Kaled Mohamad Sidik's films have won numerous awards at festivals, including Cannes and Venice, since first venturing into filmmaking in the early 1960s.
The 62-year-old Kuwaiti writer, producer and director is in the UAE for Image Nation Abu Dhabi's Bopcorn & Sawaalef film club event tomorrow night at NYU Abu Dhabi, where he will talk about his work and experiences in the industry, both regionally and internationally.
Sidik, who has been called "the spiritual father of Arabian Gulf cinema" and was honoured for his lifetime achievements at the Gulf Film Festival in 2009 , is best-known for Kuwait's first feature film, The Cruel Sea. The controversial film exploring Kuwait before the discovery of oil won nine international awards, including the The Lion of St Mark Award and Fipresci International Critics Award at the Venice Film Festival.
Sidik plans to share some of his experiences as a filmmaker with the audience, hoping to give film enthusiasts more insight into the industry.
"Forty years later and The Cruel Sea is still being criticised," he said. "Yes, oil changed things, but we should not be ashamed of our past."
Sidik jokes about how surprised he was when the film suddenly took off.
"It was around 1971, and with The Cruel Sea, I was running around all the festivals for two years until I was exhausted," he said. "I believe I'd also travelled around the world twice in just 22 days. People used to look at Arabic movies as all being like the popular Egyptian style - but then, suddenly, there was this new filmmaker with a different approach."
During the Bopcorn & Sawaalef event, he will also share stories from his career, including a memorable incident at one of the Venice Film Festivals he plans to share only with attendees.
"Being called the 'spiritual father of Arabian Gulf cinema' makes me feel old and believe me, I'm not that old," he says laughing. "But, it's honestly an honour."
Image Nation is also hosting an invite-only masterclass lunch for Sidik, with local film students and film makers.
For Sidik, the importance of storytelling is conveying messages, be they social, historical, cultural, religious or political.
"I don't like to do the typical 'cops and robbers' type of films, people already know them. Audiences need information and they like to see different worlds," he says.
The Image Nation Bopcorn & Sawaalef film club event takes place tomorrow at 6pm, NYU Abu Dhabi
* Maey El Shoush
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
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 National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Naga
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
%E2%80%98White%20Elephant%E2%80%99
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