The director of the hit Liam Neeson film Taken, Pierre Morel, has helmed an Emirati action flick scheduled to be released on November 25 across the GCC.
Called Al Kameen (The Ambush), the film is based on the true story of a daring mission by a group of Emirati soldiers who set off to rescue their compatriots trapped by rebel fighters in a mountainous valley.
Entertainment company Image Nation Abu Dhabi, which is co-producing the film with AGC International, an arm of AGC Studios in the US, released the first trailer for the film on Monday. It comes after a 42-second action-packed teaser was released in October, which showed Emirati soldiers in the midst of a fierce gun battle as insurgents surround them.
Written by Brandon Birtell (Furious 7) and Kurtis Birtell (Medal of Honour) in close consultation with the soldiers involved in the real-life ambush situation that inspired the plot, Al Kameen was entirely shot in the UAE. It is one of the biggest Arabic feature films produced in the GCC, with more than 400 cast and crew, Image Nation Abu Dhabi said. The lead cast is made up of all Emirati actors, including Marwan Abdullah Saleh, Khalifa Albhri, Khalifa Al Jassem and Mohammed Ahmed.
“Al Kameen tells the incredible story of a small group of soldiers demonstrating courage, heroism and brotherhood in unimaginable circumstances. Working with a fantastic cast and crew in the stunning natural landscapes of the UAE, we have created a truly compelling story that is true, both visually and culturally, to its real-life inspiration," Morel said.
Hana Kazim, manager of local film and television at Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Al Kameen's development executive, compared the film to Hollywood action flicks Black Hawk Down, Saving Private Ryan and Dunkirk.
"The film is unlike anything we have done before in the UAE – the production featured the largest-ever cast and crew for an Arabic-language production in the GCC, bringing together local, regional and international talent to tell this inspirational narrative," she said.
Image Nation Abu Dhabi said a team of Emirati filmmakers and cultural consultants were also involved in the production.
Morel's 2008 film Taken stars Neeson as an ex-CIA agent who mercilessly hunts down human traffickers who've kidnapped his daughter and her friend while on holiday in France. The film was a massive global hit, raking in $226.8 million against a production budget of $25 million. The French director's last film was the Jennifer Garner vigilante action movie Peppermint, released in 2018.
Besides Emirati films, Image Nation Abu Dhabi has produced a number of international hits, including the Oscar-winning 2011 drama The Help and the Denzel Washington movie Flight in 2012.
Al Kameen is in cinemas across the region from Thursday, November 25
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Tamkeen's offering
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- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
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- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
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Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Results:
Men's 100m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 15 sec; 2. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 15.40; 3. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 15.75. Men's 400m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 50.56; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 50.94; 3. Henry Manni (FIN) 52.24.
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)
Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Results
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $36,000 (Dirt) 1,600m, Winner: RB Money To Burn, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Turf) 2,410m, Winner: Star Safari, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.40pm: Meydan Trophy – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (T) 1,900m, Winner: Secret Protector, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 - Group 2 (TB) $293,000 (D) 1,900m, Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.50pm: Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Zakouski, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) $65,000 (T) 1,000m, Winner: Motafaawit, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
