The 12th edition of the Dubai International Film Festival gets under way on Wednesday with a gala screening of Room, which is toted as one of the favourites to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards next year.
The acclaimed drama has already won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival. In the past seven years, three films that have won that award – Slumdog Millionaire (2008), The King's Speech (2010) and 12 Years a Slave (2013) – have gone on to Oscar glory.
As with 12 Years a Slave, Room deals with a harrowing subject matter. It tells the story of a mother (Brie Larson) and her 5-year-old son (Jacob Tremblay) who are held captive in a tiny, squalid room for more than five years. One cannot help but think of the horrors enacted by Josef Fritzl in Austria and the Ariel Castro kidnappings in Cleveland, Ohio.
But what is perhaps most remarkable about the film is how Irish director Lenny Abrahamson (previously best known for his quirky comedies Adam and Paul and Frank is able to transcend the dark subject to create a story that is about the ability of people to triumph over adversity, and the joys of motherhood.
The film is based on the 2010 Man Booker Prize novel of the same name by Irish playwright Emma Donoghue. When Abrahamson was approached to adapt it for the screen, he immediately identified a challenge that needed to be solved.
“What is so fascinating about the book – and what is so hard to translate into film – is that the book is told from the point of a view of a 5-year-old boy,” he says. “For the boy, this life trapped in a room is the only world he knows – and how he describes his life, versus what we [as readers] know is the truth – that is where the power and emotion of the book comes from.”
So Abrahamson asked Donoghue to help him view the story from another angle.
“We were just really interrogating it, looking into how you capture the essence of the book but without having the voice of the child.”
The director was also determined that he didn’t want the experience of watching the film to be morbidly voyeuristic, like looking at the aftermath of a car crash.
“There is no point in just telling the story as a ‘look how awful the crime is’ kind of tale,” he says. “I’m also allergic to sentiment, and this is a sentimental story – but the story has a strong cathartic element to it, which makes it bearable.”
It’s this cathartic element of the script that gives the film its greatest power. We have all seen countless films about damsels in distress, or someone trapped and desperate to escape – much more rare is a drama that looks at the consequences of a crime, and the impact it has not just only on the victims, but also on their family and friends.
A significant aspect of the film is about how mother and son reintegrate themselves into the world.
Another element that ramps up the emotions in Room is the brilliant performance from Larson. The 26-year-old, born Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers, previously appeared in the 2012 reboot of high-school cop comedy 21 Jump Street, played the more stable sister of Amy Schumer in Trainwreck, and starred as the supervisor of a home for troubled teenagers in the drama Short Term 12.
To prepare for Room, she locked herself up alone in her apartment. The silence at isolation from the outside world triggered childhood memories, including a move from Sacramento to Los Angeles with her mother and younger sister.
"I remember that time as being as being one of the greatest times of my life," says Larson. "I was so happy. My mom has this incredible imagination and she instilled so much life into that space that I never felt like I was lacking and I didn't realise that we didn't have anything." One night, she awoke to find her mother in floods of tears. "I didn't realise until years later that my father had asked for a divorce and that is why we moved to LA," says Larson. "She was dealing with it completely alone but she has created this world of imagination for me and my sister." These experiences and memories helped her build her character in Room. "That, to me, was such a huge part of my life to bring to the film," she adds.
• The invite-only opening-night gala screening of Room is tonight at 8pm at Madinat Arena. A second screening, at 10pm tomorrow at Madinat Theatre, is sold out but standby tickets be available at the venue tomorrow
Francesco Totti's bio
Born September 27, 1976
Position Attacking midifelder
Clubs played for (1) - Roma
Total seasons 24
First season 1992/93
Last season 2016/17
Appearances 786
Goals 307
Titles (5) - Serie A 1; Italian Cup 2; Italian Supercup 2
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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Europe's top EV producers
- Norway (63% of cars registered in 2021)
- Iceland (33%)
- Netherlands (20%)
- Sweden (19%)
- Austria (14%)
- Germany (14%)
- Denmark (13%)
- Switzerland (13%)
- United Kingdom (12%)
- Luxembourg (10%)
Source: VCOe
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
if you go
The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.
The trip
Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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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
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
if you go
The flights
Flydubai flies to Podgorica or nearby Tivat via Sarajevo from Dh2,155 return including taxes. Turkish Airlines flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Podgorica via Istanbul; alternatively, fly with Flydubai from Dubai to Belgrade and take a short flight with Montenegro Air to Podgorica. Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Podgorica via Belgrade. Flights cost from about Dh3,000 return including taxes. There are buses from Podgorica to Plav.
The tour
While you can apply for a permit for the route yourself, it’s best to travel with an agency that will arrange it for you. These include Zbulo in Albania (www.zbulo.org) or Zalaz in Montenegro (www.zalaz.me).
MANDOOB
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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