What not to miss at Abu Dhabi Film Fest 2013

The first Hollywood-directed Emirati thriller, a heart-wrenching British drama that’s getting a lot of Oscar buzz, a Chinese Cannes film festival winner, a comedy featuring a recently-deceased Hollywood star, a film with a multi-A-list cast led by Jennifer Aniston and a segment to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema: it’s all coming together this year when the 7th Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF) opens on October 24 at Emirates Palace in the capital.

A highlight of the festival will be Djinn, the Emirati thriller directed by Hollywood horror film expert Tobe Hooper, and entirely set in the UAE. Produced by Abu Dhabi’s Image Nation, the film’s world premiere will fall under the festival’s Showcase segment, along with the comedy Enough Said, starring the late James Gandolfini, and Life of Crime, a crime comedy featuring Aniston, Mos Def and Tim Robbins, which is also the festival’s opening film. Dame Judi Dench’s widely acclaimed film Philomena, which premiered and won Best Screenplay at the Venice Film Festival, will also be screened under the Narrative Feature Competition.

This year’s Black Pearl Career Achievement Award honoree, the Palestinian actress Hiam Abbas, can be seen in Peace After Marriage (a.k.a Only in New York), about a marriage of convenience between a Palestinian man and an Israeli woman, which will have its world premiere at ADFF.

More than 166 films will be screened across 10 days, including the Emirates Film Competition, which will award filmmakers from the UAE and the Gulf in multiple categories including Short Narrative Compeition, Short Documentary Competition, Student Short Narrative Competition and Student Short Documentary Competition.

ADFF will also celebrate Indian cinema, which turned 100 this year, with a special segment. Films to be showcased include the seminal 1957 film Pyaasa, directed by and starring the late Guru Dutt, and classic films in Bengali (Subarnarekha, 1965, by Ritwik Ghatak), Assamese (Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai, 1987) and Urdu (Garam Hawa, 1973). [See box for more].

A special award called Child Protection Award, supported by Abu Dhabi’s Child Protection Centre has been instituted this year, which will present cash prizes to the Best Film and Best Script for raising awareness about abused or neglected children. Films in this category include Siddharth, about a poor man who travels across Indian in search of his missing son; Before Snowfall, about an Iraqi-Kurdish boy who sets of on a journey to look for his sister who’s fled her wedding and Hide Your Smiling Faces, about two young boys who are forced to grow up after a neighbourhood tragedy in rural America.

To give you a teaser of what’s to come, here is tabloid!’s what-not-to-miss list at this year’s ADFF:

Djinn (Showcase)

Cast: Aiysha Hart, Khalid Laith, Saoud Al Kaabi

Director: Tobe Hooper

Definitely the highlight of the festival, this Image Nation-produced film has been many years in the making. Helmed by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Hooper, the supernatural thriller follows an Emirati couple who move to Ras Al Khaimah and discover that their neighbours may not be humans. This is the first major project featuring a Hollywood cast and crew to be entirely shot and based in the UAE. Something to be proud of for sure.

Fevers (Narrative Feature Competition)

Cast: Slimane Dazi, Didier Michon, Farina Amrouche

Director: Hicham Ayouch

A recipient of ADFF’s Sanad film fund, Moroccan director Ayouch’s next feature is about a man who is just released from prison, and who is looking to reconnect with a son he’s never met before. Known for his stark portrayals and character observations, Ayouch is definitely a filmmaker to watch out for.

Philomena (Narrative Feature Competition)

Cast: Judi Dench, Michelle Fairly, Steve Coogan

Director: Stephen Frears

This drama is worth waiting for, not only because of its Oscar buzz, but because of Dame Dench’s performance, which many critics have called one of her career best. Following an acclaimed run on the festival circuit the drama tells the story of a woman who goes looking for a son she was forced to give up in a convent. We’ll be sure to pack a lot of tissues.

Siddharth (Narrative Feature Competition & Child Protection Award)

Cast: Rajesh Tailand, Tannishrha Chatterjee, Anurag Arora

Director: Richie Mehta

Best known for his feature film Amal (2008), Canadian director Mehta returns to New Delhi for this sad tale about a man who repairs chains and zippers for a living, who sets off on a journey across India to look for his missing son. Also starring indie favourite Chatterjee, the film was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival recently.

A Touch of Sin (Narrative Feature Competition)

Cast: Zhao Tao, Jiang Wu, Wang Baiqing

Director: Jia Zhangke

Nominated for the coveted Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival, this Chinese crime drama went on to win the Best Screenplay. Allegedly based on true events and shot across China, the film was recently approved to release in the country despite critics, surprising critics who pointed out its graphic scenes might cause problems. Tao, the film’s lead, is director Zhangke’s wife.

The Double (New Horizons Competition)

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Noah Taylor

Director: Richard Ayoade

A comedy, this film, based on a Russian novella, is about a man who is driven to desperation after finding out his life has been taken over by a doppelganger. Eisenberg, who was brilliant in The Social Network, has already been praised for his performance. We can’t wait to see him go all schizo again.

Villa 69 (New Horizons Competion)

Cast: Khaled Abou Naga

Director: Ayten Amin

Another recipient of the ADFF’s Sanad film fund, well-loved Egyptian actress Lebleba stars alongside indie favourite Khalid Abou Naga in this social drama about a solitary man whose life is disrupted by characters from his past. This will be the film’s world premiere.

These Birds Walk (Documentary Feature Competition and Child Protection Competition)

Directors: Omar Mullick and Bassem Tariq

Already a favourite among documentary film circles, this thought-provoking film, about runaway children in Karachi, Pakistan, is set in the Edhi Home and Ambulance Centre, a shelter for homeless children set up by a man who was once a street kid. Filmed over three years, the film is a poignant exploration of questions about friendships and yearning and where home really is.

The Contagious Apparitions of Dambarey Dendrite (Child Protection Award)

Directors: Bibhusan Basnet and Pooja Gurung

A short film, this cute Nepali film is about a street kid called Dambarey, the leader of a gang who is in a constant trance induced by inhaling Dendrite, an Indian adhesive brand. Dambarey and his gang fall victim to the effects of substance abuse, which leads them down a dangerous path.

Enough Said (Showcase)

Cast: James Gandolfini, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Catherine Keener

Director: Nicole Holofcener

One of the last films the late Gandolfini did before his sudden death in June, this romantic comedy is about a divorced woman who decides to pursue the man she’s interested in, only to find out he’s actually her new friend’s ex-husband. Because we loved Louis-Dreyfus so much in Veep, we can already tell this Gandolfini partnership will be electric.

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival will run from Octover 24 to November 2. For a full schedule and how to buy tickets to the various screenings, go to abudhabifilmfestival.ae