Festival Guide Middle East International Film

Transcription

Festival Guide
Middle East International Film Festival
October 8-17
This Guide is also available in Arabic.
Ten Days. One City.
A Crossroads of Cinema.
October 8-17
Welcome to MEIFF
About MEIFF
The Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF) was established in 2007 and is presented annually in Abu Dhabi, the capital
of the UAE, by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage
(ADACH).
MEIFF’s mission is to affirm the key place Abu Dhabi holds as an
emerging cultural center and to foster the growth of its local film
community.
Under the leadership of new Executive Director Peter Scarlet, the
Festival celebrates cinema in all its forms by creating a vibrant
forum for storytellers from the Middle East and from around the
world.
Please visit www.meiff.com
About ADACH
The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) is the
government institution in charge of conserving and promoting
the heritage and culture of Abu Dhabi. ADACH aspires to harness
the pride of Abu Dhabi’s people by developing the Emirate as a
capital of art and culture. ADACH devotes all its resources to the
preservation of cultural treasures, as well as the encouragement
of Emirati and international art, music, literature, and cinema.
ADACH creates and promotes projects that allow the sharing of
cultural traditions and experience from all over the world.
ADACH has a holistic vision of culture, which embraces both
tangible and intangible heritage. This vision is open to everyone
– in the Arab world and beyond.
Please visit www.adach.ae
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www.meiff.com
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Program Description
Table of Contents
Galas
Special Programs
Page
Sections
These high-profile and highly anticipated films, representing the
world’ s major filmmaking centers, from Paris to Bollywood and
from Cairo to Hollywood, promise excitement, glamour, and stars
on the red carpet.
Our special presentations are highlighted by “Laugh Till It Hurts,”
a screening of four hilarious silent films with live keyboard
accompaniment – a first for Abu Dhabi. In addition, a series
of Master Classes presented by renowned figures from the
international film world offers a chance to go deeper into film
history and film culture – with more surprises to come.
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04
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Welcome to MEIFF
Program Description
How to Festival
Narrative Feature Competition
“What in the World Are We Doing to Our World?”
Chosen for their remarkable vision and the freshness of their
storytelling, these new fiction films are the work of a diverse
group of beginning and established filmmakers from the Middle
East and around the world.
Narrative Feature films compete for the following Black Pearl
Awards: Best Narrative Film, Best New Narrative Director, Best
Middle Eastern Film, Best New Middle Eastern Narrative Director,
Best Actor, and Best Actress.
Documentary Feature Competition
Whether recording major events or uncovering little-known
stories, whether focusing on social issues or personal
explorations, the filmmakers in this section demonstrate the
power of nonfiction filmmaking to help us understand each
other and our world.
Documentary Feature films compete for the following Black
Pearl Awards: Best Documentary Film, Best New Documentary
Director, Best Middle Eastern Documentary, Best New Middle
Eastern Documentary Director.
World Cinema Showcase
Selected from among the year’s festival award winners and
international highlights, these narratives and documentaries,
screening out of competition, offer a rich and exciting view of
what is happening in filmmaking around the globe today.
04
The power of film to educate, inform, and inspire is central to this
group of films that help us understand the global environmental
crisis and call for us to take action to protect our planet for future
generations.
New Cinema from Turkey
Chosen by the editors of the vanguard Turkish film magazine
Altyazı, this selection of recent films shows a remarkable burst
of cinematic creativity from a place that has long been at the
crossroads between the Middle East and Europe, offering an
outstanding example of the success of a small, local film industry.
Short Film Competition
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12
18
24
30
32
34
37
40
42
43
45
51
Galas
Special Programs
“What in the World Are We Doing to Our World?”
Emirates Film Competition
Special Events
Index
Daily Screening Schedule
Sponsors
> An updated version of this publication will be available during the Festival with added information about festival
programs, jurors, celebrity guests, and panels.
> Log onto www.meiff.com for daily updates about the Festival.
Both a training ground for up-and-comers and a familiar terrain
to which established directors return to explore new approaches,
short films often take us closest to the essence of the art of
cinema. The films in this competition – including two programs
of student projects – come from all over the world and represent
an amazing diversity of visions and styles that are sure to surprise
and delight.
Short films compete for the following Black Pearl Awards: Best
Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Middle Eastern
Short, and three Best Student Short prizes.
Content Advisory:
As at all international film festivals, some of the films have not
been officially rated and may not be appropriate for all ages or all
viewers. As a service to festival attendees, MEIFF has devised the
following rating system:
www.meiff.com
G
Suitable for all ages
15 + Suitable for ages 15 and up
18 + Suitable for ages 18 and up
05
How to Festival
Locations
Ticket Prices
MEIFF ‘09 will have screenings at the following locations:
General Screenings – AED 20
• Emirates Palace Auditorium
• Cinestar Cinemas, Marina Mall (Theaters 1-5)
• Grand Cinema, Abu Dhabi Mall (Theater 1)
Additional festival events will take place at the MEIFF Festival
Tent at the Emirates Palace, on the main terrace behind the hotel.
The MEIFF Festival Tent is open to the public throughout the
festival.
Gala Screenings at Emirates Palace – AED 30
Students and Seniors (65 and over) – AED 10
• ID required
Package of 10 vouchers – AED 150
• Vouchers are good for all screenings, except opening and
closing night galas, which are by invitation only.
Festival Pass – AED 200
• Good for all screenings, except opening and closing night
galas, which are by invitation only.
How to Buy Tickets
Ticket sales start September 28.
On the Internet at www.meiff.com.
In person every day from noon to 10 pm at any of the four
festival box offices:
• Emirates Palace Hotel – at the main entrance lobby,
and on the auditorium level
• Cinestar Cinemas, Marina Mall – main box office
• Grand Cinema, Abu Dhabi Mall – main box office
Ticketing Policies
• Tickets may be purchased using cash, MasterCard, or Visa.
• No exchanges or refunds on purchased tickets, vouchers,
or passes.
• All screenings are subject to change without notification.
We will do our best to publicize changes on
www.meiff.com.
• All screenings are general admission seating – there are
no reserved seats.
• You must be seated 15 minutes before the scheduled
screening time. Late admission is at the discretion of the
theater manager.
Free Festival Shuttle Service
Shuttle Routes:
MEIFF will operate a free shuttle bus service throughout the
festival (October 8 -17) between each of the three theater
locations – the Emirates Palace Hotel, Marina Mall, and Abu
Dhabi Mall – as well as the InterContinental Hotel.
Route A travels from the Emirates Palace Hotel, to the Marina
Mall, then to the InterContinental Hotel, and back to the Emirates
Palace, from 8:00 am to 2:00 am, every 15 minutes.
Tickets may be purchased at any box office until three hours
before screening time. After this time, tickets will only be
available at the theater where the film is being screened.
Route B travels from the Emirates Palace Hotel, to the
InterContinental Hotel, then to the Marina Mall, and back to the
Emirates Palace, from 8:00 am to 2:00 am, every 15 minutes.
Route C travels between Marina Mall and Abu Dhabi Mall, from
2:00 pm to 2:00 am, every 30 minutes.
Stand-by Tickets:
If tickets for a screening are no longer available, a limited number of
“stand-by” tickets may be made available at the box office 15 minutes
before the scheduled screening time.
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www.meiff.com
07
Galas
Opening Night
Centerpiece Gala
Closing Night
Blue
Anthony D’Souza
Capitalism: A Love Story
Michael Moore
The Informant!
Steven Soderbergh
The Men Who Stare at Goats
Grant Heslov
The Messenger
Oren Moverman
Oceans
Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud
Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story
Yousry Nasrallah
Shorts
Robert Rodriguez
The Traveler
Ahmed Maher
This film is also part of the Narrative Feature Competition
− see p 12.
© 2009 Galatée Films - Roberto Rinaldi
The Traveler (Al Mosafer)
Egypt | 2009 | 125 mins | Color | 35 mm | Arabic w/ English Subtitles | Middle East Premiere
Director / Screenwriter: Ahmed Maher
Producer: Egyptian Ministry of Culture
Cinematographer: Marco Onorato
Editor: Tamer Ezzat
15+
Music: Fathy Salama
Cast: Omar Sharif, Cyrine Abdel Nour, Khaled El
Nabawy, Amr Waked, Sherif Ramzy, Basma
Nearing the end of his life, Hassan realizes he can recall only three days. In
1948, Hassan (Khaled El Nabawy) begins his first job by delivering a telegram
to Port Said’s great beauty, Nour (Lebanese pop singer Cyrine Abdel Nour),
who becomes the love of his life – but for only one night. In 1973, middleaged Hassan gets a phone call from a woman who sounds exactly like Nour.
When he meets the young woman, Nadia, he suspects he may be her father.
In 2001, the elderly Hassan (now played by Omar Sharif) meets Nadia’s
son, Ali. Their similarities convince Hassan he has met his grandson – but
suddenly, Ali disappears…
Although set against the backdrop of key moments in Egypt’s recent
history, The Traveler is about the personal, not the political. This enormously
impressive debut is a moving meditation on a man’s fumbling search for his
identity, which reflects that of his nation.
—Peter Scarlet
Born in Cairo in 1968, Ahmed Maher studied both painting and film in Rome, and was the
recipient of the 1992 Grand Prix de Rome for artistic creativity in cinema. Before directing
The Traveler, his first narrative feature, he worked as an editor, writer, and film-school teacher
in several countries. He is a member of UNESCO’s Observatory for Cultural and Audiovisual
Communication in the Mediterranean (OCCAM) and is also the founder of the production
house Elbeat.
MEIFF would like to thank the writers of the film synopses:
Sean Axmaker, Andrew Grant, Rasha Salti, Jason Sanders.
08
Thursday, October 8, 8:00 pm
Emirates Palace [TR1]
Friday, October 9, 6:30 pm
Cinestar 4 [TR2]
Oceans (Océans)
France | 2009 | 103 mins | Color | 35 mm | French w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | World Premiere
G
The Men Who Stare at Goats
USA | 2009 | 90 mins | Color | 35 mm | English w/ Arabic Subtitles | Middle East Premiere
15 +
Cast: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin
Spacey, Jeff Bridges, J. K. Simmons, Robert Patrick
Directors: Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud
Screenwriters: Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud,
François Sarano, Stéphane Durand, Laurent Debas
Producers: Jacques Perrin, Nicolas Mauvernay
Editors: Catherine Mauchain, Vincent Schmitt
Music: Bruno Coulais
Director: Grant Heslov
Screenwriter: Peter Straughan
Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov,
Paul Lister
Cinematographer: Robert Elswit
Editor: Tatiana S. Riegel
The team behind Winged Migration returns with their most breathtaking
film to date – a trip across and through the oceans themselves. Jacques
Perrin (who also produced Microcosmos) and Jacques Cluzaud have worked
with three different teams for several years on the world’s oceans, shooting
thousands of hours of footage of a myriad assortment of creatures: dolphins,
sperm whales, giant squids, and more. For Perrin, “this proliferation of life
is extraordinary. But the danger in showing these beautiful images is that
they give the impression that everything is wonderful. So we have to show
both the exuberance and frailty of the ocean.” Wondrous, imaginative, and
ultimately life-affirming, Oceans lights up the screen with its images and
obvious love for the beauty this world offers. “The first lesson children should
be taught is to really look at nature,” Perrin says. “If they are to protect it later,
they have to appreciate it and love it.”
In this quirky dark comedy inspired by a real-life story you will hardly believe
is true, astonishing revelations about a top-secret wing of the U.S. military
come to light when Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), a reporter based in Iraq,
encounters Lyn Cassady, an enigmatic Special Forces operator on a mindboggling mission. According to Cassady (Academy Award® winner George
Clooney), an experimental U.S. military unit, the New Earth Army, is changing
the way wars are fought. A legion of “Warrior Monks” with unparalleled
psychic powers can read the enemy’s thoughts, pass through solid walls, and
even kill a goat simply by staring at it. Bob joins Cassady on a mission to find
the program’s founder, Bill Django (Oscar® nominee Jeff Bridges), and meets
Django’s rival, psychic Larry Hooper (two-time Oscar® winner Kevin Spacey)
and his personal militia of super soldiers. To survive this wild adventure,
Bob will have to outwit an enemy he never thought possible. The Men Who
Stare at Goats was inspired by Jon Ronson’s nonfiction bestseller of the same
name, an eye-opening and often hilarious exploration of the government’s
attempts to harness paranormal abilities to combat its enemies.
—JS
At the age of 27, Jacques Perrin, already an established actor, worked as a producer on Costa
Gavras’ Oscar®-winning Z (1969). Since then, having produced 36 films and acted in more
than 120, Perrin decided to step behind the camera in 2001 to co-direct the international
box-office hit Winged Migration with Jacques Cluzaud, a successful television director of
nature documentaries. Oceans is their second collaborative effort.
American actor, writer, and producer Grant Heslov began his career acting on television,
making appearances in many well-known series in the 1980s and the ’90s before breaking
into films including True Lies (1993) and Enemy of the State (1997). For Good Night and Good
Luck he received an Oscar® nomination for Best Picture (as producer) and shared another
with George Clooney for Best Screenplay.
Tuesday, October 13, 9:30 pm
Emirates Palace [OC1]
Saturday, October 17, 8:00 pm
Emirates Palace [MG1]
www.meiff.com
Cinestar 2 [OC2]
09
Galas
Blue
15+
Capitalism: A Love Story
G
The Informant!
15 +
The Messenger
18 +
Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story
(Ehky ya Schahrazad)
15 +
Shorts
G
India | 2009 | 128 mins
Hindi w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
World Premiere
USA | 2009 | 120 mins
English w/ Arabic Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Middle East Premiere
USA | 2009 | 108 mins
USA | 2009 | 112 mins
Egypt | 2009 | 134 mins
Arabic w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Gulf Premiere
USA, UAE | 2009 | 89 mins
Director: Anthony D’Souza
Screenwriters: Anthony D’Souza,
Jasmine D’Souza
Producer: Dhilin Mehta
Cinematographers: Laxman Uttekar,
Pete Zuccarini
Editor: Shyam Salgaonkar
Director / Screenwriter:
Michael Moore
Producers: Kathleen Glynn, Michael
Moore
Executive Producers: Bob Weinstein,
Harvey Weinstein
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Screenwriter: Scott Z. Burns
Producers: Michael Jaffe, Howard
Braunstein, Kurt Eichenwald,
Gregory Jacobs, Jennifer Fox
Executive Producers: George
Clooney, Michael London, Jeff Skoll
Director: Oren Moverman
Screenwriters: Oren Moverman,
Alessandro Camon
Producers: Mark Gordon, Lawrence
Inglee, Zach Miller
Cinematographer: Bobby Bukowski
Editor: Alex Hall
Director: Yousry Nasrallah
Screenwriter: Wahid Hamed
Producer: Kamel Abu Ali
Cinematographer: Samir Bahsan
Editors: Mona Rabi
Music: Tamer Karawan
Director / Screenwriter / Editor:
Robert Rodriguez
Producers: Robert Rodriguez,
Elizabeth Avellán
Music: Robert Rodriguez, Carl Thiel,
George Oldziey
Music: A. R. Rahman
Cast : Sanjay Dutt, Akshay
Kumar, Zayed Khan, Lara
Dutta, Katrina Kaif
Cinematographers: Dan Marracino,
Jayme Roy
Editors: John Walter, Conor O’Neill,
Alex Meillier, Tanya Ager Meillier,
Jessica Brunetto
Music: Jeff Gibbs
Bollywood’s first underwater thriller hits Abu
Dhabi in Anthony D’Souza’s hyper-charged
remake of The Deep, featuring megastars Sanjay
Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, and former
Miss Universe Lara Dutta. Three friends seek a
sunken treasure surrounded by deadly sharks
– and deadlier humans. Music by A. R. Rahman
(Slumdog Millionaire) and Kylie Minogue.
Twenty years after Roger & Me, Michael Moore
returns to the topic of corporate dominance
and the disastrous impact it has on the lives
of everyday Americans. Using his trademark
sardonic humor, Moore goes after the very system
that led to the current economic meltdown, and
asks what price America must pay for its love of
capitalism.
—JS
—AG
Mumbai-based director Anthony D’Souza’s previous
experience has been mainly in the area of television,
music videos, and advertising. He has directed 52 episodes
of Ripley’s Believe It or Not, shot for the U.S. and aired on
AXN in the Southeast Asian regions. He has also directed
around 85 commercials for various leading brands. Blue is
his first feature film.
Michael Moore has become so well-known for his
provocative and highly successful documentaries and
speaking tours that he claims a place on the American
political scene. His Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) is the highestgrossing documentary of all time.
Wednesday, October 14, 9:30 pm
Emirates Palace [BL1]
Emirates Palace [CA1]
Cinestar 1 [CA2]
010
Cinematographer: Peter Andrews
Editor: Stephen Mirrione
Music: Marvin Hamlisch
Cast: Matt Damon, Melanie Lynskey,
Clancy Brown, Patton Oswalt, Tony
Hale, Frank Welker, Scott Bakula
A biochemist exposes his company’s role in an
international price-fixing conspiracy in this black
comedy – based on a true story. As whistleblower
Mark Whitacre, who harbors dark secrets of his
own, Matt Damon gives a stellar performance in
one of Steven Soderbergh’s finest and funniest
works.
Music: Nathan Larson
Cast: Ben Foster, Woody
Harrelson, Samantha Morton,
Jena Malone, Eamonn Walker
Cast: Mona Zaki, Mahmoud
Hemeda, Hassan El Raddad, Sawsan
Badr, Rehab El Gamal, Sanaa Akroud
Cast: Jimmy Bennett, Jake Short,
Kat Dennings, Trevor Gagnon,
Devon Gearhart, Jolie Vanier, Rebel
Rodriguez
Ben Foster is an Iraq War veteran who faces the
emotional minefield of civilians dealing with the
death of a loved one in this refreshing perspective
on the casualties of war. Oren Moverman
(screenwriter of I’m Not There) makes a confident
directorial debut with this poignant story of men
in uniform nursing wounds and haunted by loss,
both physical and emotional.
A successful television hostess (Mona Zaki)
turns her camera on women across the social
spectrum in this brilliantly honest wake-up call
about oppression in Egyptian society. Borrowing
the stories-within-stories framework of Arabian
Nights, this taboo-breaking commercial film
scandalized Egypt with its risky portrait of female
sexual desire and male–female relationships.
—SA
—JS
Sex, lies, and videotape (1989) was a festival and commercial
smash and made Steven Soderbergh the face of
independent film; he has had a productive, varied, and
often very successful career since. Erin Brockovich and
Traffic (2000) earned him twin Oscar® nominations for Best
Director (and a win for the latter).
Based in New York, Oren Moverman is best known for
co-writing Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There (2007) and Ira Sachs’
Married Life (2007). The Messenger is his first directorial
effort.
Yousry Nasrallah began his career as assistant to directors
Volker Schlöndorff and Youssef Chahine; he now makes
politically charged films that deal with themes of leftism,
Islamic fundamentalism, and expatriation, including The
Gate of the Sun (2004) and The Aquarium (2007).
Robert Rodriguez has carved a unique niche since his
no-budget debut El Mariachi (1992) helped kick-start the
American indie film movement. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
and Sin City (2005) reached huge audiences; hit family films
including Spy Kids (2001) have featured collaborations with
his own children.
Monday, October 12, 9:30 pm
Emirates Palace [IN1]
Emirates Palace [ME1]
Emirates Palace [SC1]
Emirates Palace [SH1]
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall [ME2]
Cinestar 3 [SC2]
—AG
www.meiff.com
A nerdy, picked-on boy’s life changes when a
rainbow-colored rock falls from the sky that
grants all wishes to anyone who holds it, in this
out-of-control kid’s film from Robert Rodriguez,
the director of Spy Kids, El Mariachi, and Planet
Terror. With William H. Macy and James Spader.
—JS
011
10 to 11
Pelin Esmer
This film is also part of the New Cinema from
Turkey program − see page 34.
Bombay Summer
Joseph Mathew
Buried Secrets
Raja Amari
Cooking with Stella
Dilip Mehta
Heliopolis
Ahmed Abdalla
10 to 11
(11’e 10 Kala)
Hipsters
Valery Todorovsky
Turkey, France, Germany | 2009 | 110 mins
Turkish w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Gulf Premiere
USA | 2009 | 103 mins
Hindi, English w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Tunisia, France, Switzerland | 2009 | 91 mins
Arabic w/ English, Italian Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Canada | 2009 | 103 mins
Hindi, English w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
International Premiere
Egypt | 2009 | 103 mins
Director / Screenwriter: Pelin Esmer
Producers: Pelin Esmer, Nida Karabol
Akdeniz, Tolga Esmer, Özkan Yılmaz
Cinematographer: Özgür Eken
Editors: Ayhan Ergürsel, Pelin Esmer,
Cem Yıldırım
Art Director: Naz Erayda
Joseph Mathew
Producers: Joseph Mathew, Sanjay
Bhattacharjee
Cinematographer: Amol Rathod
Editor: Pallavi Singhal
Music: Mathias Duplessy
Director / Screenwriter: Raja Amari
Producers: Dora Bouchoucha, Nicolas
Wadimoff, Serge Lalou, Cyriac Auriol,
Lina Chaabane Menzli, Julie Gayet,
Nadia Turincev
Executive Producer: Eric Zaouali
Director: Dilip Mehta
Screenwriters: Deepa Mehta, Dilip
Mehta
Cinematographer: Giles Nuttgens
Editor: Gareth C. Scales
Music: Mychael Danna, Amritha
Fernandes Bakshi
Ahmed Abdalla
Producer: Sherif Mandour
Cinematographer: Mahmoud Lotfi
Music: Amir Khalaf
Huacho
Alejandro Fernández Almendras
Last Ride
Glendyn Ivin
The Long Night
Hatem Ali
No One Knows About Persian Cats
Bahman Ghobadi
Northless
Rigoberto Pérezcano
Son of Babylon
Mohamed Al-Daradji
Third Person Singular Number
Mostofa Sarwar Farooki
G
Cast: Nejat İşler, Mithat Esmer,
Tayanç Ayaydın, Laçin Ceylan,
Savaş Akova, Sinan Düğmeci
In 10 to 11, Pelin Esmer relates the story of her
uncle Mithat, focusing particularly on his passion
for collecting memories from the randomness
of daily details. It gets harder, however, once his
deteriorating health begins to trouble him and
impedes his efforts. Finally, he is forced to pass his
errands on to his doorman, Ali, who resorts to a
different path.
Bombay Summer
15 +
Production Designer: Satish
Chipkar
Cast: Tannishtha Chatterjee, Jatin
Goswami, Samrat Chakrabarti,
Gaurav Dwivedi
Director Joseph Mathew navigates the
social turbulence of Mumbai in the throes of
modernization in this story of a confident career
woman (Tannishtha Chatterjee of Brick Lane)
attracted to a handsome painter (Jatin Goswami)
tangled up in the criminal underworld.
—SA
—AC
Buried Secrets
(Dowaha)
18 +
Cinematographer: Renato Berta
Editor: Pauline Dairou
Music: Philippe Héritier, Eric Rug
Cast: Hafsia Herzi, Sondos
Belhassen, Wassila Dari, Rim El
Benna, Dhaffer L’Abidine
Three tradition-bound women haunt an isolated
estate – and its modern new owners – in this
atmospheric Tunisian thriller, equal parts family
psychodrama, coming-of-age melodrama,
and Gothic horror tale. Rising star Hafsia Herzi
(The Secret of the Grain) joins a stunning cast of
actresses in this parable of traditional values,
contemporary mores, and awakening desire.
—JS
Cooking with Stella
G
Production Designer: Tamara
Deverell
Cast: Don McKellar, Seema
Biswas, Lisa Ray, Shriya Saran,
Vansh Bhardwaj, Maury
Chaykin
Two Canadian diplomats in New Delhi discover
their cook is skimming more than just the milk
in this deliciously wry battle between servants
and served, co-scripted by Fire’s Deepa Mehta
with her brother Dilip (in his directorial debut).
A comical concoction of Indian cuisine, cooking,
and master/servant relationships.
—JS
Heliopolis
G
Cast: Khaled Abol Naga, Hany
Adel, Yousra El Lozy, Hanan
Metaweh, Mahmoud El Lozy,
Christine Solomon
Heliopolis is a unique Cairo neighborhood whose
glamorous past is fading with every day and
becomes almost a character in this bittersweet
series of intertwined tales. Five characters, each
wrestling with a conundrum, will spend the evening
obliviously crisscrossing paths. Ahmed Abdalla’s first
feature is a bold herald of Egypt’s rising generation
of independent filmmakers, and a labor of love from
crew and cast, including Khaled Abol Naga, one of
Egypt’s leading male stars.
—RS
The Time That Remains
Elia Suleiman
The Traveler
Ahmed Maher
This film plays as the Opening Night of the Festival
− see page 8.
True Color
Oussama Fawzi
After studying sociology in İstanbul, Pelin Esmer started
writing, producing, and directing documentaries in 2002
with The Collector, and following with the award-winning
The Play (2006).
Born in India, now residing in Brooklyn, Joseph Mathew
studied economics but then began making films. His first
two films were the documentaries The Last Season: The Life
and Demolition of Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium (2002) and
Crossing Arizona (2006).
Raja Amari studied French literature in her native Tunis
and then Paris, and began directing short films in 1995.
Her feature debut Satin Rouge (2002) was selected for
the Berlinale Forum and won Best Film at the Torino Film
Festival and Best New Director at the Seattle Film Festival.
Born in New Delhi but now a Canadian citizen, Dilip Mehta
was an award-winning photojournalist before sharing
production duties on sister Deepa Mehta’s Earth (1998)
and Water (2005), and directing the documentary The
Forgotten Woman (2008).
Since 1999, Egyptian-born Ahmed Abdalla has been
working as an editor, visual effects supervisor, and credits
designer on commercial Egyptian films. Heliopolis is his
first feature film as a director.
Cinestar 1 [101]
Emirates Palace [BO1]
Emirates Palace [BU1]
Sunday, October 11, 9:30 pm
Emirates Palace
[CO1]
Emirates Palace [HE1]
Cinestar 4 [102]
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall [BO2]
Cinestar 4 [BU2]
Cinestar 2
[CO2]
Cinestar 4 [HE2]
The Warrior and the Wolf
Tian Zhuangzhuang
White Material
Claire Denis
012
www.meiff.com
013
Hipsters
(Stilyagi)
18 +
Huacho
G
Last Ride
18 +
The Long Night
(Al Lail Altaweel)
G
No One Knows About Persian Cats
(Kasi az Gorbehaye Irani Khabar Nadareh)
G
Northless
(Norteado)
G
Russia | 2008 | 125 mins
Russian w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Chile, France, Germany | 2009 | 90 mins
Spanish w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Australia | 2009 | 100 mins
Syria | 2009 | 94 mins
Iran | 2009 | 106 mins
Farsi w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color | HDCAM
Mexico | 2009 | 103 mins
Spanish w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Director: Valery Todorovsky
Screenwriter: Yuri Korotkov
Producers: Leonid Lebedev, Leonid
Yarmolnik, Vadim Goryainov, Valery
Todorovsky
Cinematographer: Roman Vasyanov
Editor: Alexey Bobrov
Producers: Bruno Bettati, Elise Jalladeau
Co-producers: Christoph Friedel,
Michel Reilhac
Cinematographer: Inti Briones
Director: Glendyn Ivin
Screenwriter: Mac Gudgeon
Producers: Nicholas Cole, Antonia
Barnard
Cinematographer: Greig Fraser
Editor: Jack Hutchings
Music: Paul Charlier
Director: Hatem Ali
Screenwriter / Producer: Haitham Hakki
Cinematographer: Mohamed Mgrawi
Editor: Raoof Zaza
Music: Kinan Abo Afash
Director / Costume Designer:
Bahman Ghobadi
Screenwriters: Bahman Ghobadi,
Roxana Saberi, Hossein M. Abkenar
Cinematographer: Touraj Aslani
Editor: Hayedeh Safiyari
Sound Editor: Nezamodin Kiaei
Director: Rigoberto Pérezcano
Screenwriters: Edgar San Juan,
Rigoberto Pérezcano
Producer: Edgar San Juan
Executive Producers: Sergio Castro
Hector Hernandez-Pons, Alejandro
Martinez-Gallardo
Music: Konstantin Meladze
Cast: Oksana Akinshina, Anton
Shagin, Evgeniya Brik, Maxim
Matveev, Ekaterina Vilkova, Igor
Voynarovsky
In this colorful musical set in an oppressive 1950s
Soviet Union, teenagers embrace American
culture as a form of rebellion. When straight-laced
Mels meets anti-establishment Polly, he is unable
to resist her kaleidoscopic world of fashion, jazz
music, and swing dancing. Romantic, cool, and
sexy, Hipsters is a toe-tapping ode to the timeless
themes of love and freedom.
—AG
Editors: Sébastien de Sainte Croix,
Music: Pablo Pinochet
Cast: Clemira Aguayo, Manuel
Hernandez, Alejandra Yanez,
Cornelio Villagran, Manuel
Hernandez, Wilson Valdebenito
Cast: Hugo Weaving, Tom
Russell, John Brumpton, Mick
Coulthard, Rachel Francis,
Anita Hegh
Naturalism rarely looks as beautiful onscreen
as in this sun-kissed tale of a rural family’s daily
reality, ranging from farmhouses to tourist traps,
highways to schoolyards. Keenly attuned to the
rhythms of work and the unspoken poetry of dayto-day life, Huacho is a major new work of Chilean
cinema.
Set against the natural beauty of the southern
Australian countryside, this feature debut from
award-winning short filmmaker Glendyn Ivin is a
gritty and lyrical portrait of a criminal on the run
(Hugo Weaving, in a riveting performance) and
his 10-year-old son (Tom Russell) who both loves
and fears him.
—JS
—SA
Cast: Khaled Taja, Amal Arafah,
Najah Safkouni, Basel Khayat,
Hatem Ali, Anissa Daoud,
Salim Sabri, Rafik Sbeï
Three long-term political prisoners are suddenly
released – but why, and what awaits them? This
elegant drama from controversial director Hatem
Ali is a searing portrait of contemporary Syrian life
and politics, yet universal in its intellectual, political, and moral angst.
—JS
Cast: Negar Shaghaghi,
Ashkan Koshanejad, Hamed
Behdad, Babak Mirzakhani,
Kourosh Mirzaei, Pouya
Hosseini
A daring look at the illegal world of Iran’s
independent music scene, No One Knows About
Persian Cats follows Negar and Ashkan, young
musicians who find that pursuing their art is nearimpossible on home soil and soon forge plans
to escape. Gritty and fast-paced, Ghobadi’s film
paints a vivid portrait of a hidden Tehran.
—AG
Cinematographer: Alejandro
Cantu
Editor: Miguel Schverdfinger
Sound: Pablo Tamez
Cast: Harold Torres, Alicia
Laguna, Sonia Couoh, Luis
Cardenas
Andrés, a young man from Oaxaca, fails repeatedly to illegally cross the Mexican border with the
United States. He gears up for one last attempt
after befriending two women in Tijuana whose
husbands successfully crossed and left them
behind. Focusing as much on the why as he does
the how, director Rigoberto Pérezcano explores
the often difficult relationships between those
who stay and those who feel obligated to provide
a better life for their families.
—AG
Valery Todorovsky debuted as a director with Mortuary Car
(1989), and followed with the acclaimed films Love (1991)
and Katya Ismailova (1994), a modern-day version of Lady
Macbeth of the Mtsensk District. Hipsters is his first musical.
A film critic, photographer, and journalist prior to
becoming a filmmaker, Alejandro Fernández Almendras is
the director of several award-winning short films. Huacho
is his debut feature film.
Glendyn Ivin has been directing commercials and music
videos for Exit Films in Australia for the last 10 years. His
Cracker Bag won the Palme d’Or for short film at Cannes.
Last Ride is his feature film debut.
Born in 1962, Hatem Ali has taught theater, written plays
and short stories, and directed successful and awardwinning television series in his native Syria. More recent
forays into film include the short film Passion (2005) and
Selena (2009).
One of the most lauded Iranian directors working today
and a pioneer of Kurdish cinema, Bahman Ghobadi’s first
feature, A Time for Drunken Horses (2000) won the Cannes
Caméra d’Or. His other films include Turtles Can Fly (2004)
and Half Moon (2006).
Mexican writer/director Rigoberto Pérezcano started as
a documentarian but has lately combined elements of
narrative and nonfiction. His XV en Zaachila (2003) was
nominated for an Ariel Award for Best Short Documentary.
Cinestar 1 [HI1]
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Cinestar 1 [LA1]
Emirates Palace [LO1]
Emirates Palace [NC1]
Cinestar 1 [NO1]
Cinestar 2 [HI2]
Cinestar 1 [HU2]
Cinestar 1 [LA2]
Cinestar 4 [LO2]
Cinestar 1 [NC2]
Cinestar 1 [NO2]
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Son of Babylon
(Ibn Babil)
G
Third Person Singular Number
15 +
The Time That Remains
(Al Zaman Al Baqi)
G
True Color
(Bil Alwan Al Tabiyya)
G
The Warrior and the Wolf
(Lang Zai Ji)
18 +
White Material
15 +
Iraq, UK, Netherlands, France, Palestine, UAE | 2009 | 90 mins
Kurdish, Arabic w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
World Premiere
Bangladesh | 2009 | 123 mins
Bengali w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Palestine, UK, Italy, Belgium, France | 2009 | 105 mins
Arabic, Hebrew w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Egypt | 2009 | 135 mins
World Premiere
China | 2009 | 106 mins
Mandarin w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
France | 2009 | 100 mins
French w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Director: Mohamed Al-Daradji
Screenwriters: Jennifer Norridge,
Mohamed Al-Daradji, Mathel Kasea
Producers: Isabelle Stead, Atia
Al-Daradji, Dimitri de Clercq
Cinematographers: Mohamed
Al-Daradji, Duraid Al-Munajim
Director: Mostofa Sarwar Farooki
Screenwriters: Mostofa
Sarwar Farooki, Anisul Haque
Cinematographer: Subrata Ripon
Editor: Titash Shaha
Music: Leemon
Production Designer: Golam Kibria
Director / Screenwriter: Elia Suleiman
Producers: Elia Suleiman, Michael
Gentile
Executive Producer: Hani Farsi
Cinematographer: Marc-André Batigne
Editor: Véronique Lange
Director: Oussama Fawzi
Screenwriter: Hani Fawzi
Producer: Majid Youssef
Cinematographer: Tariq Al Tilmesani
Director: Tian Zhuangzhuang
Screenwriter: Christine To Chi-Long
Producer: William Kong
Cinematographer: Wang Yu
Editor: Wenders Li
Director: Claire Denis
Screenwriters: Claire Denis, Marie
N’diaye
Producer: Pascal Caucheteux
Cinematographer: Yves Cape
Editor: Guy Lecorne
Music: Stuart S. Staples
Editor: Pascale Chavance
Music: Kad Ackouri
Cast: Yassir Talib, Shazada Hussein,
Bashir Al-Majid
Cast: Nusrat Imrose Tisha, Mosharaf
Karim, Rashed Uddin Ahmed, Abul
Hayat, Lekha Haque
A willful young boy and his just-as-obstinate
grandmother journey across Iraq in search of
their missing loved one. This stunning new work
from the director of Ahlaam is a testament to the
continuing search for justice and closure after
Saddam Hussein’s fall.
Must a single, independent woman always be
treated as an outcast in Bengali society? This is the
question posed in Third Person Singular Number. A
romantic drama and musical that on the surface
tells of a young woman torn between two lovers,
it delicately addresses a complex cultural issue.
—JS
—AG
Music: Pierre Mertens, Christian
Monheim
Cast: Ali Suliman, Elia Suleiman,
Saleh Bakri, Menashe Noy, Avi
Kleinberger, Yasmine Haje, Leila
Muammar
Palestinian director Elia Suleiman (Divine
Intervention) returns with a similarly immaculate,
comically deadpan examination of life as an Israeli
Arab in Nazareth from 1948 to today. Based on
his father’s diaries and his own reminiscences, the
film tells the story of a young rebel forced into
exile who returns to Nazareth as an adult to find
more apathy than anger. Suleiman chronicles
history with devastating absurdity and wit.
Cast: Karim Qasem, Muna Hala,
Saeed Saleh, Intisar, Ferial Youssef,
Yousra El Lozy
Cast: Maggie Q, Jô Odagiri,
Chung Hua Tou
Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Christophe
Lambert, Isaach De Bankolé, Nicolas
Duvauchelle, William Nadylam
During four years at a Cairo art school, Youssef comes
of age as his aspirations to be an artist run up against
the society’s prevailing taboos, the encroachment
of religious conservatism in higher education, and
the cynicism and defeatism with which his teachers
respond to him. Without compromise or inhibition,
this courageous film asks basic questions about the
right and freedom to imagine in a society overrun by
the moral high ground of religiosity.
—RS
A significant departure from the meditative films
he is best known for, Tian Zhuangzhuang’s latest
work is a richly emotional, magical tale about a
brave soldier and a mysterious widow who has
the power to take his mind to a place of legends.
Visually thrilling and passionate, The Warrior
and the Wolf is a deeply moving journey into
China’s past.
In a country torn by civil war, a white woman
(Isabelle Huppert) refuses to abandon her
plantation, although French nationals are urged
to flee. Director Claire Denis marshals beautiful
but troubling images to explore the intensely
emotional world of post-colonial Africa, whose
allure is “a kind of drug, intoxicating yet perilous,
that never leaves the system” (Variety).
—AG
—AG
—JS
Mohamed Al-Daradji was born in Baghdad and studied
film in the Netherlands and UK. His debut Ahlaam (2005),
a narrative set in Iraq and one of the first films shot there
after the U.S. invasion, won worldwide acclaim.
With his unconventional style, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki is
a leader in contemporary Bengali cinema. The pioneer of
chabial (“the movie hawkers”), Farooki creates films that
incorporate everyday colloquial language and address
middle class angst and Muslim guilt and redemption.
Palestinian director Elia Suleiman is best known for his
Cannes Grand Jury Prize winner Divine Intervention (2002).
Finding levity in sobering situations, he’s been compared
to both Jacques Tati and Buster Keaton.
Oussama Fawzi began his film career as an assistant to
directors such as Hussein Kamal and Ashraf Fahmy. His
1996 debut Asphalt Kings was awarded a prize at the
Locarno Film Festival. His third feature, I Love Cinema
(2004), is the prequel to True Color.
A master Fifth Generation filmmaker (The Horse Thief, 1986;
The Blue Kite, 1993; Springtime in a Small Town, 2002), Tian
Zhuangzhuang has a history of running afoul of Chinese
censors. Banned from making films, his sentence was
eventually withdrawn due to pressure from abroad.
Claire Denis was raised in Africa and studied film at
the IDHEC in Paris. Her debut feature Chocolat (1988)
was internationally acclaimed; her other provocative,
character-driven films include Beau travail (1999),
Vendredi soir (2002), and L’intrus (2004).
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Emirates Palace [TI1]
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Cinestar 4 [SB2]
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall [TH2]
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Cinestar 1 [TC2]
Cinestar 3 [WA2]
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall [WH2]
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1958
Ghassan Salhab
The Age of Stupid
Franny Armstrong
This film is also part of the “What in the World Are We
Doing to Our World?” program − see page 32.
All My Mothers
Ebrahim Saeedi and Zahavi Sanjavi
Being Here
Mohamed Zran
Carioca
Nabiha Lotfy
1958
The Cove
Louie Psihoyos
Lebanon | 2009 | 66 mins
Arabic, English, French w/ English Subtitles | Color and B&W |
DigiBeta | Gulf Premiere
UK | 2009 | 89 mins
English w/ Arabic Subtitles | Color | DigiBeta
Gulf Premiere
Iran, Iraq | 2008 | 60 mins
Kurdish w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color | DigiBeta
Tunisia | 2009 | 124 mins
World Premiere
Egypt | 2009 | 60 mins
Arabic w/ English Subtitles | Color | DigiBeta
World Premiere
Ghassan Salhab
Cinematographer: Sarmad Louis
Editor: Simon El Habre
Music: Vasks, Wooden Shjips, Scelsi,
Asmahan
Franny Armstrong
Producer: Lizzie Gillett
Exective Producers: John Battsek,
Peter Armstrong, Bruce Goodison,
Emily James, Andrew Ruhemann
Cinematographer: Lawrence
Gardner
Directors / Screenwriters:
Ebrahim Saeedi, Zahavi Sanjavi
Producer: Abbas Ghazali
Cinematographer / Editor:
Ebrahim Saeedi
Music: Hossein Alizadeh
Narrator: Aram Mostofi
Director / Screenwriter /
Producer: Mohamed Zran
Cinematographer: Jean Claude Couty
Editor: Mousef Taleb
With: Tahar Zran, Simon Haddad, Hadi
Boufalga, Begacem Daoui, Fatma Bent
Garaa, Bachir Chalby
Director: Nabiha Lotfy
Producer: Sunny Land Film
Editors: Ahmed El Kassas,
Mohamed Fawzy, Zaki Aref
With: Mahmud Amin El Alem, Adel
Siwi, Sonallah Ibrahim, Galal Amin,
Yousry Nasrallah
Filmmakers Ebrahim Saeedi and Zahavi Sanjavi
combine archival footage with eyewitness
accounts to detail Saddam Hussein’s vicious
campaign against Iraqi Kurds during the 30year reign of the Baathist regime. The recent
unearthing of mass graves and the existence of
villages almost exclusively populated by women
highlight just how efficient Hussein’s campaign
was.
A hardware shop in southeast Tunisia is the
unlikely arena for some pertinent political and
philosophical discussions in Mohamed Zran’s
heartfelt tribute to conversation, philosophy, and
peace. A teacher, an artist, a marriage-fixer, and
others debate life, love, and politics in this smiling
tribute to the true values of the Middle East.
A cinematic tribute to Tahia Carioca has been long
overdue. Veteran documentary filmmaker Nabiha
Lotfy takes up the challenge in this rare treat.
Wrongly described as the Arab world’s Marilyn
Monroe, Carioca was not only a pioneering
dancer and actress, she was also a rebel and a
militant.
—JS
—RS
This film is also part of the “What in the World Are We
Doing to Our World?” program − see page 32.
Double Take
Johan Grimonprez
The Frontier Gandhi: Badshah Khan,
A Torch for Peace
T. C. McLuhan
Goodbye, How Are You?
Boris Mitić
In Berlin
Michael Ballhaus, Ciro Cappellari
Neighbors
Tahani Rached
On the Way to School
Orhan Eskiköy, Özgür Doğan
G
With: Zahia Salhab, Aouni Kawas
The Age of Stupid
G
Editor: David G Hill
Music: Chris Brierley
With: Pete Postlethwaite, Jeh
Wadia, Jamila Bayyoud, Adnan
Bayyoud, Alvin DuVernay
III, Piers Guy, Layefa Malin,
Fernand Pareau
1958 marks two events: first, the birth of the
filmmaker in Senegal; second, the beginning,
in his parents’ native country of Lebanon, of a
serious internal conflict that will result in a long
series of civil wars. The film 1958, then, is an
intertwining of a private history with national
histories that mixes themes covering exile,
colonization, and Lebanese politics.
The year is 2055, and Earth has been ravaged
by climate change. In once-frozen Antarctica,
an archivist combs through a video library to
determine why humankind failed to heed the
warnings regarding global warming. Blending
fact and fiction, The Age of Stupid is a cautionary
documentary that aims to shatter complacency
and encourage change before it is too late.
—Jean-Pierre Rehm, FIDMarseille 2009
—AG
All My Mothers
(Hamey-e Madaran-e Man)
G
Being Here
(Vivre ici)
G
Carioca
G
—AG
This film is also part of the New Cinema From Turkey
Program − see page 34.
Port of Memory
Kamal Aljafari
The Shock Doctrine
Michael Winterbottom, Mat Whitecross
We Were Communists
Maher Abi Samra
(Work in progress − out of competition)
018
Born in Dakar, educated in Paris, Ghassan Salhab is the
director of four feature films, all set in Beirut. In addition to
filmmaking, Salhab also teaches film courses in Lebanon
and has written articles for several magazines.
Franny Armstrong’s uncompromising first documentary
detailed the infamous McDonald’s libel trial. Shelved by
legal action in 1997, McLibel was finally broadcast on the
BBC and released theatrically worldwide to great acclaim
in 2005.
Ebrahim Saeedi’s work as cinematographer on the
documentary Pearl’s Dream won him an award at the
first-ever Kish Documentary Film Festival. All My Mothers
is his first feature film. Co-director Zahavi Sanjavi studied
at the Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in
Moscow.
Tunisian-born Mohamed Zran’s early short film The Stone
Breaker (1990) was screened at Cannes. His feature The
Prince (2004) was nominated for an award at the Cairo Film
Festival; other work has been showcased on ARTE and at
the Berlinale.
With nearly 50 feature films on her resumé, Nabiha Lotfy
is one of the most prolific female directors in Egyptian
film history. A champion of the Egyptian New Wave, she
also helped create the Association of Egyptian Women
Filmmakers.
Cinestar 2 [191]
Cinestar 2 [AG1]
Cinestar 2 [AL1]
Cinestar 2 [BE1]
Emirates Palace [CR1]
Cinestar 1 [192]
Cinestar 2 [AG2]
Cinestar 1 [AL2]
Cinestar 2 [BE2]
Cinestar 3 [CR2]
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Photo credit: Oceanic Preservation Society, Louie Psihoyos
The Cove
15 +
Double Take
G
The Frontier Gandhi: Badshah
Khan, A Torch for Peace
G
Goodbye, How Are You?
(Dovidjenja kako ste?)
15 +
In Berlin
G
Neighbors
(Giran)
G
USA | 2009 | 93 mins
English, Japanese w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Netherlands, Belgium | 2009 | 80 mins
English w/ Arabic Subtitles | Color and B&W | DigiBeta
Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, USA | 2008 | 92 mins
English w/ Arabic Subtitles | Color and B&W | HDCAM
Serbia | 2009 | 60 mins
Serbian w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color | DigiBeta
Germany | 2009 | 96 mins
German, Turkish, English w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color
35 mm | Middle East Premiere
Egypt | 2009 | 105 mins
Arabic, English, French w/ English Subtitles | Color | DigiBeta
World Premiere
Director: Louie Psihoyos
Screenwriter: Mark Monroe
Producers: Fisher Stevens,
Paula DuPré Pesmen
Executive Producer: Jim Clark
Cinematographer: Brooke Aitken
Editor: Geoffrey Richman
Director: Johan Grimonprez
Screenwriters: Johan Grimonprez,
Tom McCarthy
Producer: Emmy Oost
Editors: Dieter Diependaele,
Tyler Hubby
Music: Christian Halten
Director / Screenwriter / Producer:
T. C. McLuhan
Cinematographer: Sanjay Agrawal
Editor: Alex Shuper
Music: David Amram
Narrator: Om Puri
Director / Cinematographer /
Producer: Boris Mitić
Screenwriters: Boris Mitić,
The Belgrade Aphoristic Circle
Editors: Boris Mitić, Aleksandar Uhrin
Music: Pascal Comelade
Narrator: Nebojsa Glogovac
Directors: Michael Ballhaus, Ciro Cappellari
Screenwriters: Michael Ballhaus, Ciro
Cappellari, Herbert Schwarze
Producers: Joerg Schulze, Arndt Potdevin
Cinematographers: Michael Ballhaus, Ciro
Cappellari
Editor: Karl Riedl
Director: Tahani Rached
Screenwriters: Tahani Rached,
Mouna Assaad
Producer: Karim Gamal El Din
Executive Producer: Mona Assaad
Cinematographer: Nancy Abdel-Fattah
Editor: Mohamed Samir
The little-known story of non-violent activist
Badshah Khan, a Pashtun warrior who became
Pakistan’s answer to Mahatma Gandhi, is brought
to life in this remarkable documentary, filmed
across Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, and
featuring interviews with Hamid Karzai, Pervez
Musharraf, and other key South Asian figures.
Narrated by Indian acting legend Om Puri.
The wittiest, blackest political aphorisms of
the modern era are saluted in this entertaining
Serbian travelogue detailing how citizens use
language to critique – and resist – the madness of
politics. A fascinating essay-film in the tradition of
Chris Marker and Jean-Luc Godard, and a primer
on Balkan intellectual thought, resistance, and
history.
The city of Berlin has gone through tremendous
changes in the 20 years since the Berlin Wall
fell, and it remains in a state of constant flux.
Cinematographers Michael Ballhaus (who was
born in Berlin) and Ciro Cappellari have created a
poetic cinematic essay, a love letter to the vibrant
metropolis and its inhabitants.
Neighbors delves into the history of Garden City,
once a new outpost for the indigenous colonial elites, now an isolated inlet detached from
the city of Cairo. Masterfully avoiding cheap
nostalgia, director Tahani Rached travels from
the opulent salons of the haves to the makeshift
rooftop living rooms of the have-nots.
—JS
—AG
—JS
—RS
Music: J. Ralph
With: Richard O’Barry, Louie
Psihoyos, Simon Hutchins,
Charles Hambleton, Joe
Chisholm, Mandy-Rae Cruikshank
This spectacular documentary thriller is a work
of investigative reporting filled with the stuff of
spy films. Pre-dawn raids, hidden cameras, and
secret-ops missions expose a Japanese village’s
secret dolphin slaughter and its ties to a national
cover-up. Audience Award Winner, Sundance Film
Festival.
—JS
Sound Designer: Ranko Paukovic
Cast: Ron Burrage, Mark Perry
Johan Grimonprez’ experimental documentary
is a fascinating found-footage fabrication, an
essay that envisions Alfred Hitchcock as an
unwilling victim of the political and cultural
shifts of the Cold War era. Comprised of newsreel
footage, period television programs, and clips
of the master and his films, Double Take playfully
examines the catastrophe culture that invaded
every American home in the 1950s.
—AG
Music: Terranova
With: Angela Winkler, Nele Winkler,
Alexander Hacke, Danielle di
Picciotto, Maybrit Illner, Dimitri
Hegemann, Frank-Walter Steinmeier,
Jeff Mills
Music: Tamer Karawan
Sound: Sameh Gamal
With: Adel Siwi, Ala’ Al-Asawny,
Mahmud Amin El Alem
Highly-regarded photographer Louie Psihoyos, especially
known for his undersea work at National Geographic for
18 years, has shot covers for many major magazines. His
recent focus has been documenting ocean activism.
Belgian-born writer-director Johan Grimonprez’ innovative
documentary Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y (1997) won him Best
Director at both San Francisco and Toronto Film Festivals;
Looking for Alfred (2005) won several accolades including
an Independent Spirit Award for Best Experimental Film.
T. C. (Teri) McLuhan, a native of Canada based in New York,
is a filmmaker and author specializing in ethnography and
mysticism. Her films include The Shadow Catcher (1974)
and The Third Walker (1978).
While working as a reporter for Agence France Presse
in war-torn former Yugoslavia, Belgrade-based and selftaught filmmaker Boris Mitić (Pretty Dyana , 2003) decided
to “dedicate the rest of his life to family, football, and
creative documentaries.”
This is the feature-film directorial debut for Michael
Ballhaus, award-winning cinematographer for directors
Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Martin Scorsese (as well as
many others). Co-director Ciro Cappellari, born in Buenos
Aires, has worked as a director, cinematographer, and
screenwriter.
Born in Cairo in 1947, Tahani Rached directed 20 films
between 1981 and 2004 while living in Canada. In 2005,
she returned to Egypt and directed These Girls.
Neighbors is the second documentary feature she has shot
in her homeland.
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Cinestar 2 [FR1]
Cinestar 2 [GO1]
Cinestar 2 [IB1]
Cinestar 2 [NE1]
Cinestar 1 [CV2]
Cinestar 1 [DT2]
Cinestar 1 [FR2]
Cinestar 2 [GO2]
Cinestar 1 [IB2]
Cinestar 1 [NE2]
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(Iki Dil Bir Bavul)
G
Port of Memory
(Minaa Elzakira)
G
The Shock Doctrine
15+
We Were Communists
(Shyoaeen Kounna)
Turkey | 2008 | 81 mins
Kurdish, Turkish w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Gulf Premiere
Palestine, UAE | 2009 | 63 mins
Arabic, Hebrew w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
World Premiere
UK | 2009 | 78 mins
Lebanon, France | 2009 | 40 mins
Work in progress
Directors / Producers: Orhan
Eskiköy, Özgür Doğan
Screenwriter / Cinematographer:
Orhan Eskiköy
Editors: Orhan Eskiköy, Thomas
Balkenhol
Production Designer: Özgür Doğan
Kamal Aljafari
Producers: Levon Melikian,
Kamal Aljafari, Zeljko Karajica,
Marie-Pierre Macia, Juliette
Lepoutre
Cinematographer: Jacques Besse
Directors: Michael Winterbottom,
Mat Whitecross
Based on the book by: Naomi Klein
Producers: Andrew Eaton, Alex
Cooked, Avi Lewis
Cinematographer: Ronald Plante
Editor: Paul Monaghan
Director: Maher Abi Samra
Producer: Jinane Dagher
Co-Producer: Serge Lalou
Cinematographer: Claire Mathon
Editor: Carine Doumit
Sound Engineer: Moncef Taleb
Sound Editor: Rana Eid
With: Emre Aydın, Zülküf
Yıldırım, Zülküf Huz,
Rojda Huz, Vehip Huz
On the Way to School is an extraordinary film that
documents the contradictions of modern Turkey
and its historical debate on the Kurdish problem.
The film chronicles the journey of a young, firsttime Turkish-language teacher from the western
part of the country who is sent to a remote
Kurdish village in the southeast to be the sole
teacher in the village school.
—ÖG
Editor: Marie Heléne Mora
Sound: Gilles Laurent
With: Salim Bilbesi, Fatmeh
Bilbesi, Sadika Bilbesi, Angel
Hamati, George Khleifi, Ashraf
Saqer
Port of Memory is a story rarely told, about the
emptying of Jaffa, a thriving urban and economic
port city in pre-1948 Palestine, of its indigenous
residents. Aljafari’s film follows his family
after they receive an order to evacuate their
home in Ajami, Jaffa’s once-wealthy sea-front
neighborhood. Radically poetic, Port of Memory
is a reflection on the absurdity of being at once
absent and present.
—RS
Sound Designer:
Joakim Sundstrom
Narrator: Kieran O’Brien
With: Naomi Klein
The team of Michael Winterbottom and Mat
Whitecross returns with their most intriguing
provocation to date, an adaption of Naomi
Klein’s best-seller, which argues that U.S. “disaster
capitalism” promotes its free-market agenda on
the backs of disasters, whether natural or manmade. A challenging, powerful vision of the world
economy today.
—JS
G
A reflection on the intersecting destinies of
comrades once bound by ideals, We Were
Communists examines the legacy of Lebanon’s
civil war and its post-war present. Artistically and
politically audacious, Maher Abi Samra’s incisive
and tender film travels the chimeric and daunting
reality of Lebanon’s fractured landscape.
—RS
Orhan Eskiköy and Özgür Doğan are both graduates of
Ankara University. Eskiköy now works at the Centre of
Distance Education as a Video Production Expert, while
Doğan is a Research Assistant at the Middle East Technical
University.
A graduate of the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne,
Germany, Kamal Aljafari is a recipient of a Sundance
Documentary Fund grant. His films include Visit Iraq (2003)
and the award-winning The Roof (2006).
Michael Winterbottom’s work is prolific, varied, and
often crucial: His verité docudramas In This World (2003)
and award-winning The Road to Guantánamo (2006)
pushed the boundaries of how war and refugees are
depicted on film. Mat Whitecross has directed and edited
several British films and TV episodes; he edited Michael
Winterbottom’s Nine Songs (2004), then co-directed with
him on Guantánamo.
A former photojournalist for Agence France Presse and
Reuters, Maher Abi Samra has directed several shorts
and feature-length documentaries, including Women of
Hezbollah (2000), and Shatila Roundabout (2004).
Cinestar 2 [ON1]
Cinestar 2 [PO1]
Emirates Palace [SD1]
Cinestar 2 [WE1]
Cinestar 4 [ON2]
Cinestar 1 [PO2]
Cinestar 1 [SD2]
022
www.meiff.com
023
About Elly
Asghar Farhadi
Burma VJ − Reporting from a Closed
Country
Anders Østergaard
Farewell
Christian Carion
Honeymoons
Goran Paskaljević
Kerala Café
Coordinating Director: Ranjith
My Heart Beats Only for Her
Mohamed Soueid
Ponyo
Hayao Miyazaki
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by
Sapphire
Lee Daniels
The Red Riding Trilogy:
Red Riding 1974
Julian Jarrold
Red Riding 1980
James Marsh
Red Riding 1983
Anand Tucker
The September Issue
R. J. Cutler
Tales from the Golden Age
Cristian Mungiu, Răzvan Mărculescu, Hanno
Höfer, Ioana Uricaru, Constantin Popescu
©DreamLab Films
About Elly
(Darbareye Elly)
G
Burma VJ − Reporting from a Closed Country
(Burma VJ − Reporter i et lukket land)
G
Farewell
(L’ affaire Farewell)
G
Honeymoons
(Medeni Mesec)
G
Kerala Café
G
Iran | 2009 | 119 mins
Farsi w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Denmark | 2008 | 84 mins
Burmese, English w/ English Subtitles | Color | HDCAM
French, Russian, English w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Serbia, Albania | 2009 | 95 mins
Serbian, Albanian, Italian w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
India | 2009 | 124 mins
Malayalam w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
World Premiere
Asghar Farhadi
Producers: Asghar Farhadi,
Mahmoud Razavi
Cinematographer: Hossein Jafarian
Editor: Hayedeh Safiyari
Music: Andrea Bauer
Director: Anders Østergaard
Screenwriters: Anders Østergaard,
Jan Krogsgaard
Producer: Lise-Lense Moller
Cinematographers: Simon Plum,
The Burmese VJs
Director: Christian Carion
Screenwriters: Christian Carion,
Eric Raynaud
Producers: Philippe Boeffard, Bertrand
Faivre, Christophe Rossignon
Cinematographer: Walther van
den Ende
Director / Screenwriter / Producer:
Goran Paskaljević
Cinematographer: Milan Spasić
Editor: Petar Putniković
Music: Rade Krstić
Production Designers: Zelko
Antović, Durim Neziri
Coordinating Director / Screenwriter:
Ranjith
Directors: Shaji Kailas, Lal Jose,
B. Unnikrishnan, Anwar Rashid,
Shyamparasad, M. Padmakumar,
Revathy, Anjali Menon, Uday Ananthan,
Shankar Ramakrishnan
Cast: Golshifteh Farahani,
Taraneh Alidousti, Shahab
Hosseini, Merila Zarei, Mani
Haghighi, Peyman Moadi,
Rana Azadivar, Ahmad
Mehranfar, Saber Abar
Editors: Janus Billeskov-Jansen,
Thomas Papapetros
Music: Conny Malmqvist
Editor: Andrea Sedlackova
Music: Clint Mansell
Cast: Emir Kusturica, Guillaume
Canet, Ingeborga Dapkunaite,
David Soul, Dina Korzun, Philippe
Magnan
Cast: Lazar Ristovski,
Mira Banjać, Petar Bozović,
Vlasta Velisavljević, Nebojsa
Milovanović, Bujar Lako
Christian Carion’s tense, fact-based drama
features a riveting Emir Kusturica as a KGB officer
and Guillaume Canet as a civilian who becomes a
go-between passing the intelligence that brings
down the Iron Curtain. Carion provides a human
face to the real-life spy game and the people
sacrificed in the name of national security.
Two hopeful couples – one Albanian, one
Serbian – end up entrapped in European border
incidents in this political parable and love story
from one of Serbia’s most acclaimed filmmakers.
Goran Paskaljević’s soulful discourse on a new
generation of immigrants is the first joint SerbianAlbanian film production in history.
—SA
—JS
Producer: Shankar Ramakrishnan
Cinematographer: Manoj Pillai
Editor: Vijai Sanakar
Music: Biji Bal
Cast: Mammooty, Pritvi Raj, Dilip,
Suresh Gopi, Jyotirmayi, Jagathy
Sreekumar
Popular director/screenwriter Ranjith
masterminded this omnibus film, the first such
collaborative effort in Malayalam cinema. Ten
directors each contribute a story around the
common theme of journeys. The result is a mosaic
of life in modern-day Kerala, and a showcase
of the leading lights (including superstars
Mammootty and Rahman) in the Malayalam film
industry. Set during a weekend getaway at the Caspian
Sea, About Elly follows a group of college friends
celebrating the return from abroad of their friend
Ahmed. When one guest, Elly, mysteriously
disappears, the joyous occasion quickly becomes
one filled with suspicion and half-truths.
Asghar Farhadi’s award-winning feature is a
probing psychodrama and an astute portrait of
contemporary Iran.
In 2007, Buddhist monks in Rangoon led a
peaceful anti-government uprising against the
military dictatorship of Burma. A group of video
journalists armed only with cell phones and
digital cameras secretly filmed the demonstrations, at the risk of torture and imprisonment. This
tension-filled documentary about oppression and
censorship illustrates the power of independent
media in struggles against totalitarian regimes.
—AG
—AG
Asghar Farhadi launched his career with successful
Iranian radio and film productions. His films Dancing
in the Dust (2003) and Beautiful City (2004) won festival
awards; Fireworks Wednesday (2006) drew acclaim before
release in Europe and the USA.
Anders Østergaard found early success in his native
Denmark with documentaries like The Magus (1999)
(winner, Best Documentary at the Odense Film Festival),
Gasolin’ (2006), and Tintin and I (2003), a portrait of Hergé,
creator of the famed comic strip.
A former employee of the French Ministry of Agriculture,
Christian Carion is the director of the successful The Girl
from Paris (2001) and Joyeux Noël, a film nominated for
both an Oscar® and a Golden Globe.
Goran Paskaljević (Cabaret Balkan, 1998) directed
15 features before leaving his native Yugoslavia in 1992.
The collapse of the Milosević regime saw his permanent
return to Belgrade.
Ranjith penned cult films like Devasuram (1993) and
Nanadam (2002) and has since added directing and acting
to his resumé. For Kerala Café, he invited 10 directors to
participate – from respected veterans (Shaji Kailas and Lal
Jose) to young talents (Anwar Rashid and Anjali Menon) to
first-time filmmakers (Shankar Ramakrishnan).
Emirates Palace [AB1]
Cinestar 3 [VJ1]
Cinestar 3 [FA1]
Cinestar 4 [HO1]
Cinestar 5 [KE1]
Cinestar 3 [AB2]
Cinestar 3 [VJ2]
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall [FA2]
Cinestar 4 [HO2]
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall [KE2]
—SA
Valentino: The Last Emperor
Matt Tyrnauer
Wild Grass
Alain Resnais
The Wind Journeys
Ciro Guerra
Yuki & Nina
Nobuhiro Suwa, Hippolyte Girardot
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The Red Riding Trilogy: “One of the most ambitious works of 2009 or any recent year… a tragic
achievement that surpasses that of The Godfather,” wrote famed critic David Thomson when these
films (originally made for British TV) were shown for the first time on the big screen at the Telluride Film
Festival in early September. Each of them is a complete work on its own, but they should be seen in
chronological order for maximum impact. Adapted by Tony Grisoni (Terry Gilliam’s regular screenwriter)
from David Peace’s cult crime novels, The Red Riding Trilogy is a must-see for any fan of great acting, film
noir, and contemporary drama.
Photo credit: Anne Marie Fox
My Heart Beats Only for Her
(Ma Hataftu Li Ghayriha)
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Ponyo
(Gake no ue no Ponyo)
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Precious: Based on the Novel
‘Push’ by Sapphire
18 +
Red Riding 1974
18 +
Red Riding 1980
18 +
UK | 2009 | 93 mins
English | Color | DigiBeta
UK | 2009 | 102 mins
Red Riding 1983
18 +
UK | 2009 | 100 mins
Arabic, English, Vietnamese w/ Arabic, English Subtitles | Color
and B&W | DigiBeta | International Premiere
Japan | 2008 | 100 mins
Dubbed in English | Color | 35 mm
Gulf Premiere
USA | 2009 | 109 mins
English | Color | 35 mm
Director / Executive Producer:
Mohamed Soueid
Cinematographer / Editor:
Pamela Ghanimeh
Sound and Music: Nadim Mishlawi
Director / Screenwriter: Hayao Miyazaki
Producer: Toshio Suzuki
Music: Joe Hisaishi
Voices by: Tina Fey, Cate Blanchett,
Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Betty White,
Noah Lindsey Cyrus
Director: Lee Daniels
Screenwriter: Geoffrey Fletcher
Producers: Lee Daniels, Gary Magness,
Sarah Siegel-Magness
Executive Producers: Oprah Winfrey,
Tyler Perry, Lisa Cortes, Tom Heller
Guided by a notebook and sketchy
autobiographical notes, a son retraces his father’s
journeys among the ranks of revolutionary
fighters in Lebanon in the 1970s. Borrowing its
title from one of Fatah’s anthems, My Heart Beats
Only for Her delves into the scantily recorded
experience of Fatah’s famous Student Brigade –
men once epic heroes but now disappeared, lost,
or anonymous.
Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little
Mermaid, animation legend Hayao Miyazaki
heads to the seas with this ecstatic fairy tale of a
little goldfish princess who dreams of becoming
a human girl and the small boy who becomes her
friend. Ponyo’s dazzling images pulse with the
warmth of friendship, childhood, and Miyazaki’s
deep respect for the earth.
This brave adaptation pulls no punches. At its
heart is Claireece “Precious” Jones – morbidly
obese and pregnant for the second time with her
own father’s baby. When she is forced to attend
an alternative education program, she finds
hope in unlikely places. Precious is an acting and
emotional tour-de-force. An Audience Award
winner at Sundance.
—JS
—AG
A film critic and author of books on Lebanese cinema,
Mohamed Soueid has been directing feature films since
1990. He is also known for his autobiographical trilogy
(Tango of Yearning, Nightfall, Civil War), which he made
between 1998 and 2002.
Hayao Miyazaki has created many of Japan’s most popular,
beloved, and critically acclaimed animated films; Disney’s
re-releases of Princess Mononoke (1999) and Spirited Away
(2002) – winner of the Oscar® for Best Animated Feature –
have brought him box-office success in the West.
Lee Daniels ran his own health care company at 21 before
becoming a talent agent and then producer, eventually
finding great success with the Oscar®-winning Monster’s
Ball (2000), The Woodsman (2004), which won an award at
Cannes, and directorial debut Shadowboxer (2006). This is
the second feature he has directed.
After working for 10 years as a BAFTA-nominated
television director in the U.K., Julian Jarrold made
his feature-film debut with Kinky Boots (2005), which
was followed by Becoming Jane (2007), starring Anne
Hathaway.
After directing a few quirky documentaries for the
BBC, James Marsh ventured into feature filmmaking
with Wisconsin Death Trip (1999). His successful 2007
documentary, Man on Wire, was an Oscar®, BAFTA, and
Independent Spirit Award winner.
Anand Tucker, born in Bangkok, began in television as
director of the hit series The Late Show. A multiple award
winner, he has directed films both in the U.K. (Hilary and
Jackie, 1998) and the United States (Shopgirl, 2005).
Cinestar 1 [MH1]
Cinestar 4 [PN1]
Cinestar 4 [PR1]
Cinestar 3 [R74]
Cinestar 3 [R80]
Cinestar 3 [R83]
Cinestar 1 [MH2]
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall [PN2]
Cinestar 4 [PR2]
—RS
026
Cinematographer: Andrew Dunn
Editor: Joe Klotz
Music: Mario Grigorov
Cast: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique,
Paula Patton, Mariah Carey,
Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz
Director: Julian Jarrold
Screenwriter: Tony Grisoni
Producers: Wendy Brazington,
Andrew Eaton, Anita Overland
Cinematographer: Rob Hardy
Editor: Andrew Hulme
Music: Adrian Johnston
Cast: Andrew Garfield, David
Morrissey, John Henshaw,
Anthony Flanagan, Warren
Clarke, Jennifer Hennessy
In this ruthless English neo-noir, directed by
Julian Jarrold and set in the dreary, post-industrial
landscape of 1974 northern England, someone is
murdering young girls, but the police seem more
interested in hounding local gypsies and Irish
than solving the crimes. When a young journalist
investigates, he uncovers a web of deception.
—JS
www.meiff.com
Director: James Marsh
Andrew Eaton, Jamie Nuttgens,
Kate Ogborn, Anita Overland
Cinematographer: Igor Martinovic
Editor: Jinx Godfrey
Cast: Warren Clarke, Paddy
Considine, James Fox, David Calder,
Nicholas Woodeson, Ron Cook
Big-city cop Peter Hunter (Paddy Considine,
Dead Man’s Shoes, in a note-perfect performance)
takes up the “Yorkshire Ripper” case, but has to
contend with resistance from the insulated local
community. Directed by James Marsh (Man on
Wire) in a cool, modernist aesthetic, Red Riding
1980 moves deeper into the shadowy world and
moral ambiguity of England at the time.
—JS
Director: Anand Tucker
Andrew Eaton, Jamie Nuttgens,
Kate Ogborn, Anita Overland
Cinematographer: David Higgs
Editor: Trevor Waite
Music: Barrington Pheloung
Cast: David Morrissey, Lisa
Howard, Chris Walker, Shaun
Dooley, Jim Carter, Warren
Clarke
When another young girl disappears in conditions
similar to those of the 1974 murders, a hardcase detective (David Morrissey) and a slowmoving solicitor (Mark Addy) begin to realize
that evil may not only be still on the loose, but
flourishing. Directed by Anand Tucker, Red Riding
1983 is a fitting, chilling end to the remarkable
trilogy, which has been compared to such
masterworks as The Wire and The Sopranos.
—JS
027
The September Issue
15 +
USA | 2009 | 90 mins
Director: R. J. Cutler
Producers: R. J. Cutler,
Robert Debitetto, Robert Sharenow
Cinematographer: Robert Richman
Editor: Azin Samari
Music: Craig Richey
With: Anna Wintour, Thakoon
Panîchgul, André Léon Talley, Grace
Coddington
As editor of Vogue, Anna Wintour is the fashion
industry’s most powerful player. Each fall the
magazine releases its most important issue, and
its impact is greater than that of any other single
publication. Filmmaker R. J. Cutler’s documentary
offers a candid, revealing look at Wintour and the
arduous, demanding process behind the creation
of the September 2007 issue.
Tales from the Golden Age
(Amintiri din Epoca de aur)
G
Valentino: The Last Emperor
G
Wild Grass
(Les herbes folles)
G
The Wind Journeys
(Los viajes del viento)
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Yuki & Nina
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Romania, France | 2009 | 155 mins
Romanian w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
USA | 2008 | 96 mins
English, Italian, French w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
France, Italy | 2009 | 104 mins
French w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Colombia, Argentina, Netherlands | 2009 | 117 mins
Spanish, Bantu, Wayunayky, Ikn w/ English Subtitles | Color
35 mm | Middle East Premiere
France, Japan | 2009 | 92 mins
French, Japanese w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Directors: Cristian Mungiu, Răzvan
Mărculescu, Hanno Höfer, Ioana Uricaru,
Constantin Popescu
Screenwriter: Cristian Mungiu
Producers: Cristian Mungiu, Oleg Mutu
Cinematographers: Liviu Marghidan,
Oleg Mutu, Alexandru Sterian
Director: Matt Tyrnauer
Producers: Matt Tyrnauer, Matt Kapp,
Frederic Tcheng
Executive Producer: Carter Burden
Cinematographer: Tom Hurwitz
Editors: Bob Eisenhardt, Frederic
Tcheng
Director: Alain Resnais
Screenwriters: Alex Reval,
Laurent Herbiet
Producer: Jean-Louis Livi
Cinematographer: Eric Gautier
Music: Mark Snow
Sound: Jean-Marie Blondel,
Gérard Hardy, Gérard Lamps
Director / Screenwriter: Ciro Guerra
Producers: Cristina Gallego, Diana
Bustamante
Editor: Ivan Wild
Cinematographer: Paulo Andrés
Pérez
Music: Ivan “Tito” Ocampo
Directors / Screenwriters: Nobuhiro
Suwa, Hippolyte Girardot
Cinematographer: Josée Deshaies
Editors: Hisaka Suwa, Laurence
Briaud
Music: Lily Margot, Doc Mateo
Editors: Dana Bunescu, Theodora
Penciu, Ioana Uricaru
Music: Hanno Höfer, Laco Jimi
Cast: Tania Popa, Liliana Mocanu,
Alexandru Potocean, Teodor Corban,
Emanuel Parvu, Calin Chirila
The most acclaimed New Wave today is in full
flourish in this picaresque quintet from Romania’s
brightest new directors, led by Cannes-winning
Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days).
Five delightfully absurdist tales of life during
the repressive Ceauşescu era brim with wit,
camaraderie, and laughter.
—JS
—AG
Sound: Peter Miller
Cast: Valentino Garavani,
Giancarlo Giammetti, Gwyneth
Paltrow, Elizabeth Hurley,
H.M. the Empress Farah Pahlavi,
Vicomtesse Jacqueline de Ribes
The sparkling world of haute couture comes to
life in this globetrotting portrait of fashion icon
Valentino, the Italian designer who has dressed
everyone from Jackie O to Princess Diana to
Gwyneth Paltrow. Directed by a longtime Vanity
Fair editor with remarkable access to Valentino’s
luxurious world of high glamour and high living,
this is a tribute not just to the lush life of fashion,
but to its hard work and constant invention.
—JS
Production Designer: Saulnier
Cast: Sabine Azéma, André
Dussollier, Anne Consigny,
Emmanuelle Devos, Mathieu
Amalric, Michel Vuillermoz
In French New Wave auteur Alain Resnais’ latest
film, middle-aged Georges finds the stolen
handbag of Marguerite, a strong-willed dentist
and pilot. This incident triggers a series of
increasingly absurd scenarios, with a sense of
playfulness that calls to mind recent works by
Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry. Wild Grass is
a whimsical, candy-colored fantasia that speaks
to the intricacies of romance and the irrepressible
vitality of love.
Cast: Marciano Martínez, Yull
Núñez
An elderly musician and his teenage apprentice
embark on a journey to return an accordion
in this musical road trip across Colombia’s
remarkable natural beauty. Through cloudcapped mountains, parched deserts, and teeming
forests, the two discover the spirits, music, and
culture of Colombia.
—JS
Sound: Dominique Lacour, Raphaël
Girardot
Cast: Noë Sampy, Arielle Moutel,
Tsuyu, Hippolyte Girardot, Marilyne
Canto
Two little girls, one French and one Eurasian,
must deal with the devastating effects of divorce
in this co-directed effort by Nobuhiro Suwa and
Hippolyte Girardot. When Yuki learns that her
parents are separating, she and her best friend
Nina devise a plan to keep the parents together.
When that fails, the two flee to the woods, where
magical things happen…
—AG
—AG
An Emmy, Peabody, and GLAAD Award–winning producer
and director, R. J. Cutler began his career by producing The
War Room (1993) for D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
He made his directorial debut with A Perfect Candidate
(1996).
Cristian Mungiu won the Palme d’Or at Cannes for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) and leads a flourishing
Romanian New Wave to which his up-and-coming
collaborators also belong. Matt Tyrnauer studied film at Wesleyan University, but
began as a writer at Spy under Graydon Carter, for whom
he would work again at both the New York Observer and
Vanity Fair. After an illustrious career in print, he now turns
his journalistic eye to filmmaking.
Alain Resnais is one of France’s most distinctive and highly
regarded auteurs, and a major director of the French New
Wave. His films include Night and Fog (1955), Hiroshima
Mon Amour (1959), and Last Year at Marienbad (1961).
After making a series of award-winning short films, Ciro
Guerra directed his first feature, The Wandering Shadows
(2004), which won prizes at nine international film
festivals. The Wind Journeys is his second feature.
Hiroshima-born auteur Nobuhiro Suwa is best known for
his studies of duality in films such as M/Other (1999) and
2/Duo (1997). Co-director Hippolyte Girardot is a French
actor who has worked with such directors as Jean-Luc
Godard, Claude Berri, and Arnaud Desplechin.
Emirates Palace [SE1]
Cinestar 4 [TA1]
Cinestar 1 [VA1]
Cinestar 4 [WI1]
Cinestar 4 [WJ1]
Cinestar 4 [YU1]
Cinestar 4 [SE2]
Cinestar 4 [TA2]
Emirates Palace [VA2]
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall [WI2]
028
www.meiff.com
Cinestar 4 [YU2]
029
Special
Programs
Master Class
Master Class
Master Class
Master Class
Special Program
Richard Horowitz and Sussan
Deyhim: The Cosmic Symphony
David Amram:
From New Orleans Jazz to the
Egyptian Hijaz
Paolo Cherchi Usai:
Preserving the Film Heritage of the
Arab World
Neil Brand:
The Silent Pianist Speaks
“Laugh Till It Hurts”
For this master class, Richard Horowitz and
Sussan Deyhim will talk about their creative
process, illustrated by clips from their films.
They will especially highlight how their scores
have been influenced by Middle Eastern music.
Deyhim will present selections from her eight
scores in collaboration with Shirin Neshat,
including Turbulent in which she also starred,
and will also show clips of her performances
with the Polish Radio Orchestra and the
Krakow Symphony. Horowitz will explain the
importance of Middle Eastern music, tracing
the use of Arabic modes (maqam) back to the
Big Bang to explain why the music has such
a deeply moving effect on us. He will also
describe the experience of having his studio on
the set of Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Sheltering
Sky during the shoot in Morocco and his
mentorship with author Paul Bowles.
The legendary David Amram will share his vast
experience and repertoire in composing music
for film. Amram brought his long commitment
to fusing classical, jazz and world music,
including music of the Middle East, to his
score for director T. C. McLuhan’s The Frontier
Gandhi: Badshah Kahn, A Torch for Peace (which
is screening at MEIFF ’09 in the Documentary
Feature Competition). He will discuss this
work along with that of his classic film scores,
illustrated with clips from the films. Amram will
also treat the audience to a mini-concert with
performances on instruments used in his scores
including the dumbek (Middle Eastern “chalice
drum”), shenai (an Indian woodwind), and
various Middle Eastern flutes. Amram’s goal is
to inspire audiences to have pride in their own
music and heritage while appreciating others,
and to realize the fundamental harmony and
unity in all music worldwide.
Digital technology has revolutionized the
work of film archives and museums, allowing
unprecedented access to their collections.
However, digital film conservation is also a
double-edged sword, in that it is much more
expensive than analog conservation, and it is
much less secure. Besides, many countries in the
world do not have a national film archive at all.
(There are only four in the entire Arab world!)
What needs to be done in order to permanently
preserve the images of the 20th century? It is
not just a matter of technology and money, but
also of political and strategic alliances among
the nations. This master class will expose and
discuss some of the major issues at stake.
Pianist, composer, and veteran silent film
accompanist Neil Brand adds historian and
raconteur to his resumé with a tribute to the
filmmakers of the silent era and the musicians
who brought sounds to the silents. Brand
offers a unique approach to the appreciation
of silent film and the art of accompaniment
as he reflects on his 25-year career playing for
silent cinema and illustrates the art of movie
music by improvising for clips and providing
his own live commentary. It is a program of
history, commentary, music and movies, filled
with humor and stories from the orchestra pit
as told by one of the world’s leading silent film
accompanists.
It is always a joy as a pianist to fly on the coattails of
these comic geniuses – my music is improvised and so
different every performance – but always, with films
of this caliber and the sound of an audience laughing
as hard as it can, the experience of film and music
working together is as good as it gets. —Paolo Cherchi Usai
—SA
Composer and musician Richard Horowitz lived in Paris
and Morocco for 12 years, studying Middle Eastern
flute and music theory. His film soundtracks include
The Sheltering Sky (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1990) and
Three Seasons (Tony Bui, 1999). Composer, vocalist, and
performance artist Sussan Deyhim studied dance in her
native Iran, and Europe, before moving to New York and
incorporating music, new vocal languages, and film into
her performances. She has appeared on soundtracks
including The Last Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorsese,
1988) and The Stoning of Soraya M (Cyrus Nowrasteh,
2008). The two have collaborated on recordings since
1981, including the score for Any Given Sunday (Oliver
Stone, 1999) and Tobruk (Václav Marhoul, 2008), which
won them the Golden Lion from the Czech Academy of
Film.
David Amram is an American composer, conductor, and
musician with a career spanning six decades of pioneering
in many genres and working with some of the biggest
names in music and film. He has mastered numerous
instruments and composed hundreds of symphonies,
operas, and film soundtracks. Early in his career Amram
collaborated with Jack Kerouac and was one of the first
musicians to combine jazz and poetry in the 1950s; during
this time he also innovated the use of world influences
in classical music. Later, Amram scored Pull My Daisy
(Robert Frank, Alfred Leslie, 1959), Splendor in the Grass
(Elia Kazan, 1961), and The Manchurian Candidate (John
Frankenheimer, 1962). He has also collaborated with
Leonard Bernstein, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Willie
Nelson, and Tito Puente.
Paolo Cherchi Usai is Director of the Haghefilm Foundation
in Amsterdam. Co-founder of the L. Jeffrey Selznick
School of Film Preservation at George Eastman House
in Rochester, New York, and of the Pordenone Silent
Film Festival in Italy, he is author of Silent Cinema, An
Introduction and the experimental feature ﬁlm Passio
(2007), adapted from his book The Death of Cinema. His
latest book is Film Curatorship: Archives, Museums, and
the Digital Marketplace, co-authored with David Francis,
Alexander Horwarth, and Michael Loebenstein.
Monday, October 12, 11:00 am
Festival Tent, Emirates Palace [MA1]
Tuesday, October 13, 11:00 am
Master Classes:
The Cosmic Symphony: How to Use the
Original Vibrations of the Big Bang in Film
Scoring and Why Modes (Maqam) from the
Middle East Are a Direct Link to the Origin
of the Universe
Richard Horowitz and Sussan Deyhim
From New Orleans Jazz to the
Egyptian Hijaz
David Amram
Preserving the Film Heritage of the
Arab World
Paolo Cherchi Usai
Photo credit: Laurie Lieber
The Silent Pianist Speaks
Neil Brand
Special Program:
“Laugh Till It Hurts”
030
G
—Neil Brand
Four greats of silent two-reel comedy are celebrated
in this program: the comic poetry of Charlie Chaplin
in The Immigrant (1916); the ingeniously constructed
gags of Buster Keaton in One Week (1920); the dapper
urban charm of Charley Chase in Mighty Like a Moose
(1926); and the innovative and surreal creations
of Charles Bowers in Egged On (1926). All with live
keyboard accompaniment by Neil Brand.
—SA
Neil Brand has been playing piano for silent movies for
25 years and is one of the leading professionals in the
art of improvised silent film accompaniment. In addition
to the many silent shorts and features he has scored
and performed for live showings and DVD releases, he
has composed scores for numerous films, TV and radio
programs, and theater productions, written two awardwinning musicals, and scripted eight radio plays, including
a biographical drama about Stan Laurel.
The Immigrant
Charles Chaplin | USA | 1916
One Week
Buster Keaton | USA | 1920
Mighty Like a Moose
Leo McCarey | USA | 1926
Egged On
Charles R. Bowers, Harold Muller | USA | 1926
Duration: 86 mins.
Presented in association with
Wednesday, October 14, 11:00 am
www.meiff.com
Thursday, October 15, 11:00 am
Cinestar 5 [LH1]
031
“What in the World Are We Doing
to Our World?”
The Age of Stupid
Franny Armstrong
This film is also part of the Documentary Feature
Competition − see page 18.
Chameleon Beach
Adam Schmedes
The Cove
Louie Psihoyos
Competition − see page 18.
Earth Whisperers Mother Earth
Kathleen Gallagher
Food, Inc.
Robert Kenner
The Gift of Pachamama
Toshifumi Matsushita
Plastic Planet
Werner Boote
Chameleon Beach
(Kamaeleonernes Strand)
G
Gulf Premiere
Director: Adam Schmedes
Screenwriters: Adam
Schmedes, Peter I. Lauridsen
Cinematographers: Adam
Schmedes, Toby Strong,
Frej Schmedes
G
New Zealand | 2009 | 73 mins
English | Color | HDCAM
Editors: Gael Hemery, Jes Paul,
Bor Thierry
Music: Nicklas Schmidt,
Jes Paul, Morten Alfred Hoirup
Narrator: Linford Brown
Kathleen Gallagher
Cinematographers: Alun Bollinger,
Mike Single
Editors: Gaylene Barnes, Richard Lord
Music: Aroha Yates-Smith, Richard
Nunns, Bob Bickerton
Food, Inc.
15 +
USA | 2008 | 93 mins
Sound: Tim Brott
With: Rita Tupe, Craig Potton, Isla
Burgess, Gerry Findlay, Alan Mark,
Hugh Wilson, Jim O’Gorman, Charles
Royal, Kay Baxter, Makere Ruka
Director: Robert Kenner
Producers: Robert Kenner,
Elise Pearlstein
Executive Producers:
William Pohlad, Robin Schorr,
Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann
Cinematographer: Richard Pearce
Editor: Kim Roberts
Music: Mark Adler
With: Eric Schlosser, Michael
Pollan, Gary Hirshberg, Joel
Salatin
The Gift of Pachamama
(El regalo de la pachamama)
G
Plastic Planet
G
Bolivia, Japan, USA | 2008 | 102 mins
Quechua w/ English Subtitles | Color | DigiBeta
Austria | 2009 | 52 mins
Director / Producer / Story:
Toshifumi Matsushita
Cast: Christian Huaygua, Fanny
Mosques, Francisco Gutiez,
Luis Mamani
Director/ Screenwriter:
Werner Boote
Producers: Thomas Bogner, Daniel
Zuta
Cinematographer: Thomas Kirschner
Editors: Ilana Goldschmidt, Tom
Pohanka, Cordula Werner
Forget the Stone Age, welcome to the Plastic Age.
Personable filmmaker Werner Boote hosts this
wry, alarming journey across Europe, China, the
United States, and India to discover that most
omnipresent, long-lasting of all substances −
plastic − and how it may very well be taking over
the earth. Music by The Orb.
Music: The Orb
With: Werner Boote, Theo Colborn,
Fred Vom Saal, Margot Wallstrom
The environmental documentary Earth Whisperers
Mother Earth focuses on 10 visionary New
Zealanders who set out to prove that a shift in
consciousness can have a healing effect on our
environment. Poignant, moving, and beautifully
shot, it is a powerful demonstration of what
can be achieved through belief, dedication, and
passion.
Experts Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma)
and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) anchor this
stomach-churning, fast-paced examination of
the big business behind your food, which will
definitely change the way you look at (and for)
your next meal. Scarier than any horror film, Food,
Inc. is alarming, inspirational, and utterly essential
for everyone who, well, eats.
The indigenous culture and traditions of the
Andean Quechua people are brought to life in
this loving environmental fable for children, set
amidst the salt fields and mountain villages of
Bolivia’s spectacular altiplano. A young boy travels
across Bolivia with a salt caravan, discovering its
ancient cultures, traditional rituals, and immense
spirituality.
—AG
—JS
—JS
Taking a new approach to wildlife and science
documentaries, Adam Schmedes creates a sense of
identification by following a single animal throughout his
films and viewing modern society from the animal’s point
of view.
A published poet and playwright in New Zealand and
Australia, Kathleen Gallagher came to prominence in 2000
with her short Jimmy Sullivan. Her 2004 documentary
Breath of Peace won the Sonja Davies Peace Award.
Robert Kenner has been writing, producing, and directing
documentaries that explore the history and social issues
of the United States for 25 years, winning multiple awards
for his work on The American Experience and for National
Geographic.
Toshifumi Matsushita studied law in Japan and film at
New York University while working in the Japanese film
industry as a producer. Eventually he founded his own
company, Dolphin Productions. His short documentaries
Big Chief (1992) and Voodoo Kingdom (1997) won awards at
the Tokyo Video Festival.
Werner Boote, born in 1965 in Vienna, was an assistant
director for Robert Dornhelm and Ulrich Seidl for many
years. Since 1993 he has been writing and directing films
focusing primarily on music and the arts.
Cinestar 3 [CH1]
Cinestar 3 [EA1]
Cinestar 3 [FO1]
Cinestar 3 [GI1]
Cinestar 3 [PL1]
Cinestar 3 [CH2]
Cinestar 2 [EA2]
Cinestar 2 [FO2]
Cinestar 2 [GI2]
Cinestar 2 [PL2]
Remarkable high-definition photography gets
viewers up-close-and-personal with a lovable
group of African chameleons on a Mediterranean
beach in this absorbing nature documentary. This
March of the Penguins on sand, not ice, captures
never-before-seen moments in nature with
breathtaking intimacy and beauty, and showcases
some remarkable creatures.
—JS
032
Earth Whisperers Mother Earth
(Earth Whisperers Papatuanuku)
www.meiff.com
—JS
033
10 to 11
Pelin Esmer
This film also is part of the Narrative Feature
Competition − see description on page 12.
Autumn
Özcan Alper
Dot
Derviş Zaim
Milk
Semih Kaplanoğlu
My Only Sunshine
Reha Erdem
Autumn
(Sonbahar)
Orhan Eskiköy, Özgür Doğan
Turkey, Germany | 2008 | 106 mins
Turkish, Georgian, Hemshin w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Turkish w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Gulf Premiere
Turkey, France, Germany | 2008 | 102 mins
Gulf Premiere
Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece | 2008 | 121 mins
Gulf Premiere
Turkey, France, Germany, Belgium | 2008 | 112 mins
Gulf Premiere
Director / Screenwriter: Özcan Alper
Producer: F. Serkan Açar
Cinematographer: Feza Çaldıran
Editor: Thomas Balkenhol
Music: Yuri Rydahencko, Ayşenur
Kolivar, Sumru Ağıryürüyen
Cast: Onur Saylak, Megi Kobaladze,
Derviş Zaim
Producers: Baran Seyhan,
Derviş Zaim
Cinematographer: Ercan Yılmaz
Music: Mazlum Çimen
Director / Producer: Semih Kaplanoğlu
Screenwriter: Semih Kaplanoğlu, Orçun
Köksal
Cinematographer: Özgür Eken
Editor: François Quiqueré
Sound Designer: Marc Nouyrigat
Cast: Melih Selçuk, Başak Köklükaya
Reha Erdem
Cinematographer: Florent Herry
Music: Orhan Gencebay
Production Designer: Ömer Atay
Director: Yeşim Ustaoğlu
Screenwriters: Yeşim Ustaoğlu,
Sema Kaygusuz
Cinematographer: Jacques Besse
Editor: Franck Nakache
Music: Jean-Pierre Mas
My Only Sunshine marks the fullest realization
yet of Reha Erdem’s unusual style. The seemingly
familiar story of a 14-year-old girl turns uncanny
through Erdem’s expert manipulation of the
soundtrack. As the teenage girl attempts to cope
with the lack of love around her, an impossible
mix of sounds guarantees the novelty of both the
experience and the emotional response that this
film provides.
Competition − see description on
page 18.
Pandora’s Box
Yeşim Ustaoğlu
Summer Book
Seyfi Teoman
Wrong Rosary
Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun
The initial screening of six of the features will
be preceded by a short film from Turkey, as
noted below.
Death of the Poet
Elif Ergezen [before Autumn]
G
Raife Yenigül, Serkan Keskin, Nino
Lejava, Arda Diraz
Dot
(Nokta)
G
Cast: Numan Acar, Cem
Aksakal, Begüm Birgören
Bayazıt Gülercan, Nadi Güler,
Hikmet Karagöz, Serhat Kılıç,
Şener Kökkaya, Mehmet Ali
Nuroğlu, Settar Tanrıöğen,
Mustafa Uzunyılmaz
Milk
(Süt)
15+
Set against the backdrop of fall in the mountains
of the Black Sea region, Autumn is a meditation
on the prolonged loss of a young life. The film
follows Yusuf, who finally returns home after he
is released from prison on medical grounds. An
exceptionally modest and lyrical first feature
by Özcan Alper, Autumn leaves a solid mark on
contemporary cinema in Turkey.
Dot is the absorbing fifth feature by Derviş
Zaim. The narrative concerns a gifted young
calligrapher who becomes involved in the theft
of a valuable ancient Quran, but the film stands
out as a visual experiment. Its stark imagery is set
entirely against the white backdrop of a salt lake,
and its strong style imitates ihcam, a calligraphy
technique in Islamic arts.
Milk, the second film in Semih Kaplanoğlu’s
“Yusuf trilogy,” tells the story of young Yusuf’s
internal struggle over leaving home. Although
he is dependent on his home, his routine, and
what is secure and well-known to him, Yusuf also
desires to get away from the familiar, to face the
“new” that is hidden behind the mountains and
buildings of his hometown.
—ÖG
—ÖG
—FY
My Only Sunshine
(Hayat Var)
15 +
Cast: Önder Açıkbaş, Levent Yılmaz,
Elit İşcan, Erdal Beşikçioğlu
—AB
Pandora’s Box
(Pandora’nın Kutusu)
G
Production Designers:
Elif Taşçıoğlu, Serdar Yılmaz
Cast: Tsilla Chelton, Derya
Alabora, Onur Ünsal, Osman
Sonant, Övül Avkıran, Tayfun
Bademsoy, Nazmi Kırık
Three adult siblings set out on a journey from
İstanbul to Turkey’s Black Sea Region, hoping to
find their aging mother, who is reportedly lost in
the mountains surrounding her village. Instead
of the expected generational dramatics, the film
shifts course to show the unusual bond that
develops between the grandmother and her
urban teenage grandson, a genuine and unbiased
human connection. Pandora’s Box won the Grand
Prize at the San Sebastian Film Festival.
—ZD
Milk and Chocolate
Senem Tüzen [before Summer Book]
The Sacrifice
Ali Betil [before Wrong Rosary]
Semolina Halva
Ezgi Kaplan [before Pandora’s Box]
Özcan Alper, born in 1975, made his first short,
Grandmother (2001), entirely in Hemshin, an Armenian
dialect spoken in northeast Turkey. It won several awards,
which enabled him to make Autumn, his first feature film.
Born in 1964, Derviş Zaim won several national and
international awards for his first feature, Somersault in a
Coffin (1996). He currently teaches film at İstanbul Bilgi
and Bosphorus Universities. In addition to filmmaking, Semih Kaplanoğlu (born in
1963) has published numerous articles on contemporary
art and cinema, and from 1996 to 2000 wrote a column
entitled “Encounters” for the national daily Radikal. Reha Erdem, born in 1960, graduated from Paris 8
University with a degree in film studies, and then a M.A.
in plastic arts. He shot his first feature-length film, the
French–Turkish co-production Oh Moon, in 1989. His 2006
feature Times and Winds earned international acclaim.
After making several award-winning shorts in Turkey,
Yeşim Ustaoğlu made her feature film debut with The Trace
(1994). She also received recognition for her 1999 film
Journey to the Sun, which won many festival awards.
Cinestar 1 [AU1]
> Preceded by the short Death of the Poet | 18 mins
Cinestar 3 [DO1]
> Preceded by the short Turnout | 15 mins
Cinestar 1 [MI1]
> Preceded by the short The Waiting | 15 mins
Cinestar 4 [MY1]
Cinestar 3 [PA1]
> Preceded by the short Semolina Halva | 11 mins
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall [AU2]
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall [DO2]
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall [MI2]
Turnout
Fırat Mançuhan [before Dot]
The Waiting
Emine Emel Balcı [before Milk]
Programmers for New Cinema from Turkey:
Senem Aytaç, Gözde Onaran, Altyazı Monthly
Cinema Magazine
Writers for New Cinema from Turkey synopses:
Gülengül Altıntaş, Abbas Bozkurt, Ayşa Ciftçi,
Zeynep Dadak, Berke Göl, Övgü Gökçe, Fırat Yücel.
034
www.meiff.com
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall [MY2]
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall [PA2]
035
Short Film
Competition
Program 1: MYSTERY
Total running time: 118 mins.
G
Program 2: EMOTION
G
“Short films go to the heart of creation. In the
art of short film anything is possible. In our
contemporary world surrounded by images,
short filmmakers combine imagination and
talent to create a fresh point of view on our
dynamic universe.
These often unheralded cinema talents gather
all their energy to express themselves with
a unique perspective on our global society.
Discover original and exciting short films from
all over the world.”
Summer Book
(Tatil Kitabı)
G
Gulf Premiere
Seyfi Teoman
Cinematographer: Arnau Valls
Colomer
Editor: Çiçek Kahraman
Sound: İsmail Karadaş
Cast: Taner Birsel, Tayfun Günay,
Harun Özüağ, Ayten Tökün, Osman
İnan
Wrong Rosary
(Uzak Ihtimal)
G
UAE Premiere
Director: Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun
Screenwriters: Tarık Tufan,
Görkem Yeltan, Bektaş Topaloğlu,
Cinematographer: Refik Çakar
Editor: Çiçek Kahraman
Music: Rahman Altın
Cast: Nadir Sarıbacak, Görkem
Yeltan, Ersan Uysal
Bearing the autobiographical stamp of Seyfi
Teoman, Summer Book looks at life in the
provinces from the inside and tries to come to
terms with it. After the patriarch dies, leaving
questions about some missing money and a
mysterious mistress, 10-year-old Ali, his brother
Veysel, and their uncle Hasan will all have to
spend a long, hot summer making some serious
choices about their lives.
Wrong Rosary tells a slow-paced, simple story of a
young muezzin who gets appointed to İstanbul,
where he falls in love with a Catholic woman.
Unlike its predecessors, which typically discuss
the complex and ever-changing role that religion
plays in contemporary Turkey’s problematic
process of westernization, Wrong Rosary does not
present faith as a source of constant battle, and
therein lies its significance.
—GA
—BG
Seyfi Teoman, born in Kayseri, Turkey, in 1977, studied at
the Polish National Film School in Lodz. He is working on
his second feature, Our Grand Despair, which was selected
to the 2009 Cannes Film Festival’s L’Atelier. Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun was born in 1973, studied film at
the University of California, Los Angeles, and received his
Master’s degree from İstanbul Bilgi University. He works
professionally as a documentary and commercial director. – Alice Kharoubi
MEIFF Short Film Programmer
Competition
Program 1 – Mystery
Focus on something strange. Life becomes
crazy in the flicker of an eye.
Program 2 – Emotion
What moves us deeply can also bring us closer
together.
Program 3 – Struggle
Personal struggles can remind us how to savor
life.
Aqualorious!
Fatenah
Danish w/ English Subtitles | Color | DigiBeta
Palestine | 2009 | 30 mins
Arabic, English, Hebrew w/ English Subtitles | Color | DigiBeta
Babel
The First Film
France, China | 2009 | 16 mins
No Dialogue | Color | HDCAM
Iran | 2009 | 24 mins
Farsi w/ English Subtitles | Color | DigiBeta
Careful with that Power Tool
Mother (Matka)
No Dialogue | Color | 35 mm
Poland | 2009 | 11 mins
Polish w/ English Subtitles | Color | HDCAM
Glory at Sea
The Other Ones (De Andre)
USA | 2008 | 25 mins
Norway | 2009 | 18 mins
Norwegian w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Nikolaj Tarp
Hendrick Dusollier
Jason Stutter
Benh Zeitlin
The Herd
Ken Wardrop
Student Short Competition
Experience short films directed by students
from all over the world. Exploring universal
themes, these fresh and dynamic short films
will embark you on a journey through Life.
These programs reveal new filmmaking talent
perhaps destined for a brilliant future.
Short Films will contend for these Black Pearl
awards and prizes: Best Narrative Short, Best
Documentary Short, Best Middle Eastern Short,
and three prizes for Best Student Short.
Ireland | 2009 | 5 mins
Ahmad Habash
Panah Panahi
Jakub Piatek
Hisham Zaman
She the Policeman
Maryam Jum’a
Jordan | 2009 | 14 mins
Home
The Six Dollar Fifty Man
USA | 2009 | 6 mins
The Taxidermist
Spring 89 (Rabie 89)
UK | 2009 | 22 mins
Matt Faust
Bert & Bertie
Mark Albiston & Louis Sutherland
Ayten Amin
Three Sisters and Andrey
Boris Despodov, Andrey Paounov
Bulgaria, Germany | 2009 | 14 mins
Tripoli, Quiet (Trablos Al-Hada)
Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia
Arabic w/ English Subtitles | Color | HDCAM
Cinestar 1 [SU1]
> Preceded by the short Milk and Chocolate | 25 mins
Cinestar 1 [WR1]
> Preceded by the short The Sacrifice | 17 mins
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall [SU2]
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall [WR2]
036
www.meiff.com
Cinestar 3 [C11]
Cinestar 3 [C21]
Cinestar 2 [C12]
Cinestar 2 [C22]
037
Program 3: STRUGGLE
G
Student Program 1
Meet the Directors of the
Short Films
G
Student Program 2
15+
Mark Albiston
Ayten Amin
Spring 89
Ravin Asaf
Kidnap Factory
Rania Attieh
Tripoli, Quiet
Emine Emel Balcı
The Waiting
Bert & Bertie
The Taxidermist
Ali Betil
The Sacrifice
Elena Bychkova
Surprise
Bartek Cierlica
The Grave-Diggers
Rob Connolly
Our Neck of the Woods
Boris Despodov
Dmitri Dyachenko
A Pleasant Opportunity to
Choose
Damien Dufresne
Under Construction
Hendrick Dusollier
Babel
Elif Ergezen
Death of the Poet
Ata
The Grave-Diggers (Grobari)
Anna
Turkey, France | 2008 | 26 mins
Turkish, Uyghur, French w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Poland | 2008 | 8 mins
Serbian w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Danish w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Diplomacy
Our Neck of the Woods
Kasia
Elisabet Llado
USA | 2009 | 9 mins
English, Farsi w/ English Subtitles | Color | HDCAM
USA | 2009 | 17 mins
Belgium | 2008 | 10 mins
French w/ English Subtitles | Color | DigiBeta
Matt Faust
Home
Daniel Garcia
Tripoli, Quiet
Pegah Ghaemi
Members of the Resistance
The Employment (El Empleo)
The Passage (Tee)
Kavi
Guillaume Giovanetti
Ata
Jon Goldman
Diplomacy
Santiago “Bou” Grasso
The Employment
Argentina | 2008 | 6 mins
Estonia, France | 2009 | 13 mins
Estonian w/ English Subtitles | Color | DigiBeta
India, USA | 2008 | 19 mins
Hindi w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Ahmad Habash
Fatenah
Gregg Helvey
Kavi
Maryam Jum’a
She the Policeman
Olivier Kaempfer
A Road Apart
Ezgi Kaplan
Semolina Halva
Marvin Kren
Schautag
Elisabet Llado
Kasia
Ahmed Magdy
To the Sea
Fırat Mançuhan
Turnout
Saad Jasim
Walls
Panah Panahi
The First Film
Andrey Paounov
Jakub Piatek
Mother
Runar Runarsson
Anna
Pirkko Runnel
The Passage
Supriyo Sen
Wagah
Jason Stutter
Careful with that Power Tool
Louis Sutherland
Nikolaj Tarp
Aqualorious!
Senem Tüzen
Milk and Chocolate
Ken Wardrop
The Herd
Hisham Zaman
The Other Ones
Benh Zeitlin
Glory at Sea
Çağla Zencirci
Ata
Çağla Zencirci, Guillaume Giovanetti
Jon Goldman
Santiago “Bou” Grasso
Bartek Cierlica
Rob Connolly
Pirkko Runnel
Runar Runarsson
Gregg Helvey
Kidnap Factory
A Road Apart
Surprise (Surpriz)
Iraq | 2009 | 7 mins
Kurdish w/ English Subtitles | Color | DigiBeta
UK | 2008 | 21 mins
Russian w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Members of the Resistance
Schautag
Under Construction (Chantier)
Iran | 2008 | 15 mins
Farsi, Gilaki w/ English Subtitles | Color | DigiBeta
Germany | 2008 | 23 mins
German w/ English Subtitles | Color | DigiBeta
French w/ English Subtitles | Color | DigiBeta
Ravin Asaf
Pegah Ghaemi
Olivier Kaempfer
Marvin Kren
Elena Bychkova
Damien Dufresne
A Pleasant Opportunity to Choose
Dmitri Dyachenko
Russian w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
To the Sea (Ella Al Bahr)
Ahmed Magdy
Wagah
Supriyo Sen
Pakistan, India, Germany | 2009 | 13 mins
Farsi, Urdu, Hindi w/ English Subtitles | Color | 35 mm
Walls
Saad Jasim
Iraq | 2009 | 9 mins
Sunday, October 11, 7 pm
Cinestar 3 [C31]
Cinestar 2 [S11]
Cinestar 2 [S21]
Cinestar 3 [C32]
Cinestar 3 [S12]
Cinestar 2 [S22]
038
www.meiff.com
039
Emirates Film
Competition
Program 1:
Shorts - UAE Competition
Total running time: 96 mins
The Abu Dhabi Film Commission is
pleased to present the 9th Emirates
Film Competition, which aims to
encourage the production of short,
feature, documentary, and animated
films by Emirati filmmakers. It also
provides an opportunity for GCC
nationals and non-nationals to discuss
and share their work with each other,
as well as participate in short master
classes and workshops. Through a
number of funding initiatives, travel
bursaries to film festivals and assistance
with distribution, the Emirates
Film Competition will continue to
provide production opportunities for
emerging Emirati filmmakers who
have completed a short, feature, or
documentary film.
G
Program 2:
Shorts - GCC Competition
G
Program 3:
Features Competition
G
Program 4:
Features Competition
Three Men & a Woman
The Hotel
The Fifth Chamber Ouija
Saudi Arabia | 2009 | 13 mins
Arabic w/ English Subtitles | Color | MiniDV
World Premiere
UAE | 2009 | 57 mins
World Premiere
UAE | 2008 | 128 mins
World Premiere
Young Sadness
Whiteness
Our Right to Ride
UAE | 2009 | 15 mins
UAE Premiere
Oman | 2009 | 9 mins
World Premiere
UAE | 2009 | 51 mins
Paradise Evening
Burning Flowers
UAE | 2009 | 19 mins
World Premiere
Bahrain | 2009 | 23 mins
World Premiere
Crossing
Whispers of Sin
UAE | 2009 | 4 mins
World Premiere
Kuwait | 2009 | 31 mins
Color | HDCAM
World Premiere
Key
Yassin
UAE | 2009 | 16 mins
UAE Premiere
Bahrain | 2009 | 25 mins
World Premiere
Al Hamra Island in the Eyes of
Emirati Filmmakers
Ahmed Zain & Ahmed Arshi
UAE | 2009 | 25 mins
UAE Premiere
Hani Al Shaibani
Juma Al Sahili
Ali Jamal
Ahmed Zain
Abedel Muhsen Al Dhabaan
Khaled Al Kalbani
Hani Al Shaibani
18+
Maher Al Khaja
Hanan Al Mohairi
Mohammed Ibrahim Mohammed
Abdulrahman Al Khalifi
Gamal Al Gheilan
Temporary Drought
Yasser Saeed Al Neyadi
UAE | 2009 | 15 mins
UAE Premiere
Cinestar 3 [EC1]
040
Cinestar 3 [EC2]
Cinestar 3 [EC3]
www.meiff.com
Thurday, October 15, 1:15 pm
Cinestar 3 [EC4]
041
Special Events
MEIFF Industry Initiative
October 8-17
In addition to offering an exciting
program of films for local audiences,
MEIFF is also dedicated to supporting
and shaping the region’s film industry.
This year MEIFF has invited film industry
professionals from all over the world to
attend the festival and discover what
Abu Dhabi has to offer. MEIFF’s industry
activities give film professionals the
chance to see new works of filmmakers
from the Middle East and to meet and
network with local filmmakers and
producers in order to forge alliances for
future collaborations.
MEIFF’s industry program complements
Abu Dhabi’s other film initiatives − Abu
Dhabi Film Commission, Imagenation,
and twofour54 − to affirm the key place
Abu Dhabi holds as an emerging cultural
center, to foster the growth of its local
and regional film community, and to
promote Abu Dhabi as a key player on the
international film scene.
Index
MEIFF Festival Tent
The Circle
October 9-11
Listed by Director
October 8-17
The MEIFF Festival Tent is open to all
festival guests and to the public from
noon to 2 am. The Tent is located on the
main terrace behind the Emirates Palace
Hotel, overlooking the hotel’s gardens,
private beach, and the Arabian Gulf.
Abu Dhabi Film Commission in
conjunction with MEIFF presents The
Circle Conference 2009. The Circle is a
development initiative aimed at creating
new filmmaking opportunities in the
Middle East. The Circle Conference brings
together top producers, financiers,
executives, and filmmakers from around
the world.
A
Abdalla , Ahmed p. 13
Al-Daradji, Mohamed p. 16
Al Dhabaan, Abedel Muhsen p. 40
Al Gheilan, Gamal p. 40
Al Kalbani, Khaled p. 40
Al Khalifi, Abdulrahman p. 40
Al Mohairi, Hanan p. 41
Al Neyadi, Yasser Saeed, p. 40
Al Sahili, Juma p. 40
Al Shaibani, Hani pp. 40, 41
Albiston, Mark p. 37
Ali, Jamal p. 40
Ali, Hatem p. 15
Aljafari, Kamal p. 22
Alper, Özcan p. 34
Amari, Raja p.13
Amin, Ayten p. 37
Ananthan, Uday p. 25
Armstrong, Franny p. 18
Arshi, Ahmed p. 40
Asaf, Ravin p. 38
Attieh, Rania p. 37
The crossroads of the festival, the Tent
serves as the location for many MEIFF
events including master classes and
special screenings. In addition, the Tent
offers hospitality in the best tradition
of Abu Dhabi. The various rooms of the
Tent, along with its outdoor veranda,
have spaces to relax, lounge and enjoy
live music and entertainment, DJs,
refreshments, high tech screening
rooms, and much more to be announced
throughout the festival.
For more information on the Tent, visit
www.meiff.com.
The international entertainment
community comes to Abu Dhabi to share
their knowledge in The Circle with events
such as Panel Discussions, Master Classes,
Collaboration Lunches, and the Shasha
Grant Pitch Competition.
The Circle Conference 2009 is presented in
partnership with Imagenation Abu Dhabi.
B
Balcı, Emine Emel p. 35
Ballhaus, Michael p. 21
Bert & Bertie, p. 37
Betil, Ali p. 36
Boote, Werner p. 33
Bychkova, Elena p. 38
C
Cappellari, Ciro p. 21
Carion, Christian p. 25
Chaplin, Charles p. 31
Cierlica, Bartek p. 38
Cluzaud, Jacques p. 09
Connolly, Rob p. 38
Coşkun, Mahmut Fazıl p. 36
Cutler, R. J. p. 28
D
Daniels, Lee p. 26
Denis, Claire p. 17
Despodov, Boris p. 37
Doğan, Özgür p. 22
D’Souza, Anthony p. 10
Dufresne, Damien p. 38
Dusollier, Hendrick p. 37
Dyachenko, Dmitri p. 38
E
Erdem, Reha p. 35
Ergezen, Elif p. 34
Eskiköy, Orhan p. 22
Esmer, Pelin p. 12
F
Farhadi, Asghar p. 24
Farooki, Mostofa Sarwar p. 16
Faust, Matt p. 34
Fawzi, Oussama p. 17
Fernandez Almendras, Alejandro p. 14
042
www.meiff.com
G
Gallagher, Kathleen p. 32
Garcia, Daniel p. 37
Ghaemi, Pegah p. 38
Ghobadi, Bahman p. 15
Giovanetti, Guillaume p. 38
Girardot, Hippolyte p. 29
Goldman, Jon p. 38
Grasso, Santiago ‘Bou’ p. 38
Grimonprez, Johan p. 20
Guerra, Ciro p. 29
H
Habash, Ahmad p. 37
Helvey, Gregg p. 38
Heslov, Grant p. 09
Höfer, Hanno p. 28
I
Ivin, Glendyn p. 14
J
Jamal, Ali p. 40
Jarrold, Julian p. 27
Jasim, Saad, p. 38
Jose, Lal, p. 25
Jum’a, Maryam p. 37
K
Kaempfer, Olivier p. 38
Kailas, Shaji p. 25
Kaplan, Ezgi p. 35
Kaplanoğlu, Semih p. 35
Keaton, Buster p. 31
Kenner, Robert p. 33
Kren, Marvin p. 38
L
Llado, Elisabet p. 38
Lotfy, Nabiha p. 19
M
Magdy, Ahmed p. 38
Maher, Ahmed p. 18
Mançuhan, Fırat, p. 34
Mărculescu, Răzvan p. 28
Marsh, James p. 27
Mathew, Joseph p. 12
Matsushita, Toshifumi p. 33
McCarey, Leo p. 31
McLuhan, T. C. p. 20
Mehta, Dilip p. 13
Menon, Anjali, p.25
Mitić, Boris p. 21
Miyazaki, Hayao p. 26
Mohammed, Mohammed Ibrahim p. 40
Moore, Michael p. 10
Moverman, Oren p. 11
Muller, Harold p. 31
Mungiu, Cristian p. 28
N
Nasrallah, Yousry p. 11
O
Østergaard, Anders, p. 24
P
Padmakumar, M. p. 25
Panahi, Panah, p. 37
Paounov, Andrey p. 37
Paskaljević, Goran p. 25
Pérezcano, Rigoberto p. 15
Perrin, Jacques p. 09
Piatek, Jakub p. 37
Popescu, Constantin p. 28
Psihoyos, Louie p. 20
R
Ramakrishnan, Shankar, p. 25
Ranjith, p. 25
Rached, Tahani p. 21
Rashid, Anwar, p. 25
Resnais, Alain p. 29
Revathy, p. 25
Rodriguez, Robert p. 11
Runarsson, Runar p. 38
Runnel, Pirkko p. 38
S
Saeed, Yasser p. 40
Saeedi, Ebrahim p. 19
Salhab, Ghassan p. 18
Samra, Maher Abi p. 23
Sanjavi, Zahavi p. 19
Schmedes, Adam p. 32
Sen, Supriyo p. 38
Soderbergh, Steven p. 10
Soueid, Mohamed p. 26
Stutter, Jason p. 37
Suleiman, Elia p. 16
Sutherland, Louis p. 37
Suwa, Nobuhiro p. 29
Shyamparasad, p. 25
T
Tarp, Nikolaj p. 37
Teoman, Seyfi p. 36
Tian Zhuangzhuang p. 17
Todorovsky, Valery p. 14
Tucker, Anand p. 27
Tüzen, Senem p. 36
Tyrnauer, Matt p. 28
U
Unnikrishnan, B. p. 25
Uricaru, Ioana p. 28
Ustaoğlu, Yeşim p. 35
W
Wardrop, Ken p. 37
Whitecross, Mat p. 22
Winterbottom, Michael p. 22
Z
Zaim, Derviş p. 34
Zain, Ahmed p. 40
Zaman, Hisham p. 37
Zeitlin, Benh p. 37
Zencirci, Çağla p. 38
Zran, Mohamed p. 19
043
Index
Daily Screening Guide
Listed by Film Title
A
10 to 11 p. 12
1958 p. 18
About Elly p. 24
Age of Stupid, The p. 18
Al Hamra Island p. 40
All My Mothers p. 19
Anna p. 38
Aqualorious! p. 37
Ata p. 38
Autumn p. 34
B
Babel p. 37
Being Here p. 19
Blue p. 10
Bombay Summer p. 12
Buried Secrets p. 13
Burma VJ – Reporting from a Closed Country p. 24
Burning Flowers p. 40
C
Capitalism: A Love Story p. 10
Careful with that Power Tool p. 37
Carioca p. 19
Chameleon Beach p. 32
Cooking with Stella p. 13
Cove, The p. 20
Crossing p. 40
D
Diplomacy p. 38
Death of the Poet p. 34
Dot p. 34
Double Take p. 20
E
Earth Whisperers p. 32
Egged On p. 31
Employment, The p. 38
F
Farewell p. 25
Fatenah p. 37
Fifth Chamber Ouija, The p. 41
First Film, The p. 37
Food, Inc. p. 33
Frontier Gandhi, The p. 20
G
Gift of Pachamama, The p. 33
Glory at Sea p. 37
Goodbye, How Are You? p. 21
Grave-Diggers, The p. 38
H
Heliopolis p. 13
Herd, The p. 37
Hipsters p. 14
Home p. 37
Honeymoons p. 25
Hotel, The p. 41
Huacho p. 14
044
I
Immigrant, The p. 31
In Berlin p. 21
Informant!, The p. 10
K
Kasia p. 38
Kavi p. 38
Kerala Café p. 25
Key p. 40
Kidnap Factory p. 38
L
Last Ride p. 14
Long Night, The p. 15
M
Members of the Resistance p. 38
Men Who Stare at Goats, The p. 9
Messenger, The p. 11
Mighty Like a Moose p. 31
Milk p. 35
Milk and Chocolate p. 36
Mother, p. 37
My Heart Beats Only for Her p. 26
My Only Sunshine, p. 35
N
Neighbors p. 21
No One Knows About Persian Cats p. 15
Northless p. 15
O
Oceans p. 9
On the Way to School p. 22
One Week p. 31
Other Ones, The p. 37
Our Neck of the Woods p. 38
Our Right to Ride p. 41
P
Paradise Evening p. 40
Passage, The p. 38
Pandora’s Box, p. 35
Plastic Planet p. 33
Pleasant Opportunity to Choose, A p. 38
Ponyo p. 26
Port of Memory p. 22
Precious p. 26
Shorts p. 11
Six Dollar Fifty Man, The p. 37
Son of Babylon p. 16
Spring 89 p. 37
Summer Book, p. 36
Surprise p. 38
T
Tales from the Golden Age p. 28
Taxidermist, The p. 37
Temporary Drought p. 40
Third Person Singular Number p. 16
Three Men and a Woman p. 40
Three Sisters and Andrey, p. 37
Time That Remains, The p. 16
To the Sea p. 38
Traveler, The p. 8
Tripoli, Quiet p. 37
True Color p. 17
Turnout p. 34
U
Under Construction, p. 38
V
Valentino: The Last Emperor p. 28
W
Wagah p. 38
Waiting, The p. 35
Walls p. 38
Warrior and the Wolf, The p. 17
We Were Communists p. 23
Whispers of Sin p. 40
White Material p. 17
Whiteness p. 40
Wild Grass p. 29
Wind Journeys, The p. 29
Wrong Rosary, p. 36
Y
Yassin p. 40
Young Sadness p. 40
Yuki & Nina p. 29
R
Red Riding 1974 p. 27
Road Apart, A p. 38
S
Sacrifice, The p. 36
Schautag p. 38
Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story p. 11
Semolina Halva p. 35
September Issue, The p. 28
She the Policeman p. 37
Shock Doctrine, The p. 22
045
Thursday, October 8
12pm
Emirates Palace
Emirates Palace
THE COSMIC SYMPHONY:
Richard Horowitz & Sussan Deyhim
Page 30
Cinestar 3
Cinestar 4
Cinestar 5
Tuesday, October 13
11:00 am
4pm
FROM NEW ORLEANS JAZZ
TO THE EGYPTIAN HIJAZ: David Amram
Page 30
5pm
1pm
Page 31
HUACHO
THE TRAVELER
125 Mins
Page 8
MA2
89 Mins
6:30
103 Mins
92 Mins
+ Milk and Chocolate
25 Mins
Page 36
SU1
BO1
9:30
THE MESSENGER
TR1
Page 11
11pm
6pm
SHORTS PROGRAM 2:
93 Mins
EMOTION
137 Mins
CV1
Page 37
7:00
PONYO
7:15
THE SEPTEMBER
ISSUE
100 Mins
C21
Page 28
Page 26
SE2
PN2
9pm
WH1
Page 21
NE1
AUTUMN
10:15
RED RIDING 1980
106 Mins
HONEYMOONS
93 Mins
Page 27
10pm
9:45
10:00
12am
11pm
95 Mins
R80
Page 34
Page 25
AU2
12am
HO1
Sunday, October 11
Friday, October 9
Emirates Palace
8pm
90 Mins
105 Mins
100 Mins
Page 17
SB2
7pm
7:00
THE COVE
Page 20
Page 16
5pm
NEIGHBORS
WHITE MATERIAL
ME1
C12
9:30
9:45
112 Mins
MA4
90 Mins
6:45
SUMMER BOOK
SON OF BABYLON
MYSTERY
118 Mins
Page 37
SH1
BOMBAY SUMMER
MA3
HU1
6:30
Page 12
Page 14
4pm
4:00
SHORTS PROGRAM 1:
SHORTS
THE SILENT PIANIST SPEAKS:
Neil Brand
Page 31
3pm
3:45
90 Mins
4:00
Thursday, October 15
11:00 am
8:00
192
3:15
Page 11
2pm
MA1
PRESERVING THE FILM HERITAGE
OF THE ARAB WORLD:
Paolo Cherchi Usai
7pm
12pm
1958
Wednesday, October 14
11:00 am
6pm
12pm
Grand Abu Dhabi Mall
1:00
Page 18
3pm
10pm
Cinestar 2
66 Mins
2pm
9pm
Cinestar 1
Monday, October 12
11:00 am
1pm
8pm
Saturday, October 10
Master Classes, Festival Tent
Visit www.meiff.com for updates.
Cinestar 1
Cinestar 2
Cinestar 3
Cinestar 4
Cinestar 5
Emirates Palace
Cinestar 1
Cinestar 2
Cinestar 3
Cinestar 4
Cinestar 5
12pm
1pm
1pm
2pm
2pm
3pm
3pm
3:30
4pm
PONYO
100 Mins
4:15
6pm
DOUBLE TAKE
SON OF BABYLON
80 Mins
Page 16
SB1
9pm
10pm
11pm
VALENTINO:
THE LAST EMPEROR
DT1
96 Mins
Page 28
MYSTERY
118 Mins
Page 37
VA1
Page 22
SD1
Page 21
6:30
6:30
125 Mins
94 Mins
102 Mins
+ The Waiting
14 Mins
Page 35
Page 8
TR2
Page 15
Page 37
Page 12
7:15
ALL MY MOTHERS
MI1
C11
1958
9:30
60 Mins
Page 19
110 Mins
SE1
Page 12
Galas
THE WIND JOURNEYS
10:00
10 TO 11
90 Mins
Page 28
9:30
66 Mins
9:45
THE SEPTEMBER
ISSUE
Page 18
101
191
117 Mins
RED RIDING 1974
AL1
7:00
7:00
STRUGGLE
117 Mins
100 Mins
SHORTS PROGRAM 3:
Page 38
Page 27
WJ1
Page 13
C31
R74
Special Programs
“What In The World Are We Doing To Our World?”
GOODBYE,
HOW ARE YOU?
100 Mins
LA1
Page 21
www.meiff.com
8pm
WH2
9pm
10pm
9:45
BOMBAY SUMMER
103 Mins
RED RIDING 1983
100 Mins
Page 35
GO1
R83
11pm
MY1
Page 12
Page 27
121 Mins
10:00
60 Mins
Page 14
Page 17
MY ONLY SUNSHINE
9:45
LAST RIDE
CO1
WHITE MATERIAL
9:15
9:30
COOKING WITH
STELLA
103 Mins
102 Mins
Page 29
9:30
102
7pm
MILK
LO1
5pm
C22
6pm
6:30
THE LONG NIGHT
NE2
110 Mins
9:00
12am
046
SHORTS PROGRAM 1:
Page 20
KE1
THE TRAVELER
7:00
7:15
78 Mins
PN1
Page 25
6:15
6:30
90 Mins
8pm
Page 26
10 TO 11
EMOTION
137 Mins
105 Mins
4pm
3:45
SHORTS PROGRAM 2:
NEIGHBORS
THE SHOCK
DOCTRINE
124 Mins
106 Mins
+ Death of the Poet
18 Mins
Page 34
AU1
3:30
3:45
4:00
KERALA CAFE
AUTUMN
5pm
7pm
4:00
BO2
12am
047
Monday, October 12
12pm
Emirates Palace
Wednesday, October 14
Cinestar 1
Cinestar 2
Cinestar 3
Cinestar 4
Cinestar 5
Emirates Palace
Cinestar 1
1pm
60 Mins
3pm
Page 19
AL2
115 Mins
86 Mins
96 Mins
Page 40
STUDENT SHORTS 2
MY HEART BEATS
ONLY FOR HER
EMIRATES
FILM COMPETITION 1
ALL MY MOTHERS
Cinestar 3
Page 26
EC1
Cinestar 4
Cinestar 5
MH2
Page 38
S22
12pm
1pm
12:45
1:00
1:15
1:30
2pm
Cinestar 2
1:15
EMIRATES
FILM COMPETITION 3
2pm
Page 41
3pm
110 Mins
EC3
3:15
4pm
5pm
6pm
7pm
4:00
VALENTINO:
THE LAST EMPEROR
96 Mins
Page 28
VA2
HELIOPOLIS
82 Mins
CV2
STRUGGLE
117 Mins
Page 38
Page 38
4pm
3:45
BEING HERE
4:15
124 Mins
Page 15
CARIOCA
NO2
C32
5pm
60 Mins
Page 19
BE2
Page 19
S11
PORT OF MEMORY
HUACHO
63 Mins
90 Mins
Page 13
HE1
Page 14
6:30
6:45
7:00
6pm
CR2
HU2
EARTH WHISPERERS
MOTHER EARTH
Page 22
PO1
73 Mins
Page 32
9:30
Page 10
IN1
93 Mins
+ The Sacrifice
17 Mins
Page 36
Page 35
BE1
Page 15
Page 24
12am
SD2
Page 22
ON1
Page 33
TRUE COLOR
9:30
Page 29
IN BERLIN
Page 17
LO2
Page 10
Page 21
YUKI & NINA
IB1
VJ1
112 Mins
+ Semolina Halva
11 Mins
Page 35
Emirates Palace
78 Mins
Page 29
11pm
YU1
PA1
Page 34
Thursday, October 15
Cinestar 1
Cinestar 2
Cinestar 3
Cinestar 4
Cinestar 5
Emirates Palace
Cinestar 1
STUDENT SHORTS 2
115 Mins
3pm
PORT OF MEMORY
1:15
1:30
2pm
63 Mins
EMIRATES
FILM COMPETITION 2
Page 38
S21
Page 40
Page 22
DOUBLE TAKE
CARIOCA
6pm
7pm
8pm
73 Mins
CR1
6:30
Page 20
DT2
6:30
THE TIME THAT
REMAINS
Page 26
EA2
MH1
Page 20
9:30
103 Mins
FR1
11pm
Page 09
OC1
Page 15
Page 38
89 Mins
NO1
Page 18
HE2
Page 24
7:00
95 Mins
048
AB1
GI2
2pm
Page 41
3pm
129 Mins
EC4
Page 32
78 Mins
+Turnout
15 Mins
Page 34
3:45
4:00
GO2
Page 24
VJ2
MILK
NO ONE KNOWS
ABOUT PERSIAN
CATS
HO2
CH1
Page 35
MI2
106 Mins
Page 15
Page 17
PLASTIC PLANET
WE1
Page 22
Page 33
155 Mins
DO1
Page 28
TA1
THIRD PERSON
SINGULAR NUMBER
10:00
SUMMER BOOK
SCHEHERAZADE,
TELL ME A STORY
92 Mins
123 Mins
134 Mins
AG1
Special Programs
9:30
9:45
Page 36
SU2
Page 11
www.meiff.com
Page 16
SC1
10:00
COOKING WITH
STELLA
Page 13
6pm
7pm
PANDORA’S BOX
112 Mins
ON2
Page 35
PA2
8pm
9pm
9:15
9:15
109 Mins
124 Mins
KERALA CAFE
10pm
FAREWELL
113 Mins
103 Mins
TH1
6:30
PRECIOUS
9:45
WI2
PL1
9:00
TALES FROM
THE GOLDEN AGE
Page 29
5pm
81 Mins
52 Mins
40 Mins
Page 23
NC1
BU2
ON THE WAY
TO SCHOOL
7:15
WE WERE
COMMUNISTS
TC2
Page 13
104 Mins
6:45
7:00
135 Mins
WILD GRASS
91 Mins
84 Mins
60 Mins
4pm
4:00
BURIED SECRETS
BURMA VJ
GOODBYE,
HOW ARE YOU?
Page 21
TRUE COLOR
7:00
102 Mins
Page 25
FR2
12pm
EMIRATES
FILM COMPETITION 4
6:30
HONEYMOONS
12am
Galas
1:15
4:15
92 Mins
119 Mins
S12
DOT
THE AGE OF STUPID
103 Mins
Page 13
52 Mins
9:45
NORTHLESS
THE FRONTIER
GANDHI
ABOUT ELLY
Page 20
9:15
9:30
OCEANS
STUDENT SHORTS 1
CHAMELEON BEACH
9pm
10pm
4:15
6:00
92 Mins
THE GIFT OF
PACHAMAMA
3:30
4:00
7:00
THE FRONTIER
GANDHI
86 Mins
TI1
Page 32
Cinestar 5
1pm
1:00
Page 33
Cinestar 4
3:00
82 Mins
6:45
MY HEART BEATS
ONLY FOR HER
105 Mins
Page 16
EARTH WHISPERERS
MOTHER EARTH
80 Mins
60 Mins
Page 19
4:30
PO2
EC2
103 Mins
3:45
Cinestar 3
102 Mins
101 Mins
HELIOPOLIS
5pm
Cinestar 2
12:45
4:00
DO2
12am
1pm
4pm
9pm
10pm
DOT
Tuesday, October 13
12pm
WR2
9:45
92 Mins
PANDORA’S BOX
TC1
BL1
Page 36
GI1
9:45
96 Mins
128 Mins
8pm
WI1
9:15
10:00
135 Mins
BLUE
WRONG ROSARY
93 Mins
102 Mins
81 Mins
7:00
104 Mins
THE GIFT OF
PACHAMAMA
ON THE WAY
TO SCHOOL
7pm
WILD GRASS
7:00
7:15
9:00
BURMA VJ
84 Mins
Page 22
BU1
MY2
94 Mins
WR1
91 Mins
Page 13
THE LONG NIGHT
10:00
Page 19
PR1
6:30
78 Mins
121 Mins
Page 26
9:15
124 Mins
WRONG ROSARY
MY ONLY SUNSHINE
EA1
BEING HERE
9:30
THE INFORMANT!
BURIED SECRETS
7:00
109 Mins
7:15
THE SHOCK
DOCTRINE
6:30
PRECIOUS
9:00
108 Mins
11pm
STUDENT SHORTS 1
93 Mins
6:30
9pm
10pm
4:15
THE COVE
103 Mins
SHORTS PROGRAM 3:
6:00
103 Mins
8pm
4:00
Page 20
NORTHLESS
3:45
CO2
Page 25
Page 26
FA1
PR2
Page 25
KE2
11pm
12am
049
Friday, October 16
12pm
Emirates Palace
Cinestar 1
1pm
Cinestar 2
12:45
LAST RIDE
LA2
3:30
Page 33
4:15
CHAMELEON BEACH
105 Mins
IB2
52 Mins
Page 16
TI2
6pm
8pm
Page 32
6:15
NO ONE KNOWS
ABOUT PERSIAN
CATS
6:30
THE WARRIOR
AND THE WOLF
106 Mins
Page 17
WA1
106 Mins
Page 15
10pm
11pm
TALES FROM
THE GOLDEN AGE
4:00
Page 28
86 Mins
155 Mins
Page 31
CH2
THE AGE OF STUPID
89 Mins
NC2
HIPSTERS
AG2
93 Mins
Page 25
FA2
7:00
7:15
THE MESSENGER
Page 33
FO1
112 Mins
92 Mins
Page 11
YU2
SCHEHERAZADE,
TELL ME A STORY
9:30
OCEANS
125 Mins
CA1
LH1
ME2
9:00
9:15
HI1
Page 11
Page 09
9:45
134 Mins
103 Mins
120 Mins
Page 10
113 Mins
YUKI & NINA
Page 18
Page 14
FAREWELL
FOOD, INC.
Page 29
CAPITALISM:
A LOVE STORY
TA2
4:00
“LAUGH TILL IT
HURTS”
6:30
6:45
9pm
9:30
Organized By
3:30
THE TIME THAT
REMAINS
96 Mins
7pm
Sponsors
PL2
3:45
IN BERLIN
Page 21
52 Mins
3pm
5pm
Cinestar 5
PLASTIC PLANET
2pm
4pm
Cinestar 4
1:00
100 Mins
Page 14
Cinestar 3
THIRD PERSON
SINGULAR NUMBER
SC2
Presenting Sponsor
Official Airline Sponsor
123 Mins
OC2
Page 16
TH2
12am
Saturday, October 17
12pm
Emirates Palace
Cinestar 1
1pm
Cinestar 2
Cinestar 3
1:00
1:00
FOOD, INC.
106 Mins
Page 33
2:30
3pm
Cinestar 5
THE WARRIOR
AND THE WOLF
93 Mins
2pm
Cinestar 4
FO2
Page 17
Gold Sponsors
WA2
CAPITALISM:
A LOVE STORY
120 Mins
4pm
Page 10
5pm
3:30
CA2
3:45
HIPSTERS
ABOUT ELLY
125 Mins
Page 14
119 Mins
HI2
Page 24
AB2
6pm
7pm
8pm
9pm
10pm
Supporting Sponsors
8:00
THE MEN WHO
STARE AT GOATS
90 Mins
Page 9
MG1
11pm
12am
Galas
050
Special Programs
Let’s Tent
Join us everyday from noon to 2 am on the main
terrace at the Emirates Palace.
www.meiff.com

Festival Guide Middle East International Film

Transcription

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