If the Abu Dhabi Film Festival’s red carpet at Emirates Palace seems to have taken on the appearance of a kids’ play area on Saturday morning, don’t worry. You haven’t come to the wrong place.
You'll be watching the stars of the documentary As One – produced by Image Nation, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Media, which is the publisher and owner of The National – enjoying their moment in the spotlight before the film premieres at 11am.
The film follows the journey of 10 autistic children from across the country as they take part in a three-month musical-theatre programme, culminating in a grand performance in front of a live audience of parents, friends and theatregoers at Sheikh Zayed Private Academy for Girls in the capital.
The stars come from a variety of cultural and national backgrounds, not to mention a wide range of points on the autistic spectrum, with vastly different verbal and emotional abilities.
But the dedicated team of six teachers embrace the challenge of shaping the group into the stars of the show, relying largely on just one session a week with their cast during the programme’s three-month duration.
The teachers are something of a who’s who of the UAE entertainment scene, and the kids learn skills, such as clowning, comedy, music and dance from well-known names such as the comedians Ali Al Sayed and Mina Liccione, the theatre director Dana Dajani, the choreographer Philip Rachid and musical director Rob Millner.
Autism therapy is still very much in its infancy here and none of the teachers, with the exception of applied behavioural analysis consultant Sharifa Yateem, had any previous experience of working with autism.
The documentary was also originally helmed by Tricia Regan, the Emmy Award-winning director of Autism: The Musical, but as the project grew to become an increasingly collaborative affair, the producers say that she returned to the United States and a local team took over the production.
While the crew’s efforts are noteworthy, it is of course the kids who are the real stars – and they take us on a touching journey as the young thespians bond and develop as a group, surprising their teachers, the audience and even their own parents by the time of the grand finale.
With so many films to choose from during ADFF, it’s understandable that audiences might not be immediately drawn by the words “autism” and “documentary” – and the co-director and producer Hana Makki admits that some viewers at preview screenings may have had preconceptions about what might seem like “heavy” subject matter. But, she says, such concerns quickly disappear when the film starts.
“Some people who’ve seen it have said, ‘To be honest I didn’t have my hopes up too high because of the topic’ – but so far everyone who’s watched has loved it and been really pleased they’ve seen it.”
There is plenty of humour, moments of sadness and a rip-roaring final performance from the new stars, who feel like our friends – as do their families – by the end of the 80 minutes.
Perhaps most crucially, though, the film also serves a vital social purpose in a society where autism has such a low profile.
One of the most moving moments in the film, and a great motivation to check it out this weekend, comes when the parents of Al Kindi Saif Fadhel Al Hameli, a 9-year-old Emirati, explain how even their own friends and family can sometimes be scared of their son, or worry that he may attack their children.
“Me and my family and society as a whole need to learn about autism,” says the boy’s father, Saif. “We need to learn that autism is nothing to be shy or ashamed about. Because I love Al Kindi, I want society to learn – himself, he can’t.”
• As One screens at 11am, Saturday, October 25, at Emirates Palace hotel. Tickets cost Dh30 and are available from the Emirates Palace ADFF Box Office, or online at www.abudhabifilmfestival.ae
cnewbould@thenational.ae
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
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Rating: 2/5
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
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Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Dir: Ron Howard
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson
3/5
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Remaining fixtures
Third-place-play-off: Portugal v Mexico, 4pm on Sunday
Final: Chile v Germany, 10pm on Sunday
Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
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The Sand Castle
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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The specs
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Fuel consumption: 9.7L/100km
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MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports