This month promises to be a great one for lovers of European cinema as the debut European Film Screenings programme brings the best movies from across the continent to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
The week-long event, which begins on September 18 in the capital and the following day in Dubai, is something of a first. It is being led by the Italian Embassy in the UAE and an EU delegation to the UAE and presented in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF), the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) and 12 other European embassies.
This means that film buffs can look forward to movies from Italy, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Poland, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria.
The programme will open with the Italian director Poalo Sorrentino's La Grande Belleza, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Academy Awards.
It also features highlights such as Julien Temple's cut-and-paste homage to the English capital London: The Modern Babylon; Andrzej Wajda's biopic about Lech Walesa, the Polish politician and human-rights activist, Walesa: Man of Hope; and a personal favourite, Wolfgang Becker's Good Bye Lenin!
Meanwhile, ADFF and DIFF will select some of the best Emirati shorts from their extensive archives, to screen in Abu Dhabi and Dubai alongside each day’s European movies.
Among the selections are Nayla Al Khaja's critically acclaimed Arabana (September 23, Dubai) and Hani Kichi's global-award-winning animation Ostora (September 23, Abu Dhabi).
All of the European movies will screen in both cities. The programmes are the same but will screen in Dubai at the Mercato Mall cinema a day after the Abu Dhabi screenings, which will be at Vox Cinemas in Marina Mall.
Another intriguing feature of the programme is a panel discussion titled Cinema Co-Production: Europe and the Way To Go, which will be held on September 20 in Cinema 3 at Abu Dhabi’s Marina Mall. The panel will be chaired by Alessandra Priante, the Italian cultural representative and Eurimages board member, and feature representatives from across Europe including members of the production teams of the Austrian, French and Swedish films that are screening. Local industry figures will also take part, including Nawaf Al Janahi, the filmmaker and Emirati Cinema Campaign founder, DIFF’s Samr Al Marzooqi and ADFF’s Teresa Cavina.
The panel will look at ways in which cross-border co-productions have succeeded in Europe and whether the model could be applied to Arabian Gulf states.
“What better way to celebrate the European Union than cinema?” says Priante, who is coordinating the screenings programme. “Having worked in the sector for so long at European and Council of Europe level, the cinema is one of those areas where cooperation between member states is not only possible but actually encouraged by each of the governments.
“There’s a push through the European Convention for cooperation that means that as a filmmaker, as well as looking for funding from within my own country, I’m able to seek technical, artistic and financial cooperation outside my country through the existing treaties and the film will be recognised as national in all those countries participating, which gives immense added value as the different input that international co-production brings makes the film much more international and makes it appeal to different markets.
“I’m a firm believer that when European co-productions are done well they really work and I’m convinced the Arabian Gulf countries can learn from the model. I really think the UAE can take the lead here.”
All screenings are free and as an added incentive to audiences, voting slips will be handed out to determine an Audience Choice Award winner. One lucky voter drawn at random from the completed slips will win two tickets to Rome, courtesy of the sponsor Etihad Airways.
• The screenings will take place at Vox Cinemas in Marina Mall, Abu Dhabi (September 18 to 24) and at Mercato Mall, Dubai (September 19 to 25). For the full schedule, visit European Film Screenings on Facebook
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Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
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Martin Sabbagh profile
Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
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Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
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Sector: Entertainment
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Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
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Timeline
1947
Ferrari’s road-car company is formed and its first badged car, the 125 S, rolls off the assembly line
1962
250 GTO is unveiled
1969
Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder, acquiring 50 per cent of the company
1972
The Fiorano circuit, Ferrari’s racetrack for development and testing, opens
1976
First automatic Ferrari, the 400 Automatic, is made
1987
F40 launched
1988
Enzo Ferrari dies; Fiat expands its stake in the company to 90 per cent
2002
The Enzo model is announced
2010
Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi
2011
First four-wheel drive Ferrari, the FF, is unveiled
2013
LaFerrari, the first Ferrari hybrid, arrives
2014
Fiat Chrysler announces the split of Ferrari from the parent company
2015
Ferrari launches on Wall Street
2017
812 Superfast unveiled; Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary
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