There are three film franchises that every stunts professional aims to work on during their careers, says Faycal Attougui: "Star Wars, Mission: Impossible and James Bond." And the Moroccan stunts co-ordinator is well on his way to crossing the second of those off his list.
Attougui was part of the team behind the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and while he has yet to work on a James Bond project, he is currently in the thick of filming Mission: Impossible 7 in the UK.
The film crew finished shooting in Abu Dhabi in February, when Attougui, along with the rest of the cast and crew, travelled to the UK to continue production.
Attougui, who has more than two decades of experience and has worked on several high-budget productions, including Christopher Nolan's 2010 film Inception and the 2016 movie Assassin's Creed, starring Michael Fassbender, says Cruise is among the most dedicated actors he has worked with.
When films come here to shoot from different parts of the world, they bring their own stunt [crew]. We want to change that
Attougui won the Motocross Championship in Morocco twice in a row, in 1997 and 1998, before deciding to pursue a career in stunts. He was only 16 years old when he had his breakout opportunity in the 1998 Jean-Claude Van Damme film Legionnaire and he has since amassed an eclectic set of stunt skills that have made him a Hollywood favourite.
However, he is now bringing his know-how and experience to the UAE, helping to promote and train stunt co-ordinators from the country and the region.
Attougui is among the talents represented by Dubai-based company The Stunts Services Management, founded by Emirati film producer Hind Al Basti. Its aim is to build a community of stunt professionals in the region. "When films come here to shoot from different parts of the world, they usually bring their own stunts [crew]," Al Basti says. "We want to change that."
Abu Dhabi's tax rebate incentive, which draws many foreign productions to the emirate, may prove to be an advantage. These are often required to hire local creatives in order to qualify for the tax rebate.
"This is something that could boost our profile," says Al Basti, who has worked on several projects in America, Europe and the UAE, including the 2016 short psychological thriller Evelyn.
The idea to launch a stunts services management company came to Al Basti while she was working on an Emirati production last year. "It had more than 25 stunts [people], most of whom came from Morocco. I thought that not only do they have a lot of experience in the business, but they also speak the language, so why not open a company to represent them?"
Al Basti then met with Attougui and drew up a business strategy, detailing the venture's trajectory for the next decade and setting a plan to train local athletes to perform stunts. The company was officially launched in August and had its first commission in a yet-to-be-disclosed project by Freej creator Mohammed Saeed Harib.
Al Basti currently represents Attougui, as well as Attougui's brothers, Mohamed and Aziz, plus a few others, but she says she is looking into bringing more people from the region on board.
"Not to say I only exclusively work with Arab talents, but I am adamant about hiring as many Arabs as possible," she says. "This is one of the reasons why I started the company, to give exposure to Arab stunts [professionals] like Faycal because a lot of the time people tend to think only westerners have experience like that."
Al Basti says the company has already received several applications from local and regional athletes who are interested in pursuing a career in stunts. However, Al Basti and Attougui agree that not everyone is cut out to work in the industry.
“To be a good stunts [person], you need to have it in your character. You can train for years and never be good. You need to know your body. You need to have great reflexes. You need to know what to do when you fall.
“Some people do a small fall and destroy themselves and others fall down stairs, stand up and say: ‘I’m good.’ It’s all about reflex.”
Over the years, Attougui's ability to recognise who has that innate ability to perform stunts and who doesn't has improved. It's a skill that will help him build a dependable team for The Stunts Services Management.
“The vision is to start training people here so that we have enough manpower to start a stunts school,” Al Basti says. “The challenge is to first be consistent in our presence and take up jobs locally, regionally and internationally. We want to expand step by step. We want to train people in different departments and increase the number of stunts [professionals] in the country and eventually the region.”
Hopefully, by the time the opportunity to work on a James Bond production presents itself, Al Basti and Attougui will have a whole team ready to take on that mission.
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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Norway
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Canada
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if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERick%20Famuyiwa%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPedro%20Pascal%20and%20Katee%20Sackhoff%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Disability on screen
Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues
24: Legacy — PTSD;
Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound
Taken and This Is Us — cancer
Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)
Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg
Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety
Switched at Birth — deafness
One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy
Dragons — double amputee
HER%20FIRST%20PALESTINIAN
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Saeed%20Teebi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20256%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%C2%A0House%20of%20Anansi%20Press%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Most F1 world titles
7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)
7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)
4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)
4 — Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’12, ’13)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More on Coronavirus in France
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDesign%2C%20multimedia%20and%20creative%20work%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELogo%20design%2C%20website%20design%2C%20visualisations%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBusiness%20and%20professional%20management%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELegal%20or%20management%20consulting%2C%20architecture%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBusiness%20and%20professional%20support%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EResearch%20support%2C%20proofreading%2C%20bookkeeping%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESales%20and%20marketing%20support%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESearch%20engine%20optimisation%2C%20social%20media%20marketing%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EData%20entry%2C%20administrative%2C%20and%20clerical%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EData%20entry%20tasks%2C%20virtual%20assistants%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIT%2C%20software%20development%20and%20tech%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EData%20analyst%2C%20back-end%20or%20front-end%20developers%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWriting%20and%20translation%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EContent%20writing%2C%20ghost%20writing%2C%20translation%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EOnline%20microtasks%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EImage%20tagging%2C%20surveys%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3ESource%3A%20World%20Bank%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Result
Crystal Palace 0 Manchester City 2
Man City: Jesus (39), David Silva (41)
Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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
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Match info
Uefa Champions League Group H
Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
