A DIFF-ERENT IMPRESSION

Impressions of the Second Session of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF'05)

By Hazim Bitar

Don't let the extravagance and worldliness of the Dubai International Film Festival 2005 fool you. The red carpets this year, at the grandiose Jumeirah Resort, rolled out for directors of multi-million-dollar feature films as well as the young indie filmmakers from the International Solidarity Movement who could not afford a suit for the opening ceremony.

The weight of the festival programming tilts heavily in favor of issue-oriented and humanitarian films. It would have been easy to start rumors about the festival programmers being card-carrying members of Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch. And judging from the good turnout, the audiences may have been on it too.

Jesting aside, the readiness of the DIFF to tackle controversy, albeit tactfully, shows how confident the small emirate of Dubai has become and how far it's willing to go in expanding the space for freedoms of expression, even if for the duration of the festival, for starters, to further bolster its increasingly central role as a regional media hub and, soon, regional cinema center.

The opening gala of the DIFF was reserved for Paradise Now. This controversial film, directed by Hani Abu-As'aad, a "48 Arab" (in reference to Arab natives who live within Israel), tells the story of two Palestinian friends from the city of Nablus and their journey from common folks into feda'eyeen (suicide militia). Without delving into the hubbub generated by the film, the choice of Paradise Now to kickoff the festival reinforces the programmers' push to assert a no-nonsense identity for the DIFF as well as to demonstrate a rootedness in the region with all the good, the bad, and the tragic which engulfs it. Of course it helps that the opening film has been awarded quite a few accolades by other film festivals.

Combining cinema and human interest stories had helped bridge the gap between culture and compassion. For the DIFF, the no-holds-barred documentary selection does more than shock the viewers out of complacency. These films put us in touch, using the language of cinema, with the reality of the human condition in places that do not typically make it to our daily menu of headline news and small talk. In this category, there is Czech Dreams, by Vit Klusak and Filip Remunda, about the largest-ever consumer hoax since the fall of communism in this east European country; A Decent Factory, by Thomas Balmes, speaks to the exploitation of poor workers for the benefit of multinationals; Echoes of War, by Joop Van Wijk, documents the scars of war suffered by children in regions of conflict; but special mention goes to Stroke, by German filmmaker Katarina Peters.

Stroke is a documentary that I almost avoided for personal reasons having to do with the premature loss of loved ones. Yet with an invitation from the filmmaker that I could not decline, I attended the screening. Shot mostly with a compact Sony TRV900 (DV) video camera, this film is more than a daily diary of tragedy and trauma. It's about the triumph of love and friendship over seemingly insurmountable challenges. But above all, the film celebrates one of the most noble of ideals: the power of commitment, to stay together for better or for worse.

The lineup of Arabic films for the Arabian Nights program is guaranteed to make you lament the sorry state of Arab satellite televisions with all their inanity and frivolity. Arabian Nights delivers a one-two punch with a powerful issue-oriented film selection such as Dunia (Egypt), Memory in Detention (Morocco), Improvisation (Palestine), Waiting (Palestine), Massacre (Germany), October-17-1961 (France), Another Day (Lebanon/France), Zozo (Sweden/UK/Denmark/Lebanon), and more.

The Arabian Shorts program ups the ante this year with a collection of mostly indie shorts. Not surprisingly, the films that moved the audiences into continuous applause were low-budget documentaries such as Internationals in Palestine, filmed by two activists from the International Soldiery Movement Alberto Arce and Maria Moreno. With the not-so-distant memory of fallen ISM activists, killed by the Israeli military, the raw film does not lack the element of suspense.

Other short documentaries such as Women in Struggle by Buthaina Khoury introduces women who made great sacrifices for freedom and how they manage to cope with life after torture in Israeli prisons. Women of the Algerian War by Djamel Sillani also points to the role of women in the Algerian resistance against French occupation, arguably the bloodiest foreign intervention in the region costing the Algerians over a million lives (followed by the US/UK invasion and sanctions against Iraq which claimed over half a million Iraqi lives, mostly children, according to UN studies and media reports.)

I would pay a handsome sum to understand why Arab satellites continue to bombard the audiences with third-rate soap operas, endless re-runs of pre-historic Arabic movies, and third-rate Hollywood films even when there is so much viable Arabic cinema being produced that is entertaining, engrossing, and educational (God forbid).

On the strictly entertainment side, I focused on East Asian cinema. I have been waiting for a while to see Wong Kar-Wai's 2046, the pseudo-sequel to his brilliant romantic film In the Mood for Love. Well, to understand 2046 you have to follow these instructions: take In the Mood for Love, multiply by 2.87, divide by 307.16, add Pi and there you have it. Say what? That's exactly what I said too. And with cinematographer Chris Doyle and Kar-Wai parting paths, according to rumors, I can't wait to see Kar-Wai's next film, which I code-named Without Chris Doyle. Hope to screen it at DIFF '06. Doyle is credited with crafting the unique visual style of Kar-Wai's films.

The festival's East Asian cinema program included films such as the North Korean martial arts film the Dualist, by filmmaker Lee Myung-Se, with its colorful cinematography an meticulously choreographed action scenes; Chinese film Peacock, by Gu Changwe, with its ingenuous screenplay which turns the stories of three quirky children of an average Chinese family into a captivating narrative; and for the child in me, I had the pleasure of screening the animated feature Howl's Moving Castle by Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki, the talent behind the internationally-renowned animated feature Spirited Away.

I do not mean to diminish the importance of other films at the DIFF. Simply reading the film titles and their respective press reviews is enough to fill one with regret at the lack of time (and funds) required to screen my "short" list of 35 or so films. Even after bartering limited supplies of movie tickets with favors, I still had to relay on the trusted opinions of a few film critics as we exchange notes in the hope of narrowing down our film selections for other film festivals. Except that my list has expanded during the DIFF.

It's too early to judge the DIFF's place in the totem pole of international and regional film festivals. But many of the rough edges evident last year have all but disappeared in 2005. Last year, being the first session of the DIFF, was marred by organizational issues and even accusations of unequal treatment of guests based on ethnicity. (Ironically, it was the Arab guests who reportedly were on the receiving end of the mistreatment.) This year...not a word on this issue. Let's chalk it up to growing pains.

Some of the endearing qualities of the more established film festivals are still missing at the DIFF. From Sundance to Cannes, and from Carthage to Tangier, the "grassrootness" of such festivals goes hand in hand with the rough and tumble culture of filmmaking. I call this the "folksy" factor. A lesser corporate image will not hurt the festival, considering all what's going for it.

The absence of affordable hotel accommodations within range of festival theaters has been an issue for colleagues who would have liked to attend the DIFF. At about 800 euros a suite, Jumeirah Resort is priced out of reach for most people I know, including truly yours. The festival can be more accessible to a larger segment if some of the screenings are to be held in theaters located in Dubai proper.

To its credit, the festival organized a series of free open air screenings at the Dubai Media City park. It was a sight to behold, with hundreds of DMC-branded beanbags scattered allover the lush grass. The large audience turnout at the screenings was noteworthy, despite the significant time/distance from the DMC to nearby population centers.

Where the DIFF differs from other festivals is in its offering of a significant selection of contemporary Arab cinema, unmatched by any of the festivals I have attended. All of this, without sacrificing the international mix.

The festival's mission is to build bridges between East and West. It seems additional bridges have been built between East and East. I was surprised by the number of Arabic feature films that were part of the DIFF program. I simply did not know so many even existed. Most were 2005/2004 productions. Did I heap enough scorn on Arab satellites for feeding their audiences mind-numbing content?

But one key reward of being part of such a cultural demonstration is the opportunity to lose one's self in a whirlpool of human creativity delivered in concentrated doses called movies. Along the way, we rub elbows with the genius and the glamorous and, on rare occasions, possibly the two in one. No offense to anyone I met there...I hope.

With each region of the Arab world having staked its share of festivals, it's nice to see the Gulf region fill the void with the DIFF. And the speed by which the DIFF has been transformed from an item of curiosity last year and into an event we mark on our calendars is noteworthy. When you consider the collective experience of the DIFF management and programmers...well...luck has little to do with it.

Note: The second session of the Dubai International Film Festival was held in Dubai, UAE, from December 11th until the 17th.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Hazim Bitar, is a communications and information management systems consultant. Bitar is the founder and coordinator of the Amman Filmmakers Cooperative (AFC), a non-profit cultural initiative aimed at promoting independent Arab cinema.

http:/JordanianFilms.com