At a Thursday night gala held at Dubai’s One & Only Royal Mirage and attended by jury head Emily Blunt, Kuwaiti filmmaker Abdullah Boushahri was presented with a $100,000 award as part of the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff).
Boushahri beat Saudi filmmaker Ahd Kamel and Emirati director Saeed Salmeen with his film The Water. His script chronicles a love story that occurs in the midst of a drought in Kuwait, taking place at the start of the last century.
Before his big win, Boushahri told tabloid! he didn’t rate his chances in terms of a percentage.
“Really just being here, being nominated in this platform, is such a tremendous honour. Having my script read by Emily Blunt and Marc Foster, I’m a big fan,” Boushahri shared on the red carpet. “It’s such an international platform — it sets up the filmmaker and their project, and it puts a spotlight on you.”
Boushahri said the win for his film signifies progress. “It will really launch the film and its journey. Every film is just a journey. You need that ignition at the beginning, that energy, that push,” he added.
The prize, which helps developing projects by providing seed money, comes courtesy of a Swiss luxury watch brand and Diff. This year marks its third run. As for additional funding for his winning script, Boushahri hopes to get support from investors in his home country.
Blunt fought for the winning film in a final discussion with the jury. Ahead of the announcement, she told tabloid! the first big push she received as a young actress in the industry was from actress Judi Dench.
“The first job I ever did was a play in the West End, and Judi Dench was in the play with me. I was 18, and really green — had not done anything,” she said. “I was so nervous and I remember the first day of rehearsals, she came up to me, and she was just so kind. I think she knew that I was so fearful, and she just said, “If anyone messes with you, you just come straight to me and I’ll deal with them.” So I think I learnt a lot about how you can be gracious and still be good and still have fun.”
Singer Aloe Blacc, an IWC brand ambassador, was also in attendance to perform a few songs for the crowd. He told tabloid! his earliest memory of a film having an impact on him.
“It must’ve been either Poltergeist or ET. Both of them about extraterrestrial or supernatural events. I think Poltergeist scared me to death — I thought that there was going to be some sort of objects or furniture moving in my house. And ET, because I really connected with the young character and I felt sad when ET had to go,” he said.
As for whether or not $100,000 was enough to fund a film, Blunt said “you need every single penny.”
“I think the prestige that you get from being named the winner, or even if you’re the runner-up, I think the fact that you’ve been singled out as being the filmmakers who are ones to watch, it attracts people, it attracts financing. So all in all, it’s a win,” she said.
I Need a Dollar singer Blacc added that you need $0 to start a film. “Start with a good idea,” he said.
