Welcome to the latest edition of The Arts Edit, the weekly newsletter from The National's Abu Dhabi newsroom rounding up this week's most noteworthy arts and culture stories.
IN FOCUS
F1 The Movieis on track to become Brad Pitt's biggest global hit to date – and its success comes down to the UAE capital.
“For these movies to work, you’ve got to get those chills at the end,” Pitt tells me, speaking in the afterglow of the film's big opening weekend. “And we found that moment in Abu Dhabi.”
The blockbuster has earned nearly $300 million in its first 10 days of release, garnering stellar reviews from critics and audiences alike.
Just seven months earlier, Pitt and company were filming the thrilling finale at Yas Marina Circuit during the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It capped a 29-day shoot in the capital, which the American megastar prepared for by spending “a few months” here.
Brad Pitt says his experience filming in Abu Dhabi was essential to the film's success. Photo: Apple Original Films
In my latest conversation with Pitt, he was effusive in his praise for local partners Abu Dhabi Film Commission, Creative Media Authority and Department of Culture and Tourism, which offered him and the F1 crew “unprecedented access, kindness and support”.
Pitt also connected with the emirate on a personal level, returning again and again to Louvre Abu Dhabi, which he calls the “the greatest concept for a museum I've ever heard of”.
“I can't say enough about being in Abu Dhabi and everything that Abu Dhabi lends to this film and our personal experience. It's just really left an indelible mark on all of us. I thank everyone for that,” Pitt says.
We also spoke about the possibility of a sequel – and whether it could star his old friend Tom Cruise. Pitt revealed that they were previously supposed to star in another racing film together – Ford v Ferrari – and, for the first time, told the story of why they dropped out. His anecdote has since gone viral across the world.
The historic details on display in Louvre Abu Dhabi's VR installation were shaped by rigorous research. Photo: Louvre Abu Dhabi
If Pitt's passion is making you want to head over to Louvre Abu Dhabi again, you're in luck, as there are new things to experience.
In addition to the Filipino masterpiece it unveiled last week, the museum has launched the Quantum Dome Project, a virtual reality installation that unfolds over 25 minutes.
It immerses participants in digitally reconstructed environments from three disparate and historic corners of the globe: ancient Rome, medieval Baghdad and Mughal-era India. And the process of putting the exhibition together was meticulous.
“We wanted to select objects that had enough documentation, to allow us to depict as accurately as possible the historical landscapes surrounding them,” says Amine Kharchach, interpretation and mediation manager in the museum’s education and cultural engagement department. “We worked hand in hand with our curatorial team to pick the right details.”
What was once a regional powerhouse of drama – especially during the lucrative Ramadan season – faded as producers struggled with blocked funding channels, severed international ties and a shrinking market for distribution.
In a significant development reflecting Syria's evolving economic situation, the country’s new leadership has finalised an agreement with Qatari company Al Maha International to construct a media and entertainment complex on the outskirts of Damascus.
Syria has made some of the most popular Ramadan dramas, such as Bab Al-Hara. Photo: MBC
This deal, celebrated as a key element of Syria's post-sanctions era. comes on the heels of US President Donald Trump's recent decision to remove long-standing sanctions on the war-affected nation.
The lifting of US restrictions may mark a turning point for Syria’s constrained television industry. For leading showrunners and industry veterans such as Ahmad Alshiekh, who has been bringing some of the country’s best productions in difficult times, it feels less like a diplomatic gesture and more like an existential reset.
“The lifting of US sanctions is not just symbolic, it’s a potential reset button for the entire Syrian film and television ecosystem,” Alshiekh tells The National.
How does one express contentment within Arabic pop music? The genre, shaped by grand emotional declarations of heartbreak, passion and longing, is often designed to overwhelm or uplift.
But Palestinian singer Lina Makoul is reaching for more subtle ways of expressing the human condition.
Palestinian singer Lina Makoul has rediscovered the feeling of 'radiya' through her new release. Photo: Maana Music
Her latest single, Radiya, which translates to “being content”, is a quiet provocation. Not a love song, nor an anthem of defiance, the track offers something that is heard less today – a moment of stillness. Set against the backdrop of the Gaza war, it is a song about survival, not through the chaos, but by finding an inner balance.
“Trying to find this balance without giving in or giving up is contentment,” Makoul tells The National. “It is also about being grateful for the things that you are blessed with, such as a bed, a roof above your head, food in your fridge, having your loved ones next to you and not losing yourself.”
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
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.
Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:
1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.
2. The money has been transferred into a structured note. These products have high upfront, recurring commission and should never be in a pension account.
3. You have also been sold investment funds with an upfront initial charge of around 5 per cent. ETFs, for example, have no upfront charges.
4. The adviser charges a 1 per cent charge for managing your assets. They are being paid for doing nothing. They have already claimed massive amounts in hidden upfront commission.
5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
