A single animal can often communicate the splendour and suffering of the entire natural world.
Al Sidr Environmental Film Festival showcases several such remarkable creatures, among them a snow leopard, a falcon, a river otter, a hen and a donkey. Each of them provides a story that comes as a microcosm of the human relationship to the planet.
This interconnectedness is the prime focus of the festival this year, which is taking place under the theme All Living Beings. The three-day festival will be held at the Arts Centre at NYUAD from next Friday. It is being co-organised by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, with the support of the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi.
“I chose films that are independent, creative cinema but that can appeal to the wider public,” filmmaker and academic Nezar Andary, artistic director of Al Sidr Environmental Film Festival, says. “The programme shows our interconnection with animals. It’s not looking at these typical social impact documentaries. It's actually looking at how we connect to animals through our own perspective.”
International films and classics
Sarvnik Kaur’s Against the Tide (2023) will be the opening feature film of the festival. The documentary centres on two Koli fishermen in Mumbai whose friendship is threatened as the ecosystem they depend on is ruined. Other international screenings include Pema Tseden’s Snow Leopard (2023). The Tibetan film revolves around a father and his son who argue whether to kill the snow leopard that killed their sheep.
Kawasuo (2023) by Akihito Izuhara, meanwhile, is an animation that focuses on a Japanese river otter who tries to communicate with a girl as the world verges on a flood from the weight of consumer products. Another animation is The Red Turtle (2016), directed by Michael Dudok de Wit. The Oscar-nominated film is the only Studio Ghibli production to have been made outside of Japan. It tells the story of a man stranded on a desert island who meets a red turtle.
Other classics showing include Kes (1969) by British filmmaker Ken Loach. The film revolves around a 15-year-old boy in Yorkshire who is bullied at school and abused at home, but finds solace with Kes, his pet kestrel falcon. The film’s screening on October 25 will be followed by a discussion with Mark J Beech, a renowned palaeontologist and archaeologist who lives in the UAE. Beech will connect the film to the ancient falconry in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, John Abraham's Donkey in a Brahmin Village (1977) lays bare human injustice and cruelty. In the film, a college professor adopts a foal after its mother is killed, challenging the norms of his village by bringing it back to live with him. The donkey is soon viewed as the reason why unfortunate events start taking place in the village. The film is the closing feature of the festival and will be followed by a talk from NYUAD professor George Jose.
Regional and local films
The festival also boasts a robust local and regional selection this year, chiefly due to its collaborations. With Lebanon’s Reef Festival, the Al Sidr Environmental Film Festival will present two moving shorts. Tree of Hell (2024) begins with the director Raed Zeno discovering the tree growing in front of his house is an invasive species that threatens the diversity of Lebanon’s forest. Zeno begins to find out more about this tree with the help of a specialist when the country comes under attack by Israel.
“There’s an allegorical level to the film,” Andary says. “It makes a connection between what is an invasive species, and when you push that a little bit, you start thinking about [what] Lebanon and Palestine [are going through]. There’s a very strong metaphor in the film that connects to the situation in Lebanon right now.”
The other short film is Shift (2024) by Sherine Raffoul and Moussa Shabandar. It tells the story of Chadi Saad, a former hunter who has become a protector of wildlife in the Lebanese mountains. His shift in perspective was inspired by the beauty of the birds he once hunted, as well as philosophical readings.
The festival will also show two local short films developed by the UAE platform Climate Tribe. Co-creating with Nature (2024) explores designer Reema Al Mheiri’s practice of repurposing discarded fish scales as lamps, while The Beekeeper’s Journey (2024) follows ecologist Aisha Hareb Al Dhaheri as she seeks to raise awareness about the precious ecosystem of bees.
Talks and activities
While films are at the core of Al Sidr, panel discussions and activities are also highlights of the programme, and aim to hone an environmentally conscientious attitude.
On the eve of the festival, experts from the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi will speak about marine biodiversity in the UAE, highlighting its importance and the challenges it faces. The talk will take place at 6.30pm on Thursday in the Blue Hall at NYUAD.
The staff of the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, will examine narratives related to natural history. The panel will underscore the role of it in honing our sense of interconnectedness. It will take place at the same venue at 3pm next Sunday.
An immersive kayak experience is also taking place from 3pm on Friday, offering participants the chance to explore the mangrove forest on-site in Al Reem Island.
Al Sidr Environmental Film Festival is running at Arts Centre at NYUAD from October 25 to 27
