A children’s book about an autistic Emirati boy who lives alone in the mountains of Fujairah and has a unique understanding of how to navigate the jagged, rocky terrain is being adapted into a feature film.
Mountain Boy is being directed by Zainab Shaheen, the Emirati filmmaker behind Arabic films Journey of Hope and Dates to Mars. It is produced by Desert Rose Films, a female-focused production company in Abu Dhabi.
The story for Mountain Boy is based on the 2017 children’s book The Boy Who Knew the Mountains, written by Emirati-Australian author Michele Ziolkowski.
Set in 1959, it tells the story of Suhail, a 12-year-old boy who is ostracised by his tribe as they do not understand the nature of his exceptional memory and navigational skills. He soon sets out on a life-affirming journey, travelling from Fujairah to Abu Dhabi, encountering several people who help him gain more skills and see his autism as a power.
Nancy Paton, founder of Desert Rose Films, says she was inspired to turn the book into a film after seeing how her son, who is autistic, responded to the work.
“I went to a reading of the book with my son,” she says. “He was four at the time and there were lots of mums and children in the classroom. It was a powerful book, and it was quite interesting that the children understood how the boy was feeling. As a filmmaker, I realised there is something here that's quite unique and special.”
Paton then set out to find the author. She was surprised to find that Ziolkowski, like herself, is Australian-Polish, having settled in the UAE years ago. A naturalised Emirati, Ziolkowski had written The Boy Who Knew the Mountains after being inspired by her son, who Paton says has an affinity with the Fujairah mountains.
“I really got to know her family and her son,” Paton says. “Suhail loves walking those mountains. He remembers paths and certain rocks. [Ziolkowski] was initially interested in making an animation out of the book, but I thought the story would be better as a live action. I was very adamant about finding a boy who is autistic to play the part of Suhail.”
The film’s investors, however, were worried whether they would be able to find someone to play the leading part in time. Paton visited several schools across the UAE that were dedicated to children with autism.
“We auditioned 20 boys with autism,” she says. “All fantastic and lovely, and we were grateful that they could attend. But when Naser [Saleh] walked in, we immediately knew we had found our lead actor. By then, we had started to panic that we weren’t going to find the right person because he has to be Emirati and speak in an Emirati accent.”
Though there were challenges, Paton says it paid off in the long run.
“There were amazing rewards on a daily basis from this boy,” she says. “To have him here, to work with him and to see him shine on screen — Naser has made us laugh and cry watching him. I guess that was always my hope, that the story would allow the audience to watch it and see the world through different eyes.”
Mountain Boy also aims to offer a novel perspective of the UAE’s natural landscape.
The film’s director, Shaheen, says while there may be plenty of stories that highlight the UAE’s deserts, there aren’t many depictions of its mountains and coast in film. Currently in the tail-end of its production phase, Mountain Boy was filmed in various locations across Fujairah and Abu Dhabi, with a special focus dedicated to the mountainous terrain of the country’s east coast.
“I wanted to show the beauty of the UAE with this film. I wanted to show natural landscapes like how they are depicted Hollywood and fantasy films, such as Lord of the Rings. In countries across the Arabian Gulf, we don’t see that much. When this area is presented in foreign films, it is usually portrayed as this yellowish, hot place. I wanted to focus on parts that the world may not know about,” Shaheen says.
“The film will also show how people lived in 1959. There is a message in the film where we try to explain why the past is so important for us, and how it affects our future and where we are going.”
Though a native of Fujairah, Shaheen says scouting for locations helped her come across breathtaking sites that she herself had been oblivious to.
“We tried our best to find a place that visualises what’s in the script and story,” she says. “I was so happy to find the right spaces, and I would like to visit them even after shooting. When we were filming in the mountains, we went through all the seasons in one month.”
Those residing in the mountains were initially suspicious of the film and its intentions, adds Shaheen. However, as the crew spent more time with them, the local inhabitants began to help in the film’s productions with many being cast in secondary roles.
“They were really helpful,” Shaheen says. “In the beginning, it was hard to communicate with them. They didn’t understand what we were shooting. They said it was their land and they didn’t want us going near them. Now, we’re a part of a family.”
Mountain Boy is currently in its final stages of production, and Paton says she hopes it will be ready in time for the festival circuit next year. There are also plans to have it featured at the UN Climate Change Conference Cop28, which will be hosted in the UAE.
“We are on schedule,” she says. “But there is still post-production and a few other elements. Nothing is final, but we are pushing for a few festivals.”
How to vote
Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.
They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi
Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)
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RESULTS
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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more from Janine di Giovanni
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
CREW
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Voy!%20Voy!%20Voy!
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From Conquest to Deportation
Jeronim Perovic, Hurst
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Vaccine Progress in the Middle East
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If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
