The Dutch winner of the inaugural Samsung Short Film Contest, presented in partnership with the New York Film Academy Abu Dhabi and Diff, will have his short film screened at the Cannes International Film Festival in May.
Philip Rashid, known to many local film fans thanks to his role as choreographer in Hana Makki's autism documentary, As One, won the prize for his short Happy Birthday following a screening of all 15 films in contention for the prize at JBR's The Beach cinema on Friday, December 12.
“It’s quite an accomplishment and it’s not been easy, so I want to thank everyone for the opportunity to show my first film at an official festival. I’m definitely hoping to do more now. This is a great start and I’d love to follow up with great things with the people that believe in me.”
The runner-up prize went to Aamna Raffat Jahan for her film The Delivery Boy, which was inspired by the children's story Ali and his Camera by Raymond Pizante, while the audience choice prize went to Vikram Ahuja for Isabelle. The first- and second-place winners received Samsung equipment to help them with their future filmmaking endeavours.
The panel chief Nayla Al Khaja, who also mentored the filmmakers through the process, says of Rashid’s winning film: “The reason why we chose Philip was because he put a lot of time into making the film. There was a lot of thought behind his script, some gorgeous cinematography, it took place in one room and was very subtle. I think he’s at the very beginning of a very good career and hopefully this award will give him a push to go to Cannes and do a lot of networking and really give him a boost to make his next film, which hopefully will be even better.”
cnewbould@thenational.ae
'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai,
HBKU Press
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 0
Manchester City 2
Bernardo Silva 54', Sane 66'
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
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
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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