Middle East films are a stronger presence than ever at Toronto

This year, the Toronto International Film Festival has its strongest yet line-up of films featuring characters appearing in or from the Gulf. Indeed, the Middle East as a whole features strongly in Hollywood blockbusters and documentaries, as well as small independent pictures and gallery films.

Having its world premiere is Mohamed and Atia Al Daradji's In My Mother's Arms, about an orphanage in war-torn Baghdad. It's the eagerly awaited second film from the Son of Babylon director, and it'll be interesting to see if Al Daradji manages to build upon the success of his first film or suffers from the difficult second album syndrome.

Another must see is Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, the latest from the prolific Swedish director Lasse Hallström. The adaptation of a book about a stuffy British fisheries scientist who is asked by a sheikh to introduce salmon to the highlands of Yemen stars Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt.

One of the most intriguing strands in Toronto this year will take place in a gallery, in which artist filmmakers show their wares in a studio context. Alongside Mr Brainwash, made famous last year as the protagonist in Banksy's excellent Exit Through the Gift Shop, is Road Movie by Elle Flanders and Tamira Sawatzky.

The series of short films will be presented on six double-sided walls examining the contemporary life of Palestinians living in the West Bank. Filmed in stop-motion animation, with a screen set-up suggesting the political wall surrounding Palestine, Road Movie is full of arresting and vibrant images, from the deserts of the Jordan valley to the perimeter of Jerusalem.

The relationship between the Arab world and Hollywood is explored in Ridha Behi's Always Brando. After meeting Anis Raache, a young Tunisian actor who bears a stunning resemblance to the young Marlon Brando, Béhi decided to write a film casting the two. Brando was interested, and the two met and reworked the script. Brando, however, died before shooting started and the film became a chronicle of their relationship.

Vimukthi Jayasundara's Mushrooms is about a Bengali architect who works in Dubai. Upon his return to Kolkata. he discovers that life is the same, but somehow different in this tale of estranged brothers.

Death For Sale is set on the northern edge of Morocco and is about a robbery that goes awry. Director Faouzi Bensaidi's noir features corrupt officials, smugglers and extremists.

One of the features of recent French cinema has been the reappraisal of the relationship between France and Algeria in the Second World War. Films such as Rachid Bouchareb's Days of Glory have led the way. Free Men, directed by Ismael Ferroukhi, is the latest addition and is set in German-occupied Paris in 1942. The story follows Younes, an Algerian black marketeer who agrees to spy on a mosque suspected of helping resistance fighters and Jews.

Paris also looms large in Tawfik Abu Wael's Last Days in Jerusalem, which is about a Palestinian couple who are about to leave Jerusalem for a new life in the French capital. Iyad is a surgeon and Nour a young actress with an intellectual bourgeois background - attractive, independent and whimsical. On the way to the airport, a news report of a terrible accident means Iyad must return to work, delaying their departure. Abandoned by her husband yet again, Nour starts to question the move and their marriage.

Escape from the Middle East is also a theme of Ghassan Salhab's The Mountain, which has its Canadian premiere in Toronto. It's about a 40-year-old Beiruti who sets out for the airport but then seemingly abandons his plans at the last moment to head to the mountains in the north of Lebanon.

The past catching up with the present is also a feature of Ozcan Alper's Future Lasts Forever. A young ethnomusicologist leaves Istanbul and heads to the south-east of Turkey to work on her master's thesis, gathering a collection of Anatolian elegies and stories. During her stay in Diyarbakir, she finds herself having to confront an agony from her own past in the middle of an continuing, unnamed war.

There are also two intriguing stories set in Morocco: Omar Killed Me by Roschdy Zem, about a gardener sentenced to death for the murder of a wealthy widow in Marseille, and Rough Hands, directed by Mohammed Asli, about an illiterate hairdresser who lives with his blind mother. He leads a double life as a middleman for criminals.

Also set partly in the Middle East is Killer Elite, an action film starring Jason Statham, Robert De Niro and Clive Owen. It sounds like unadulterated fun, as Statham is charged with saving his mentor De Niro from the clutches of the evil Owen.

Other American world premieres to look out for are Moneyball, a baseball drama starring Brad Pitt, Jim Field Smith's Butter, set in the world of competitive butter carving, Luc Besson's The Lady about the Burma/Myanmar democracy movement and Peace, Love & Misunderstanding starring Jane Fonda.

Also of major curiosity value is Michael Winterbottom's Trishna, an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles, set in contemporary India and starring Freida Pinto and Riz Ahmed, together with Breakaway, set in an Indo-Canadian community in Toronto, about a young Indian who wants to become an ice hockey star. The cast includes Rob Lowe, Camilla Belle and Akshay Kumar.

Two films that had their world premieres at the Venice Film Festival last week will also play in Toronto. Susan Youssef's modern retelling of the Majnun Layla love story Habibi Rasak Karban and Tahrir 101: The Good, the Bad and the Politician, the documentary on the overthrow of President Mubarak in Egypt.

Another fascinating strand at Toronto will be the talks scheduled. In addition to Francis Ford Coppola discussing his career and new movie Twixt, there will be a discussion between the director Deepa Mehta and the author Salman Rushdie. Mehta is currently adapting Rushdie's Booker Prize-winning second novel, Midnight's Children. The film has just finished shooting, so it's not ready to be shown, but the pair will show preview scenes of the forthcoming movie.

The Toronto International Film Festival opens today and will continue until September 18

The specs

Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo

Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km

Price: from Dh285,000

On sale: from January 2022

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
not be younger than 25 years old
not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially

While you're here

National Editorial: World trade has started to look inwards

Callum Patton: ‘Arrival of Asian century’ has eclipsed US

Robin Mills: Importance of China's energy markets clearer

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.

The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?

My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.

The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.

So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.

Baby Driver

Director: Edgar Wright

Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Lily James

Three and a half stars

Keep it fun and engaging

Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.

“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.

His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.

He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.

Farage on Muslim Brotherhood

Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.

if you go

The flights

Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.

The hotel

Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.

The tour

Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg

On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

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

Groom and Two Brides

Director: Elie Semaan

Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla

Rating: 3/5

La Mer lowdown

La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.

The Matrix Resurrections

Director: Lana Wachowski

Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick

Rating:****

While you're here

Kareem Shaheen: Even a pandemic could not unite today's America

Michele Wucker: The difference between a black swan and a grey rhino

Robert Matthews: Has flawed science and rushed research failed us?

While you're here

Gavin Esler: Will 2021 be Boris Johnson's worst year?

Thomas Harding: US relations with Europe could change

Brodie Owen: How England’s new lockdown rules work

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.”