Entertainment | Film & Cinema
East ... and west
DIFF Salutes honorees Oliver Stone and Nabil Al Maleh discussed a range of issues concerning filmmakers in the West and the Arab world at a press conference held on the closing day of DIFF 2006.
- By Jyoti Kalsi, Gulf News Report
- Published: 23:36 May 3, 2009
DIFF Salutes honorees Oliver Stone and Nabil Al Maleh discussed a range of issues concerning filmmakers in the West and the Arab world at a press conference held on the closing day of DIFF 2006.
Asked if he would consider making a film about Iraq and the Abu Ghraib prison incidents, Stone said that this was a subject for another generation to address.
"I am a dramatist, not a journalist. I will not make a movie about Iraq just because it is in the news. I have been drawn to certain political issues because there were human stories with dramatic content to tell and I approach them as a dramatic historian."
Egg on face
The well-known Hollywood filmmaker expressed concern that though there is a relentless bombardment of news today, few people truly understand the actual situation.
"All my political films have been done after a period of reflection. Since 9/11 many books have been published that offer deeper insights into every aspect of the event. If I had made my film World Trade Center immediately after the event I would have egg on my face," he said.
"The film is based on the stories of two of the survivors and we had to wait till they and their families had recovered enough to be able to talk about it. I feel pleased and encouraged that the film has been received well around the world cutting across national and cultural barriers," he added.
Difficulties
Al Maleh spoke about the difficulties Arab filmmakers have to face.
"Besides problems with funding and lack of infrastructure, we have to deal with political, religious and social censorship. But despite unimaginable problems there are courageous filmmakers who have overcome these barriers to say what had to be said," remarked the noted Syrian director.
Stone added that although there is no official censorship in the West it does exist in a subtle form.
"I have personally experienced it with my TV short Commandant about Fidel Castro, which was not aired due to protests by people who had not even seen it.
"Also I was unable to make a film about Martin Luther King because I was labelled a conspiracy theorist after my film JFK," he said.
Al Maleh commended DIFF for giving Arab filmmakers an opportunity to showcase their work. "Most Arab films are not shown in the Arab world though they are made for an Arab audience and address issues relating to us, so I am happy to see so many films from different parts of the Arab world screened at DIFF.
"It is wonderful that we now have a place where we can show that besides oil we also have an abundance of creativity. I am optimistic that Dubai will be the one place in this vast Arab space where a thinker can think and express himself — the place that will provide oxygen to a suffocating Arab film community," he added.
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