Bonding over great movies

I caught up with the latest James Bond movie over the weekend; considering he began his career 50 years ago, Bond looked in remarkably good shape to me — and was having a tougher time than when I saw him three months ago escorting Her Majesty the Queen out of Buckingham Palace to the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Our favourite agent is back in his 23rd outing Skyfall which released in the UAE a few days ago and has lived up to the hype.

Fast cars, cool gadgets and pumping action — no wonder my Emirati friends thought this was a brilliant movie in the series.

The diplomatic community last week marked 50 years of James Bond in Dubai with a ‘Bond is GREAT’ night. There was an outdoor screening of Dr No — a tribute to the icon‘s original cinematic appearance as envisioned in the novels of Ian Fleming.

The event was headlined by an Aston Martin DB5 on display which we handed back afterwards in rather better shape than the one Bond used in his latest movie ...

Bond is a great British tradition that is relished the world over for his disarming of evil-doers and saving humanity. The thrill and action usually take place in all corners of the world, but one of the best things about Bond’s latest outing is that virtually every shot of Skyfall was filmed in the UK — from the hustle of the London Underground to the rolling hills of Scotland.

Great year

A whole island near Macao was even recreated at Pinewood Studios in Berkshire, on a stage named after Bond’s first producer Cubby Broccoli.

Even better, the 50th anniversary of this particular British icon comes in the same year as the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic and Paralympic Games — what an absolute blast 2012 has been for the UK! Skyfall’s release came hot on the heels of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival where a host of other British films were celebrated, including Everyday, Ginger and Rosa, Great Expectations, Lore, Trashed, A World Not Ours and perhaps best linked to this part of the world — a new digital restoration of Lawrence of Arabia which coincidently also turned 50 this year!

One of the great aspects of the Film Festivals in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai is the fantastic job they are doing in helping to create a vibrant film culture thorough the region that adds a pulse to Arab filmmaking.

Just shivering as I recall the terrifying images of Tom Cruise climbing down the Burj Khalifa in Downtown Dubai for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, I can see that the UAE is getting more used to the A list film scene as well as the more niche productions.

Celebrating creativity

At the same time the UAE winner of the British Council’s Young Creative Media Entrepreneur winner, Mohammad Al Otaiba, Director of ImageNation Abu Dhabi, has been in the UK on film tour programme of the UK media industry.

The award finds the best of creative entrepreneurs in the world of international media and it was a delight to learn that this year again the UAE was strongly represented by such a talented entrepreneur.

I know that Al Otaiba — a diplomat in his past life — has an extremely bright future ahead of him, as do so many other young Emirati men and women dedicated to developing the film and creative sectors here.

I am thrilled that a shared culture though art and film is being nurtured and celebrated as part of the wider UK and UAE partnership. I am sure this is a sign of things to come.

Dominic Jermey is the UK’s Ambassador to the UAE.