The Dublin Arabic Film Festival opened for its fourth edition on Friday night with a sold out screening of Sophie Boutros' topical comedy Solitaire – a wry look at the love/hate relationship and simmering tensions between long term 'frenemies' Syria and Lebanon, told through the medium of a family gathering – at the city's Irish Film Institute.
Speaking to The National ahead of the opening film, festival director Zahara Moufid said: "We want to show people in Ireland a whole variety of different Arabic countries, issues and culture so they know about all the different cultures in the Arab world. Sometimes you say Arab and they don't really know where it's from. The UAE and Morocco are very different, for example, we even speak differently."
She added: "People don't realise that 'Arab' can mean anything – Christian, Muslim, Jew or Druze and they can all live together happily."
Moufid admits that her hometown of Dublin isn't renowned as one of Europe's centres of Arab culture, but she says the local population are eager to learn more – as evidenced by the full house at the opening night screening: "Irish people are very curious," she says. "And the local Arab population loves it too, because we try and bring the very best movies from the Arab world."
She adds that Ireland is a unique position to understand prejudice against Arabs: "Irish people have had similar perceptions in the past with terrorism, so we hope to spread the same message that we're not all bad, just the same as they weren't all bad when they had their issues."
Despite the festival’s underlying cultural purposes, however, Moufid insists it’s not all about the ‘message’. Looking towards the rest of this year’s programme she notes: “We have more movies directed by women this year than ever before. We have movies about Palestine, but not that usual heavy political thing – it’s about surfing, we have a fun Syrian movie. We’re bringing that culture to the Irish people and showing there’s great talent in Arabic countries, not just the stuff you see on the news.”
President and curator of the festival, Jim Sheridan, the Oscar-nominated director of films including My Left Foot and In the Name of the Father, agreed that the festival has an important cultural and political purpose, though he revealed the original reasons for its creation where a little less highbrow: "It's funny. A friend of mine's son, who's a journalist, said to me why did you start the festival? I had all these reasons about sharing cultures, but that's just PR really, he says. "If I'm honest, Zahara came to me and said 'We have to start an Arab film festival, and we have to get Omar Sharif to come to Dublin', so that's what we did. I went and had dinner with him in Paris four years ago – the best lamb in Paris, he claimed. He came to the opening edition, and here we are, four years later."
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Read more:
Sophie Boutros talks about her new film Solitaire which is out this week
World premiere review: Regional race tensions play out in Lebanese comedy Solitaire
What to expect from Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival 2017
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* Look out for our full interview with Jim Sheridan in The National this week
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
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WHAT FANS WILL LOVE ABOUT RUSSIA
FANS WILL LOVE
Uber is ridiculously cheap and, as Diego Saez discovered, mush safer. A 45-minute taxi from Pulova airport to Saint Petersburg’s Nevsky Prospect can cost as little as 500 roubles (Dh30).
FANS WILL LOATHE
Uber policy in Russia is that they can start the fare as soon as they arrive at the pick-up point — and oftentimes they start it even before arriving, or worse never arrive yet charge you anyway.
FANS WILL LOVE
It’s amazing how active Russians are on social media and your accounts will surge should you post while in the country. Throw in a few Cyrillic hashtags and watch your account numbers rocket.
FANS WILL LOATHE
With cold soups, bland dumplings and dried fish, Russian cuisine is not to everybody’s tastebuds. Fortunately, there are plenty Georgian restaurants to choose from, which are both excellent and economical.
FANS WILL LOVE
The World Cup will take place during St Petersburg's White Nights Festival, which means perpetual daylight in a city that genuinely never sleeps. (Think toddlers walking the streets with their grandmothers at 4am.)
FANS WILL LOATHE
The walk from Krestovsky Ostrov metro station to Saint Petersburg Arena on a rainy day makes you wonder why some of the $1.7 billion was not spent on a weather-protected walkway.
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
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Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
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The Sand Castle
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Sunday:
GP3 race: 12:10pm
Formula 2 race: 1:35pm
Formula 1 race: 5:10pm
Performance: Guns N' Roses
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MATCH INFO
Watford 2 (Sarr 50', Deeney 54' pen)
Manchester United 0
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
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BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
