• The main programme
All films will be screened first at Novo Cinemas, World Trade Center Mall, Abu Dhabi, and a day later at Novo Cinemas in Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai. Tickets for the free screenings are available on a first-come, first-served basis on each day.
Koza
The European Film Screenings opens with Slovakia's official entry to the 2016 Academy Awards. The debut fiction feature from hard-hitting documentary filmmaker Ivan Ostrochovský (Velvet Terrorists), Koza is a gritty portrait of a former Olympic boxer forced back into the ring.
• Abu Dhabi, October 19, 8pm; Dubai, October 20, 8pm
Comme un avion
A heart-warming French comedy-drama from writer-director-star Bruno Podalydès, about a 50-something graphics artist who has always dreamed of flying an airmail plane. One day he assembles a kayak, which he thinks looks like an aircraft’s fuselage, and sets off on a voyage.
• Abu Dhabi, October 20, 7pm; Dubai, October 21, 7pm
The Snake Brothers
Winner of Best Czech Film at this year’s Czech Lion Awards, filmmaker Jan Prušinovský also picked up Best Director, and this edgy drama is about two brothers, Viper and Cobra, who deal with their dissatisfaction at small-town life in different ways.
• Abu Dhabi, October 20, 9pm; Dubai, October 21, 9pm
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
This typically barmy, surrealist work is the latest bold statement from veteran Swedish filmmaker Roy Andersson. A bizarre, blackly comedic parable, it wraps his "existential trilogy" that began with Songs from the Second Floor in 2000. The winner of the Venice Film Festival's top prize, the Golden Lion, in 2014, this is an absolute must-see.
• Abu Dhabi, October 22, 9pm; Dubai, October 23, 9pm
The Lobster
Colin Farrell stars with Rachel Weisz in the first of a double-header of deliciously offbeat dark comedies. The Irish offering is set in a dystopian universe where single people are turned into animals of their choice if they fail to find love. Acclaimed Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, of Dogtooth fame, took home the Jury Prize at Cannes last year for this distinctly singular creation.
• Abu Dhabi, October 22, 7pm; Dubai, October 23, 7pm
Modris
This year’s Latvian entry for the Oscars is about the titular antihero, who is a 17-year-old with a gambling addiction, a father in jail he has never met and a strained relationship with his mother. First-time feature director Juris Kursietis has picked up a number of awards, including Best New Director at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.
• Abu Dhabi, October 23, 7pm; Dubai, October 24, 7pm
Goodnight Mummy
This tense, multi-award-winning thriller from directors Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, is about twin boys who are unable to recognise their mother after she undergoes cosmetic surgery. The film was Austria’s entry for this year’s Oscars.
• Abu Dhabi, October 23, 9pm; Dubai, October 24, 9pm
Mia Madre ≥
Nanni Moretti, the Palm d'Or-winning Italian director behind 2001's The Son's Room, was again nominated for Cannes' top prize last year for Mia Madre, which stars John Turturro. It is about a director who goes through an existential crisis while working on a film and dealing with the loss of his mother.
• Abu Dhabi, October 24, 7pm; Dubai, October 25, 7pm
La Isla Minima ¬
Also known by the English title Marshland, this Spanish thriller – about two ideologically opposed detectives sent to investigate the murder of two teenage girls – picked up numerous awards for director Alberto Rodríguez (and comparisons to hit US TV show True Detective).
• Abu Dhabi, October 24, 9pm; Dubai, October 25, 9pm
La Supplication
Also known as Voices from Chernobyl, the sole documentary in the festival features testimony from survivors and observers of the catastrophic nuclear disaster, in what was then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, in the Soviet Union, which happened 30 years ago this year. It was made by veteran Luxembourgish director Pol Cruchten.
• Abu Dhabi, October 25, 9pm; Dubai, October 26, 9pm
Arabian Nights Volume 1: The Restless One
The first part of Miguel Gomes’s six-hour, three-part experimental quasi-documentary fantasy epic. Conceived as a response to the austerity measures that have gripped Portugal in the aftermath of the financial crisis, this bloated work is brilliant, beguiling and infuriating. Part two of the trilogy was Portugal’s entry for the Oscars.
• Abu Dhabi, October 25, 7pm; Dubai, October 26, 7pm
Miasto 44
This war movie from director Jan Komasa – the title of which translates as City 44, and is also sometimes known as Warsaw 44 – takes place during the German occupation of Poland. Depicting the heroic but tragic Warsaw Uprising of 1944, the film won four awards at the Polish Film Awards and Polish Film Festival.
• Abu Dhabi, October 26, 7pm; Dubai, October 27, 7pm
Men & Chicken
EFS closes with this lighthearted Danish comedy from prolific writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen about two outcast brothers who discover their family secrets.
• Abu Dhabi, October 26, 9pm; Dubai, October 27, 9pm
• Arab cinema
All of the Arab films will be screened only at Novo Cinemas, Dubai Festival City
Let Them Come
This French co-production, from director Salem Brahimi, explores Algeria’s dark decade of the 1990s through an adaptation of Arezki Mellal’s family-chronicle novel. It was the winner of the Special Jury Prize in the Muhr Features category at last year’s Dubai International Film Festival.
• October 21, 9pm
Abdullah
Emirati filmmaker Humaid Al Suwaidi’s debut film, which had its premiere at last year’s Diff, takes its name from the central character, who grows up in a conservative family struggling to hide his love of music.
• October 23, 9pm
Very Big Shot
This fiery, funny thriller is about a small-time Lebanese drug dealer who hires a filmmaker to manipulate the public. The work of first-time feature director Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, it boasts a soundtrack from musician, entrepreneur (and MusicHall founder) Michel Elefteriades.
• October 24, 9pm
The Curve
Three displaced souls – a hermetic Palestinian, a talkative divorcee heading to Syria, and a Lebanese TV director – embark on a journey together across Jordan in a Volkswagen minivan. Directed by Rifqi Assaf.
• October 25, 9pm
Al Medina
Omar Shargawi’s second feature is about a man who returns to his father’s hometown, in an unnamed Arab nation, with his pregnant Danish wife in tow to start a new life.
• October 26, 9pm
• Family fun
Paddington
The first of four films screening during the event's first family day, this 2014 British adaptation of the stories by author Michael Bond about the huggable Paddington Bear was so successful when it was released that director Paul King has already signed up to make a sequel.
• Abu Dhabi, October 21, noon; Dubai, October 22, noon
Ricky Rapper and The Nighthawk
This is the latest in a series of film adaptations of hit Finnish children's book series Ricky Rapper, about a young, aspiring musician. It is the nordic nation's biggest cinema hit of this year so far.
• Abu Dhabi, October 21, 3pm; Dubai, October 22, 3pm
Meester Kikker
Based on the book of the same name, this Dutch film, from director Anna van der Heide, has been a domestic smash since its July release.
• Abu Dhabi, October 21, 5pm; Dubai, October 22, 5pm
Hördur - Zwischen den Welten
In this 2015 German film from director Ekrem Ergün, Aylin, a 17-year-old Muslim girl with roots in Turkey but now living in Germany, struggles to reconcile her two worlds after a run-in with the law, but then finds comfort in a horse, Hördur.
• Abu Dhabi, October 21, 7pm; Dubai, October 22, 7pm
• Films screen at Novo Cinemas in WTC Mall, Abu Dhabi, and a day later at Novo Cinemas in Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai
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.”
The Killer
Director: David Fincher
Stars: Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell
Rating: 4/5
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Mascotte Health
Started: 2023
Based: Miami, US
Founder: Bora Hamamcioglu
Sector: Online veterinary service provider
Investment stage: $1.2 million raised in seed funding
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Imperial Island: A History of Empire in Modern Britain
Author: Charlotte Lydia Riley
Publisher: Bodley Head
Pages: 384
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Getting there
Etihad Airways flies daily to the Maldives from Abu Dhabi. The journey takes four hours and return fares start from Dh3,995. Opt for the 3am flight and you’ll land at 6am, giving you the entire day to adjust to island time.
Round trip speedboat transfers to the resort are bookable via Anantara and cost $265 per person.
Dengue fever symptoms
High fever (40°C/104°F)
Severe headache
Pain behind the eyes
Muscle and joint pains
Nausea
Vomiting
Swollen glands
Rash
In Praise of Zayed
A thousand grains of Sand whirl in the sky
To mark the journey of one passer-by
If then a Cavalcade disturbs the scene,
Shall such grains sing before they start to fly?
What man of Honour, and to Honour bred
Will fear to go wherever Truth has led?
For though a Thousand urge him to retreat
He'll laugh, until such counsellors have fled.
Stands always One, defiant and alone
Against the Many, when all Hope has flown.
Then comes the Test; and only then the time
Of reckoning what each can call his own.
History will not forget: that one small Seed
Sufficed to tip the Scales in time of need.
More than a debt, the Emirates owe to Zayed
Their very Souls, from outside influence freed.
No praise from Roderic can increase his Fame.
Steadfastness was the Essence of his name.
The changing years grow Gardens in the Sand
And build new Roads to Sand which stays the same.
But Hearts are not rebuilt, nor Seed resown.
What was, remains, essentially Alone.
Until the Golden Messenger, all-wise,
Calls out: "Come now, my Friend!" - and All is known
- Roderic Fenwick Owen
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450+ employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
