It seems regional film festivals have itchy feet. Less than a month after the Abu Dhabi Film Festival relocated back to the Emirates Palace, the 4th Doha Tribeca Film Festival - which drew to a close over the weekend - ditched its usual hub at the Katara Cultural Village to set up shop in the city's newly regenerated Souq Waqif area. And it was a move that was approved almost universally by attendees.
Abuzz night and day with locals and visitors spilling out from the cafes and restaurants onto its cobbled streets and with the scent of shisha and live musical performances an almost permanent fixture in the air, the new setting gave the festival a charmingly authentic, almost film set-style backdrop. Coupled with the family days held at Katara that saw the vast beachside complex come alive with enormous kites, children's workshops and outdoor screenings, this year's festival cemented Doha's status as the region's most community-embracing film event.
Algeria's moments
Filmmaking from Algeria was given a special showcase at the festival, 50 years after the country's independence. At the closing ceremony for the Arab Film Competition, the Algerian jazz musician Safy Boutella performed several of his own film soundtracks, plus a song he wrote for the 40th anniversary of Algerian independence, having been given a longer set by organisers due to audience appreciation.
Fittingly, it was an Algerian film that took the main prize. Highlighting the festival's creative achievements, Merzak Allouache explained on stage that The Repentant - about a former jihadist who tries to rejoin society - was made using the prize money he won at last year's festival for the film Normal. There will no doubt be calls for him to return with whatever he makes with his US$100,000 (Dh367,310) winnings this time around.
Talent from within
The Made in Qatar segment was bigger and better than any previous festival, underlining the huge year-round efforts made by the Doha Film Institute (DFI) to help develop local talent. While Bader, about a young boy fighting prejudice in an elementary school, took the main prize, arguably the most noise among international visitors and critics was being made about Lyrics Revolt - an energetic feature-length documentary exploring hip-hop and the Arab Spring. After the film's premiere in Katara, several of the artists featured - including the Egyptian trio The Arabian Knightz, Lebanon's Malikah and the Syrian rapper Omar Offendem - gave an outdoor performance. The musicians were later seen on the red carpet for the closing ceremony (where Lyrics Revolt was given a special mention), most naturally having ditched smart shoes for massive trainers.
The Doha connection
Doha regulars may have noticed that the past two festivals have now opened with big-budget, DFI-funded films - last year it was Black Gold and this time it was Mira Nair's adaptation of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which went down fairly well with most guests, largely due to its captivating cinematography. But will this become a regular occurrence? Will next year's Doha Tribeca Film Festival perhaps open with the Salma Hayek-produced, animated adaptation of The Prophet, also being financed with help from the DFI?
"We hope it will be ready for showing by then," says the DFI's new chief executive Abdulaziz Al-Khater. "These larger projects give us an opportunity to be involved with really high quality productions. We had four interns working with her on that project and that kind of exposure our filmmakers wouldn't be able to get otherwise."
The De Niro effect
With a revised focus on regional cinema, this year's festival wasn't quite as festooned with international, A-list names like previous times. But it didn't seem to bother too many and the presence of Robert De Niro - the founder of the original Tribeca festival and one of the stars of Silver Linings Playbook, which received its Mena premiere - satisfied most star-seeking camera phones.
De Niro's scruffy demeanour and generally unenthused attitude belied his "greatest actor of his generation" tag. But his In Conversation With session in the Al Rayyan Theatre provoked whoops and standing ovations from the audience, particularly when he confirmed that he would be teaming up with Martin Scorsese, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci for his forthcoming project The Irishman.
Under stars with ET
There's something quite special about watching a film outdoors, particularly when the temperature is just right and you've managed to snag one of the last few deckchairs available. Which is why Saturday night's showing of ET on the huge outdoor screen by the waterfront at Katara was one of the highlights of the weekend, introducing a whole new audience of kids to the delights of the spindly-fingered one and, for those who remember seeing it in the 1980s, reminding us exactly why it is still regarded as one of the greatest family flicks of all time.
Looking ahead
Of course, screening films is one thing, but ensuring more keep coming is another. And with this in mind, the DFI used the festival to announce its latest round of funding, with grants being handed out to 27 new projects, including Marjoun and the Flying Headscarf by Susan Youssef, whose debut feature Habibi collected the lion's share of awards last year in Dubai.
"The Gulf now is obviously very important and those festivals are more and more important in making the new generation of Arab filmmakers," said the acclaimed Tunisian actress Hend Sabri, who was the president of the festival's narrative jury, adding that she appreciated the lack of censorship.
"You always have this fear that when people have give you money it comes with restrictions. But I was really impressed with the level of freedom that you find here in partnerships with the DFI and Arab filmmakers."
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Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
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UAE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani
Defenders: Bandar Al Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammed Barghash, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Hassan Al Mahrami, Yousef Jaber, Mohammed Al Attas
Midfielders: Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Hamad, Khalfan Mubarak, Khalil Al Hammadi, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Harib Abdallah, Mohammed Jumah
Forwards: Fabio De Lima, Caio Canedo, Ali Saleh, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Klopp at the Kop
Matches 68; Wins 35; Draws 19; Losses 14; Goals For 133; Goals Against 82
- Eighth place in Premier League in 2015/16
- Runners-up in Europa League in 2016
- Runners-up in League Cup in 2016
- Fourth place in Premier League in 2016/17
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
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Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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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.”
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
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