Nicolas Mouawad will be starring in an upcoming film by 'Mad Max' director George Miller. Hisham Abdel Khalek / Twitter
Nicolas Mouawad will be starring in an upcoming film by 'Mad Max' director George Miller. Hisham Abdel Khalek / Twitter
Nicolas Mouawad will be starring in an upcoming film by 'Mad Max' director George Miller. Hisham Abdel Khalek / Twitter
Nicolas Mouawad will be starring in an upcoming film by 'Mad Max' director George Miller. Hisham Abdel Khalek / Twitter

Film

Nicolas Mouawad to star in film by 'Mad Max' director George Miller

'This year keeps getting better for me,' the Lebanese actor said, speaking from the El Gouna Film Festival

The National

October 27, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Nicolas Mouawad is to star in an upcoming film by Mad Max director George Miller, the Lebanese actor revealed earlier this week.

Though not much is known about the film at this point, Mouawad said that he felt "blessed to be able to take part in such a movie with a legend like Miller", whose adventure animation Happy Feet won the 2007 Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film.

"I'm actually super happy and super excited to shoot it," he told Scoop Empire during a conversation at the El Gouna Film Festival. "Working with this person for me means the world, so I'm very happy I have the chance to do it."

Mouawad said that filming was scheduled to start in May this year. However, production for the film was postponed because of the pandemic. He did not reveal when filming is now due to take place, but he did say he was going to Australia to shoot the film.

"This year keeps getting better for me," Mouawad said. The film and television actor is one of the new hosts of the talk show A'det Regala's third season, which just debuted on OSN. The actor also recently joined the cast of the Egyptian thriller Mako.

The upcoming Miller film will not be the first English language film Mouawad has starred in. In 2019, he took on the role of the patriarch Abraham in the as yet unreleased David Helling film, His Only Son.

Mouawad began his career in television in 2003 as a host on the daily live show Rotana Cafe. His first acting opportunity came through Marwan Najjar's 2006 television drama Helm Athar.

Since then he has starred in a number of television films and series, including Zero 4 and Ruby, for which he won the Murex d'Or for Best Actor in 2013.

That same year, he also nabbed the Best Lead Actor Award at the London International Film Festival for his role in the 2012 drama Takaseem El Hob. He was also one of the stars featured in the 2013 Arabic version of Dancing With The Stars.

UK's plans to cut net migration

Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.

Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.

But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.

Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.

Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.

The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.

Up in the air
Related

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.”

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Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

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