It was one of the more unusual film-festival openings.
Sydney’s Riverside Theatres had been set up to launch the 11th edition of the Arab Film Festival Australia. The posters and canapes were there, so was the gaggle of media who shot anything that moved.
But it was the people strolling down the red carpet that distinguished the event from its counterparts.
They weren’t your usual A-list film stars and attention-seeking local celebrities – instead, the guest list consisted of an eclectic bunch of film buffs, social workers, Arab community leaders, Australian government officials and members of the public.
Watching it all with approval was the festival co-director Mouna Zaylah. She explains that the nationwide boutique festival had always been defined by its inclusive vision.
“We have never put on this event for entertainment purposes only,” she says. “Instead, it is a major cultural event. Its main purpose, from the beginning, was to raise awareness and to provide a platform for the Australian community to engage with Arab culture and, hopefully, address any misrepresentation and stereotypes.”
A travelling cultural show
Run by the Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE), the Arab Film Festival Australia is one of the country’s most high-profile ethnic film events.
It’s a travelling Arab cultural roadshow, with the festival touring Australia’s eastern seaboard. After wrapping up in Sydney on Sunday, the festival will have a three-day stint in Melbourne, beginning today, before wrapping up in the Australian capital, Canberra, on August 31.
After the first edition in 2001, the festival was held only sporadically until 2006. When ICE took over its administration, it became an annual event and followed the vision of the festival directors – the Australian-born Lebanese duo Zaylah and Fadia Aboud.
The festival has since become an established feature of the Australian cultural calendar.
“It has been growing each year and we are glad that is connecting with the wider Australian community,” says Zaylah. “Not only that, the local Arab community here looks forward to it very much. It gives them the opportunity to see films that they perhaps couldn’t. It is also a chance for them to reconnect with their culture.”
The films
This year’s programme consists of six features and each screening is pared with a short film. The opening film has a UAE flavour. The Palestinian drama When I Saw You benefited from Abu Dhabi Film Festival’s Sanad fund during its development and post-production.
Other films on the bill include:
• The Iraqi drama Ten Years of My Life, which focuses on the last days of Saddam Hussein's regime.
• The dark Lebanese comedy Scheherazade's Diary, the tale of former female prisoners who set up a theatre company.
• The United, an Egyptian sports drama in which a retired football legend comes out of retirement to train a team of pan-Arab misfits for a match against the giants of France.
• May in the Summer, a Jordanian family drama.
• Factory Girl, an Egyptian melodrama about a young worker who falls in love with her boss.
“It’s not just about selecting any Arab films that we can find,” says Zaylah. “We are always trying to produce a strong selection of films that represent Arab life and expose the Australian audience to the diversity and complexity of Arab culture.
The guest of honour
The festival’s noble aim has won the support and backing of two Abu Dhabi institutions – Etihad and Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) are among the festival’s leading sponsors.
The former flew the Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri to Sydney as the festival’s guest of honour. The airline is also flying the lucky winner of an opening-night raffle to Abu Dhabi.
Bakri's visit to the festival follows in the footsteps of the Emirati filmmaker Ali F Mostafa, who made a guest appearance in 2010 to screen his debut feature City of Life.
“It is fantastic to be here,” says Bakri. “To travel this far and to share my story with different cultures, as well as the Arab community here, is really a privilege.”
Zaylah hopes Bakri’s attendance will inspire aspiring Arab-Australian actors.
“Saleh’s presence this year really made an impact on the youth,” she says. “It was a great chance for them to connect with him and realise that he is not just another actor on the screen. Of course, the Palestinian community came out in force and are also taking Saleh out for their own events, so that is a great experience for him as well.”
Bakri’s attendance has also made an impression on the local media, with the news website Yahoo!7 News dubbing him “the Brad Pitt of Palestine”.
The future
With TCA Abu Dhabi signing on as a festival sponsor this year, Zaylah says the festival can only get better.
Thanks to the new partnership, Aboud and another member of the festival’s selection committee will attend the Abu Dhabi Film Festival in October to source films for next year’s event.
“We are looking forward to it,” says Zaylah. “It will be a great chance to meet other people in the industry and share stories and experiences. We can’t wait to come to Abu Dhabi.”
• For more information on Arab Film Festival Australia, visit arabfilmfestival.com.au
sasaeed@thenational.ae
