Hany Abu-Assad made history seven years ago when he became the first Palestinian director shortlisted for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. After some debate over whether it would be credited as representing "Palestine" or "The Palestinian Authority", the Academy settled on "The Palestinian Territories" – and although the film, Paradise Now, didn't scoop the prize, it did pick up a Golden Globe in the same category.
Now, Abu-Assad, who was born in Nazareth and has lived in the Netherlands since the 1980s, has a second shot at winning one of Hollywood's most sought-after statuettes. Among the 76 films that were submitted to the longlist for the 2014 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, his latest movie, Omar, was chosen as Palestine's contender. It had already won the Special Jury Prize in its category at Cannes and went on to pick up Best Film and Best Director at the Dubai International Film Festival's Muhr Awards just a few weeks ago.
Omar tells the story of a young, loved-up Palestinian who plots with his two best friends to shoot an Israeli soldier and ends up being captured and convinced by an Israeli spy to inform on them. Strangely enough, Israel's submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Bethlehem, directed and co-written by the first-timer Yuval Adler, also tracks the relationship between an Israeli military officer and a Palestinian informant.
Although it won Best Film in its category at Venice, Bethlehem didn't make it through to the second stage of the Oscar race; Omar was among the nine films that did. After the announcement in late December, Abu-Assad told The Times of Israel that he was surprised that both weren't chosen. "It's a good movie," he said of Bethlehem. "I'm not happy with it politically, but politics shouldn't decide whether a movie is good or not."
At this point, there's good news and bad for Abu-Assad's chances of coming out on top. The good is that – unlike last year, when Michael Haneke's Amour was a clear front-runner, with dozens of film festival trophies already bestowed on it pre-Oscars – there's no one film that's dominating the conversation. (The acclaimed French movie Blue Is the Warmest Colour won't be eligible until 2015, because of its late release date in France.)
The bad is that there are plenty of other strong contenders. Paolo Sorrentino's The Great Beauty (Italy) has been repeatedly compared with Federico Fellini's best work by critics and won Best Film, Director, Actor and Editor at the European Film Awards. The Hunt (Denmark) by the Dogme 95 co-founder Thomas Vinterberg, has a weapon in the form of its lead actor, Mads Mikkelsen, whom panel judges will recognise as the eponymous anti-hero of the NBC TV show Hannibal. Mikkelsen has already won Best Actor for The Hunt at Cannes.
Then there's The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium), which won Best Screenplay and Actress awards at Tribeca and features a charismatic, bluegrass-playing husband and wife; and The Grandmaster, by the Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar-wai, who previously made the internationally adored Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love. Others on the list come from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Germany and Cambodia.
In a strong year for Middle Eastern film, what's surprising is that Omar doesn't have any competition from movies made closer to home. Two films that were expected to make it onto the preliminary shortlist were The Past (Iran) by Asghar Farhadi, who won an Academy Award for A Separation in 2012, and Wadjda (Saudi Arabia) by Haifaa Al Mansour, which has generated an extraordinary amount of buzz in the US for a foreign language film. Omar is the sole remaining Middle Eastern (and Arabic-language) nominee in a European-dominated shortlist.
This shortlist will be whittled down further by a panel, to five, on January 16, when it will be handed over to Academy members to vote on, with the winner announced at the Oscars ceremony on March 2. If Omar makes it through, it will be the first Palestinian entry to do so since Abu-Assad's last film, Paradise Now.
In previous years, members of the Academy had to watch all five films in a theatre to cast a vote: this year, they are being sent screeners to watch at home, which is making some participants anxious. There’s nothing to stop a member watching only one or two of the films and ticking the ballot anyway. It’s a move that may skew the results towards films that are better publicised or that feature famous stars.
"I know it's just one big casino," Abu-Assad told The Times of Israel, admitting that he was already nervous about the result. "I wish I could close my eyes and just wake up and it's finished."
artslife@thenational.ae
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Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
The specs
Price, base: Dh228,000 / Dh232,000 (est)
Engine: 5.7-litre Hemi V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 552Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.5L / 100km
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Match info
Uefa Nations League Group B:
England v Spain, Saturday, 11.45pm (UAE)
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