ABU DHABI // The emirate should fulfill its movie ambitions by also becoming a centre for the emerging brand of realist cinema - not just another blockbuster capital, according to the head of a leading film institute. Joel Soler, the founder of the Institute Cinema Vérité in Paris, expressed his admiration for Abu Dhabi's burgeoning film industry but said that rather than only concentrating on Hollywood-style blockbusters, it should act as a centre for creative, realist cinema for the whole of the Middle East.
His remarks came after a week in which Abu Dhabi announced its plans to create a media zone to train young Arabs, and Imagenation, a development and production arm of Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC), linked up with National Geographic in a US$100 million (Dh367m) deal to produce up to 15 "real story" films. ADMC owns and publishes The National. Mr Soler's institute, which promotes and funds socially responsible film-making, organised yesterday's festival debates with the actress Catherine Deneuve. Another is scheduled for today with Susan Sarandon.
He said: "Cinema is here to help us understand the world and help open our minds to new experiences. And we need to learn from the Arab world. "The world needs to see more film from the Arab world, and we need the Arab world to provide us with films, quality films, that can educate us. "What we see instead is films made in Hollywood full of clichés that stereotype the Arab world. We need Arabs to be able to give a real image of what their world is like."
Mr Soler will honour one, as yet unnamed, Emirati filmmaker at the Cinéma Vérité event this afternoon. rhughes@thenational.ae
