Though documentaries haven't conquered even a small chunk of the box office, filmmakers are turning them out as never before. There is one about almost any subject. Sometimes two.
At the International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam, or IDFA, more than 250 films fought for the audience's attention. Just as many were peddled to distributors (mostly for television rather than cinemas), and scores of projects were trawling for start-up funds or completion money. Documentary filmmakers don't expect to strike gold, but they are often looking for it.
It was strange then, to find a documentary that seemed to replicate one of the greatest box-office hits of all time. Sins of My Father, Nicolas Entel's portrait of Pablo Escobar and his son, Juan Pablo Escobar, echoed The Godfather. Before commandos shot Pablo in 1993, the brazen crime boss was arguably the world's most powerful drug dealer and the most feared man in Colombia. He flaunted his authority with near-impunity, ordering his hit-men to murder politicians who could have threatened his empire.
His only son, Juan Pablo, stood in his shadow. Raised in abundant narco-privilege, Juan Pablo fled Colombia with his mother, fearing reprisals after his father's death. He renamed himself Sebastian Marroquin and, at the filmmaker's urging, emerged from anonymity in Argentina to seek forgiveness from the families of his father's victims. We see it all on screen in the poignant meeting between the son of a murderer and the sons of his victims after decades of violence. It was all the more poignant in Amsterdam, when Marroquin, 32, stood on stage sans bodyguards at the film's premiere.
The otherwise uplifting film is a grim reality check. History has leapt beyond Escobar and his son's efforts to change the course of a murderous culture. Colombia's cocaine trade is as strong as ever. So is its murder rate.
Another documentary with the epic scale of feature dramas was Space Tourists, Christian Frei's film about space missions that seek paying travellers. It calls to mind The Right Stuff, Philip Kaufman's 1983 adaptation of Tom Wolfe's book on the early US space programme.
In Space Tourists, the right stuff is money. The guest astronaut whom we watch aboard the Soyuz is Anousheh Ansari, an Iranian-American with a technology fortune who declares that she's dreamed about going into space since her teenage years. The dreams were so intense, she says, that she is prepared to sacrifice her life for the opportunity. And pay $20 million (Dh73.5m).
In one of the film's intriguing contradictions, the opportunity is provided by Russia. And as billionaires such as Ansari vie to explore space from the formerly secret Soviet launching base in Kazakhstan, a local trade is built on the booster sections of the rockets that fall to earth as waste. Scavengers collect the metal parts, using smaller pieces in households and selling larger sections to Chinese firms that recycle space trash. Frei, whose last film studied the Bamyan Buddhas' destruction, offers a magical cosmology of rich and poor in a formerly classless land.
Meanwhile, in The Miscreants of Taliwood, the veteran Australian director George Gittoes happens upon the improbable emerging film industry in Peshawar, Pakistan. In Taliwood, as Gittoes calls it in a nod to Hollywood and Bollywood, the Taliban, which operates nearby, react with punitive violence on "miscreants" when films depicting western-style "decadence" are made or sold in the region.
A Taliwood feature costs about $4,000 to make. You can make two for $7,000, the filmmaker learns. Gittoes himself stars in two - one about a journalist's killing, and another in which he plays an American villain.
The cheap slapstick melodramas are the one place where guns aren't using live ammunition in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. Gittoes's first-person tour explores the movie market: audiences want entertainment in their Pashtun language, Bollywood films are too "immoral" for the Taliban-monitored region, and most of the public can't read subtitles on western movies. The films are wildly funny, yet actors are harassed by the Taliban and stores selling the movies are ransacked.
There's another revelation in this shoot-from-the hip documentary: the Taliban makes and markets movies that show training, bombings and horrifically violent killings. Gittoes and others argue that Taliwood comedies are struggling because the Taliban couldn't tolerate any competition.
It's hard to imagine Michael Moore or Morgan Spurlock bounding through the NWFP mountains like Gittoes, but what would a documentary festival be without Michael Moore? Even if he wasn't at IDFA, his spirit was. The Lehman Brothers investment banker-turned-first-time-filmmaker Ami Horowitz calls Moore's Bowling for Columbine the inspiration for his film, UN Me, a first-person diatribe demanding accountability on Darfur and other missions from "the most opaque institution in the world", the UN. Like Moore, Horowitz makes no claim to balancing viewpoints. He calls his film a "polemic". Though fellow documentarians may chafe at Horowitz's aggressive attacks, they will envy the newcomer's ability to fund a movie.
For a look at what some would call a UN success story, IDFA also presented Sergio, a biographical documentary about Sergio Vieira de Mello, the charismatic UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who died in the 2003 Baghdad bombing that ended the UN mission in Iraq.
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
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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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.
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
RESULTS
6.30pm: Handicap (rated 95-108) US$125,000 2000m (Dirt).
Winner: Don’t Give Up, Gerald Mosse (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap (95 ) $160,000 2810m (Turf).
Winner: Los Barbados, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
7.40pm: Handicap (80-89) $60,000 1600m (D).
Winner: Claim The Roses, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.15pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (Div-1) Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D)
Winner: Gold Town, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
8.50pm: Cape Verdi Group 2 $200,000 1600m (T).
Winner: Promising Run, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.25pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D).
Winner: El Chapo, Luke Morris, Fawzi Nass.
The Saudi Cup race card
1 The Jockey Club Local Handicap (TB) 1,800m (Dirt) $500,000
2 The Riyadh Dirt Sprint (TB) 1,200m (D) $1.500,000
3 The 1351 Turf Sprint 1,351m (Turf) $1,000,000
4 The Saudi Derby (TB) 1600m (D) $800,000
5 The Neom Turf Cup (TB) 2,100m (T) $1,000,000
6 The Obaiya Arabian Classic (PB) 2,000m (D) $1,900,000
7 The Red Sea Turf Handicap (TB) 3,000m (T) $2,500,000
8 The Saudi Cup (TB) 1,800m (D) $20,000,000
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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.”
