make new movies. They need to look
at things differently and tell a story through that.
April 13, 2012
14:00-15:00Meet the Filmmakers: Int’l Competition (Majlis room)
14:30-16:38Gerard Courant: Cinem-aton #3(Grand Festival Cinemas)
23:55-02:00Gulf Nights Forum: Be-hind the Scenes(Filmmakers Lounge)
April 14, 2012
11:00-12:00Meet the Filmmakers: UAE (non-student)(Majlis room)
13:15-14:15Meet the Filmmakers: Oman & Yemen(Majlis room)
Filmmaker Katy Chang talks about her feature film “Gliter-Dust” Photocredit: Luvlyn Prem Ratnam
Producer J.R Osborn during a question and answer session
Catch the film screening today in Grand cinemas #10 @ 21:30-22:30