When the Abu Dhabi Film Festival launched its Child Protection Award last year, it set an important precedent. Major General Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, the chairman of the higher committee for child protection, stated at the time: “[The government is determined] to maintain the UAE’s position as a haven for civilisation and a role model in the region for its efforts to promote the protection and security of children through preventive and precautionary measures.”
This year’s second round of the awards sees 13 films in competition, and children have taken centre stage in many of the films on show. Here are some of the child actors we’ve enjoyed watching at the festival this year – many of whom were also in attendance on the red carpet for their film’s screening.
Milad Eghbali – The Street Urchin in A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Milad Eghbali was born in Paris, France, on July 1, 2004, the son of the Iranian pop singer Dariush and now lives with his family in California.
Milad is an accomplished musician who sings, plays the piano, guitar and drums. He's fluent in Farsi, French and English, and thanks to his father's fame, has travelled extensively for someone so young. Milad had already appeared in several commercials before he landed the A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night role, and says his philosophy is to have fun when he works.
Milad and his father are advocates for living and teaching the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Even at his young age, he realises the importance of this and encourages others to eat healthy, get enough sleep, stay active and avoid doing anything bad to your body.
Milad’s message to everyone: “Don’t be scared because then you won’t be able to accomplish your dream."
Dakota Goyo – Luke in Midnight Sun
Dakota Goyo, 15, hails from Toronto, Canada, and is best known for playing Max Kenton, Hugh Jackman's estranged son, in the 2011 film Real Steel and Jesse Barrett in Dark Skies (2013). He also voices Jamie in the DreamWorks animation Rise of the Guardians (2012).
Goyo is the son of Debra, a former model and singer who manages his career, and David Goyo. He has two brothers, Devon and Dallas, and a dog named Jade, and enjoys golf and playing chess.
Goyo appeared in his first commercial as an infant, after which he landed various roles in television. His first featured television work was Disney's JoJo's Circus in 2005, and further big-screen moments have included playing Susan Sarandon's grandson in 2007's Emotional Arithmetic and the young Thor in 2011's eponymous Marvel hit.
The cast of As One: The Autism Project
Not content with featuring one child star, the team behind As One: The Autism Project have turned no fewer than 10 children from across the UAE into bona fide young celebrities. The autism documentary features children from all around the world – the United Kingdom, Philippines, United States, Ethiopia, Jordan, Palestine and the UAE – who call the Emirates their home, as they embark on a three-month musical-theatre programme culminating in a gala performance that raised the audience of the movie's ADFF preview to their feet in appreciation.
The children were presented on stage to a rapturous audience following the screening, and as a number of them have carried on with their singing and acting since the shoot wrapped, maybe it won't be too long before we see one of them in a new movie.
Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat – Theeb
The young star of Theeb has had a meteoric rise to fame on the back of the film's success, following its Best Film award at the Venice Film Festival, which saw the movie given a red-carpet gala screening at ADFF.
Before the movie's release, Al-Hwietat was a fairly typical young Bedouin who had never been out of Jordan, and definitely never thought of himself as a movie star. He loved the experience though, he told The National through a translator, and is hoping to carry on his burgeoning career as a movie star, possibly even in a follow-up to Theeb – which may well be on the cards, hinted its Variety Arab Filmmaker of the Year-winning director Naji Abu Nowar when we spoke to him.
Niyar Saikia – Lakshmi in Sold
If you thought child actors were all about hilarious capers in locked museums and wholesome Disney comedies, you’d think again after seeing Sold, executive produced by Emma Thompson and starring Gillian Anderson.
The film, based on Patricia McCormick’s hard-hitting international bestselling novel, follows the ordeal of Lakshmi, a 13-year old Nepali girl who is sold into sex slavery in India.
The director Jeffrey D Brown told The National: "The key to making the film was always going to be the casting of the girl who would play Lakshmi. We spent six months travelling through Nepal and India and auditioned more than 1,000 girls before we found Niyar Saikia in Assam. Niyar has a 10-year scholarship from the Indian government to study acting and has already been identified as a talent. Her mum is a music composer and her dad is a singer."
Safia and Sarah Al Mansouri – various
The Emirati sisters Safia and Sarah Al Mansouri are nothing if not prolific. Both girls appeared in Nayla Al Khaja's The Neighbor, while Safia also stars in Shahad Al Shehhi's Arab Film Studio finalist Kalelis, and features heavily in Hana Mire's Beyond Fear.
Sarah had originally been due to feature in a second documentary at this year’s festival as well, but unfortunately her acting scenes didn’t make the final cut.
She's also due to work on a biography with the award-winning Emirati director Aisha Abdullah later in the year, and recently finished shooting an interactive film with Al Khaja that will be used in the redeveloped Heart of Sharjah historical district.
cnewbould@thenational.ae
