This year, to end the UK/UAE Year of Culture and Collaboration, the 14th Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) and the British Council have joined forces to bring us the UK Spotlight programme.
The initiative aims to bridge the gap between the UK and the Arab film markets, and to connect filmmakers from both worlds to set the stage for future collaborations.
As part of the UK Spotlight, a select few prestigious films are screening at Diff, including opening night film Hostiles, by Scott Cooper, starring Christian Bale. Additional film gala screenings include On Chesil Beach and Goodbye Christopher Robin.
A further eight British films will be screened at the Cinetech, the Dubai Film Market’s hub where regional and international film distributors, sales agents and festival programmers can view films for sale or distribution.
Abrar Hussain is one of the British filmmakers highlighted at Cinetech, with his film One Day in the Haram. It is an unprecedented look inside Masjid Al Haram (The Great Mosque of Makkah), the largest mosque in the world.
“The films that took place in the Haram were always from the perspective of the pilgrims, but no one had ever done a film from the perspective of the workers who were there day in and day out,” said Hussain, who also said the team was granted an incredible level of access. “We were granted so much access that people from NatGeo and BBC, who have made documentaries in the Haram, were shocked”.
Apart from the films screening at Diff, there is also a panel discussion with industry experts. And a closed networking session at the Writers’ Room, an initiative for individuals to expand their networks across cultures.
Author Paul Blezard said of the British industry and its artists: “I think British films are so great because they’ve got a solid foundation of decades and decades of astounding literature to work with.”
He also attributes this to British artists’ acute understanding and exploration of the human condition. The British industry has also often spawned some of the greatest and most influential artists of our generation, from commercial titans like Ridley Scott, to influential auteurs like Stanley Kubrick.
