Lebanese director Mahdi Fleifel cleaned up at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival Black Pearl Awards scoring a hat-trick for his documentary A World Not Ours.
An intimate tale following exiled Palestinians displaced in conflict, Fleifel made a touching speech dedicating his wins to his recently deceased father. “I’m sure he’s watching me tonight,” he told an audience at the Emirates Palace auditorium. “I thank Abu Dhabi for helping me make this film.”
A World Not Ours won Fleifel the ADFF Fipresci Jury Award, the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (Netpac) Award and the Black Pearl Award for Best Documentary Film.
Coming Forth by Day, directed by Hala Lotfy (Egypt, United Arab Emirates) also picked up the ADFF Fipresci Jury Award.
More than 80 feature films and 84 short films from 48 countries made up this year’s in competition sections across documentary, feature and short categories.
The Black Pearl Award for Best Narrative Film went to Araf/Somewhere in Between, directed by Yesim Ustaoglu from Turkey. A Special Jury Award Gebo and the Shadow, directed by Manoel de Oliveira and starring legendary Italian actress Claudia Cardinale who received a standing ovation from the audience as she collected her award. Best Director from the Arab World in the narrative section went to Nouri Bouzid for Hidden Beauties. Best Actor and actress — in partnership with Jaeger LeCoultre — was scooped by Gael García Bernal in No (Chile, USA) and Franziska Petri, in Betrayal (Russia).
True to form, the often-outspoken Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, star of Atiq Rahimi’s The Patience Stone, picked up her award for Best Actress before mentioning former ADFF director saying: “We all miss Peter Scarlet. The festival is going ahead despite regional tensions in the Middle East. It is an honour for me to be here.”
Earlier in the night the red carpet was awash with faces from the regional film world. Rafic Ali Ahmad, Mohammad Mansour, Karim Morani, Zahra Morani, Emirati director Nawaf Al Janahi, Mohammad Al Daradji, Francoise Bonnot and Vimuktih Jayasundra of the New Horizons jury
Atiq Rahimi, Afghani director, said the festival had been a “very positive experience” overall.
Asked his most memorable moment of the sixth Abu Dhabi Film Festival, the director said there was too much to mention but added he would never forget his stay at Emirates Palace. “It’s the only hotel I have been lost in so many times. It is like a giant maze.” Rahimi, wearing his signature hat, was joined on the red carpet by actress Golshifteh Farahani who looked stunning in a long black dress, film producers Elaheh Sahraie Rad and Frederique Dumas.
Annemarie Jacir, director of Palestinian Oscar hopeful, When I Saw You, took Best Film from the Arab World. Jacir, who earlier in the night spent time on the red carpet prior to the award show giving interviews to local and international media, said: “I would like to thank ADFF and Sanad. The film wouldn’t exist without you.” Also present for When I Saw You were actors Ruba Bilal and Khalil Hareb as well as producers Osama Bawardi and Rami Yasin.
Indian stars Kamal KM and Geetanjali Thapa, director and actress of Mumbai-based movie I.D, walked the carpet before a very well-dressed actor Javed Jaffry and famous director Farah Khan had the cameras flashing their way.
“I love coming to the Abu Dhabi festival,” he said. “There are some great films up for awards this year. We have our favourites and will be hoping they win big.”
Emirati director Nawaf Al Janahi played an important role in this, the sixth edition of the annual festival, as a jury member. “It’s been really interesting to be a part of the process,” he said. “The conversations among jury members have been very interesting. A few have become a little heated.”
US-based Syrian director Sam Kadi, in town with his latest film The Citizen starring Khalid Nawaby, was “thrilled” as his film had enjoyed the only sell-out night of the entire festival. “What a wonderful experience,” he said.
The final award of the evening went to the Showcase section, a category judged solely by the audience who have the chance to vote for their best films throughout the festival. The 2012 Abu Dhabi Film Festival Audience Choice Award went to Saving Face, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Daniel Junge.
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ADFF: The winners
Narrative Feature Competition
This competition centres on exciting vision and original storytelling in narrative feature films by international filmmakers. In 2012, the Narrative Feature Competition presented a selection of 15 films representing 18 countries. The jury awarded the following Black Pearl Awards:
- Best Narrative Film: Araf/Somewhere in Between, directed by Yesim Ustaoglu (Turkey, Germany, France)
- Special Jury Award: Gebo and the Shadow, directed by Manoel de Oliveira (Portugal, France)
- Best Director from the Arab World: Nouri Bouzid for Hidden Beauties (Tunisia, France, UAE)
- Best Actor: Gael García Bernal in No (Chile, USA)
- Best Actress: Franziska Petri, in Betrayal (Russia)
The Jury
PRESIDENT: Shabana Azmi, India
- Cedomir Kolar, Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Samir Fareed, Egypt
- Niki Karimi, Iran
- Esmail Ferroukhi, Morocco
New Horizons Competition
Held for the third time this year, this awards section focuses on the work of first- and second-time directors from around the world, featuring fresh styles and challenging ideas in narrative films. In 2012, 15 films representing 16 countries competed in the New Horizons Competition. The jury awarded the following Black Pearl Awards:
– New Horizons: A Respectable Family, directed by Masoud Bakhshi (France, Iran)
- Special Jury Award: Beasts of the Southern Wild, directed by Benh Zeitlin (USA)
- Best Film from the Arab World: When I Saw You, directed by Annemarie Jacir (Jordan, Palestine, UAE)
- Best Director from the Arab World: Hala Lotfy, for Coming Forth By Day (Egypt, UAE)
- Best Actor: Soren Malling, in A Hijacking (Denmark)
- Best Actress: Golshifteh Farahani, in The Patience Stone (Afghanistan, France, Germany)
- Special Mention: A Hijacking, directed by Tobias Lindholm
The Jury
PRESIDENT: Françoise Bonnot, France
- Giorgio Gosetti, Italy
- Vimukthi Jayasundara, Sri Lanka
- Mohammad Jabarah Al Daradji, Iraq
- Nawaf Al Janahi, United Arab Emirates
Documentary Feature Competition
The Documentary Feature Competition comprised 12 films from 14 countries. The jury awarded the following Black Pearl Awards:
– Best Documentary Film: A World Not Ours, directed by Mahdi Fleifel (Lebanon, UK, UAE)
- Special Jury Award: Stories We Tell, directed by Sarah Polley (Canada)
- Best New Director: Lyubov Arkus, for Anton’s Right Here (Russia)
- Best Film from the Arab World: Cursed Be the Phosphate, directed by Sami Tlili (Tunisia, UAE, Lebanon, Qatar)
- Best Director from the Arab World: Wael Omar and Philippe Dib, for In Search of Oil and Sand (Egypt, UAE)
The Jury
PRESIDENT: Miguel Littin, Chile
- Haile Gerima, Ethiopia
- Carles Bosch, Spain
- Mohammad Hefzy, Egypt
- Safinez Bousbia, Algeria
Showcase
The audience takes on the role of the jury in this competition, which is open to all films in the Showcase section, as well as the Opening Night film. The 2012 Abu Dhabi Film Festival Audience Choice Award goes to:
- Saving Face, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Daniel Junge (Pakistan, USA)
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ADFF FIPRESCI Award 2012
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) was created in 1930 to promote and develop international film culture and safeguard the professional interests of film critics and journalists. With the protection of the freedom and ethics of the film press as its main objective, the federation’s worldwide network of national committees also works to expand the idea of cinema as an art form as well as a tool of cultural education. The International Film Critics’ Award was established to promote film art and support innovation in cinema.
The ADFF FIPRESCI jury focused on Arab films in the Narrative Feature Competition, Documentary Feature Competition and the New Horizons Competition.
The jury awarded the ADFF FIPRESCI Award 2012 to:
- Coming Forth by Day, directed by Hala Lotfy (Egypt, United Arab Emirates)
- A World Not Ours, directed by Mahdi Fleifel (Lebanon, UK, United Arab Emirates);
THE JURY
PRESIDENT: Barbara Lorey de Lacharriere, France
- Fernando Salva, Spain
- Essam Zakarea, Egypt
- Houda Ebrahim, France
- Premendra Mazumder, India
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ADFF NETPAC Award 2012
NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) is the leading platform for the discovery and promotion of Asian cinema. To acknowledge and recognise the emergence of new cinematic talent among Asians, it brought the NETPAC Award to international film festivals. As more Asian films are selected for exhibition to world audiences, a yardstick for quality was necessary that matched the competitive spirit fuelling the creative urges of young Asian filmmakers. The NETPAC Award is now given at 28 international film festivals in 21 countries on five continents.
The jury awarded the ADFF NETPAC Award 2012 to:
- A World Not Ours, directed by Mahdi Fleifel (Lebanon, UK, United Arab Emirates)
THE JURY
PRESIDENT: Prasanna Vithanage, Sri Lanka
- Nick Palevsky, United States of America
- Gautaman Bhaskaran, India
