A drama film shot in secret to evade government censorship that highlights the moral dilemmas faced by those caught in the web of Iran's capital punishment machine won the Berlin Film Festival's Golden Bear award on Saturday.
There Is No Evil explores the moral dilemmas thrust on those who carry out executions and the consequences of defiance for them and those around them.
Director Mohammad Rasoulof, whose film shows that there are costs to both bravery and cowardice, was not allowed to leave Iran to pick up the award: he faces propaganda charges over his earlier films.
His daughter Baran, who stars in one chapter of the four-part film, picked up the award on his behalf in the German capital and later held up before the cameras a smartphone on which the director addressed a news conference by video call.
"This film is about people taking responsibility," he said. "I wanted to talk about people who push responsibility away from themselves and say that the decision is taken by higher powers. But they can actually say no, and that's their strength."
Each of the film's chapters depicts a man chosen to carry out an execution: some refuse, some obey. But whatever path they choose, the consequences, good and bad, for them and their loved ones, echo down the decades.
Shot indoors, at night, or in remote rural locations to avoid catching authorities' attention, the film carried risks for cast and crew who had themselves taken a decision to "put their lives in danger to make this film," said producer Farzad Pak.
The jury president, British actor Jeremy Irons, hailed the way the film showed "the web an authoritarian regime weaves among ordinary people, drawing them towards inhumanity," noting that the film's lessons about individual responsibility went far beyond Iran.
The second-place Silver Bear went to Eliza Hittman's Never Rarely Sometimes Always, the story of two teenagers from the rural United States defying anti-abortion activists, poverty, physical and mental harassment, and expensive healthcare to obtain a pregnancy termination.
Korea's Hong Sangsoo won a best director Silver Bear for The Woman Who Ran, a miniature about female friendship, loneliness, men who intrude, and a cat who, filmed washing itself and yawning, left audiences in stitches of laughter.
See the full list of winners of the International Jury
Golden Bear for Best Film: There Is No Evil by Mohammad Rasoulof
Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize: Never Rarely Sometimes Always by Eliza Hittman
Silver Bear for Best Director: Hong Sang Soo for The Woman Who Ran
Silver Bear for Best Actress: Paula Beer in Undine
Silver Bear for Best Actor: Elio Germano in Hidden Away
Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Bad Tales by the D'Innocenzo Brothers
Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: Jurgen Jurges for Dau. Natasha
Silver Bear 70th Berlinale: Delete History by Benoit Delepine and Gustave Kervern
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Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Game is on BeIN Sports
