Gulf Film Festival 2012: Director Katy Chang

Film: Glitter Dust: Finding Art in Dubai

When: Tomorrow, 9.30pm

Where: Grand Cinema 10 (Festival City)

What inspired you to make this film?

The city itself is hugely inspiring and attracts so many people from all over the world with stories. Filming Glitter Dust was a great way to understanding and celebrating differences. I've talked to a lot of artists and curators, visited many studios, attended great art openings and events. The art is inspiring!

What challenges did you face while filming it?

Everyone was very helpful and understood the concept of pitching in to make an indie documentary. But we faced the intense summer heat and sand! Just trying to take care of the camera and sound equipment and making sure we could get everything right technically was a heavy task.

What were your thoughts behind making this film?

I call Glitter Dust a "drawcumentary", to play off the fact that it's a documentary but integrates hand-drawn animation with live footage. It's more of a visual essay about the art scene in Dubai. The film is a cinema verite style that lets the story unfold organically.

Where else would you screen your film?

We're going to screen it in international film festivals and art fairs. The artists featured in the film come from every continent except Antarctica (though a penguin makes a cameo), so we'd like to show the film as broadly as possible. And especially reach out to those who do not realise how much art and culture affect society.

And it's not just society here in Dubai; it's all modern societies. We must not overlook the power of the cultural capital.

Since commercial cinema is an easier way to success and fame why did you choose this theme for your movie?

I didn't get into documentary filmmaking for the money, that's for sure! But making this film was a story that needed to be told. I have always been interested in making art that looks at art. Documentaries can have all the action, horror, romance, and comedy of commercial cinema but they are unique in that they are grounded in reality and truth.

Don't miss it

Glitter Dust: Finding Art in Dubai screens Friday at 9.30pm, Grand Cinema 10.