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New filmmakers from the United Arab Emirates

From May 05, 2017 until July 14, 20177:30 p.m.
MADRID
Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62). 7:30 p.m. €4 when purchased online, €5 general entrance ticket at the box office
Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.

Alejandra Val Cubero is the curator of this film series, which introduces a new generation of directors who have come onto the scene over the last decade. Casa Árabe will be hosting the series in Madrid during the months of May through July.

These films made in the United Arab Emirates are a reflection of a cosmopolitan society in which more than two hundred nationalities have co-existed in recent decades, where just ten percent of the country’s inhabitants are locals. Its history is recent. Abr Sabeel by Ali Al Abdul (1989) is considered the first feature film to have been made in the country, though it was never premiered in commercial theaters.

In recent years, the number of movies, short-subject films and documentaries made by Emiratis has increased exponentially. Among the pioneering directors is Nujoom Alghanem (2010). The poet and filmmaker began making movies in the late nineties, and in all of her documentaries she introduces characters who allow us to imagine what society was like in the Emirates just a few years ago, with Between Two Banks (1999) on the last living ferry boatman in Dubai; Hamama (2010), a documentary which tells the life story of a wise old healer woman, and Nearby Sky (2015), in which she describes the steps taken by the only woman to compete in beauty competitions for camels. In her latest work, Honey / Rain / Dust (2016), Alghanem uses her skill to examine a local theme with great global significance: the age-old tradition of beekeeping and the disappearance of bees and other forms of life.

Over the last ten years, a new generation of Emirati directors  has come to life, most educated and trained in their country and abroad. They are changing the audiovisual map of the Emirates. This is what has happened with Ali F. Mostafa (1981) and his first feature film, City of Life (2009), which creates a mosaic to introduce the stories of different lives in which the starring role is played by the city of Dubai itself. Mostafa began filming Under the Sun (2005), the television series Classified (2011), From A to B (2014) and more recently The Worthy (2016), all huge commercial successes.

With a similar profile but a more intimate tone, Nawaf Al-Janahi (1977) went to a small town in the region of Ras Al-Khaimah, one of the seven emirates with its border along Oman, to film Sea Shadow (2011), in which the director highlights the complex relations between two teenage youths, Mansoor and Kaltham, and the difficulties they encounter staying friends in a traditional environment. Prior to this film, Al-Janahi directed the short-subject films Obsession (2002), On the Road (2003), Mirrors of Silence (2006), and the feature film The Circle (2009).

Film from the Emirates reflects the great linguistic and cultural variety and diversity in the country and is a clear example of the changes, advancements and metamorphoses being experienced in the region. The Tainted Veil by Nahla Al Fahad, Mazen el Khayrat and Ovidio Salazar lends further evidence to these phenomena. This documentary, filmed in nine countries, shows different viewpoints and opinions on a modern-day topic as controversial as the hijab.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi are currently two of the most important focal points for creation, production and co-production in all of the Middle East, where Arab directors, though not Arab directors alone, come to make movies and complete post-production, as has occurred with the films Star Trek Beyond (2016) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), as well as some popular Bollywood movies like ¡Happy New Year (2014), and Welcome Back (2015).

Film series curated by Alejandra Val Cubero
College of Communication and Media Science, Zayed University (UAE)
 
New filmmakers from the United Arab Emirates
Frame from “The Tainted Veil” (2015) by Nahla Al Fahad, Mazen el Khayrat and Ovidio Salazar.
  • The Tainted Veil

    May 05, 20177:30 p.m.
    MADRID
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62). 7:30 p.m. €5 for general entrance tickets at the box office.
    4 euros: Tickets purchased online, the officially unemployed, Casa Árabe Language Center students and Youth Card holders, by showing the proper identification.
    You may only receive one discount. Sales in advance at www.casaarabe.es Any tickets not sold on the Internet in advanced will be made available for purchase on the day of the screening at the Casa Árabe headquarters, as of one hour before each film begins. Assigned seats with tickets.
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    First screening in Madrid of the film series which Casa Árabe has devoted to new filmmakers from the Emirates in the months of May through July. 
    This documentary is a work by Nahla Al Fahad, Mazen al Khayrat and Ovidio Salazar. Produced in the United Arab Emirates, France, Egypt, Denmark, Morocco, Turkey, Syria and the United Kingdom in 2015 (78 min.).

    The movie, filmed in nine countries, provides a voice for different opinions about use of the hijab through interviews with women and well-known personages from the religious and political worlds, who discuss the reasons why or why not to choose wearing the veil. Examined in the documentary are the origins of the hijab, the place it holds in today’s societies and its implications and effects throughout the centuries.
  • Hamama 

    May 12, 20177:30 p.m.
    MADRID
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62). 7:30 p.m. 5 euros: general tickets at the box office.
    4 euros: Tickets purchased online, the officially unemployed, Casa Árabe Language Center students and Youth Card holders, by showing the proper identification.
    You may only receive one discount. Sales in advance at www.casaarabe.es Any tickets not sold on the Internet in advanced will be made available for purchase on the day of the screening at the Casa Árabe headquarters, as of one hour before each film begins. Assigned seats with tickets.
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    Nujoom Alghamen directed this documentary (United Arab Emirates, 2010, 64 min.) about Bedouin healer Hamama.
    Hamama is a 90 year-old Bedouin woman healer whose reputation has spread throughout the Emirates because she possesses the innate gift of curing diseases and working the most unimaginable miracles. Her healing powers are incredibly valuable to huge numbers of patients, who still come to see her en masse every day at her home, in search of remedies for their illnesses. The most unbelievable part is that Hamama is neither a doctor nor a physical therapist. She does not use the latest technological advancements, but rather archaic methods from age-old tradition, such as moxibustion, massages, herbs and natural spices, to work her magic.
  • City of Life

    May 26, 20177:30 p.m.
    MADRID
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62). 7:30 p.m. 5 euros: general tickets at the box office.
    4 euros: Tickets purchased online, the officially unemployed, Casa Árabe Language Center students and Youth Card holders, by showing the proper identification.
    You may only receive one discount. Sales in advance at www.casaarabe.es Any tickets not sold on the Internet in advanced will be made available for purchase on the day of the screening at the Casa Árabe headquarters, as of one hour before each film begins. Assigned seats with tickets.
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    The city of Dubai, filled with opportunities, is the stage for this fiction feature directed by Ali F. Mostafa (United Arab Emirates, 2009, 119 min.).
    A privileged young Arab ill at ease with his cultural identity, and his less fortunate friend, a disillusioned taxi driver who bears an odd resemblance to a Bollywood star, and a former Romanian dancer looking for love... all these stories take place in Dubai, a city filled with opportunities where dreams can still come true.
  • Nearby Sky (Samma Qarribah)

    June 02, 20177:30 p.m.
    MADRID
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62). 7:30 p.m. 5 euros: general tickets at the box office.
    4 euros: Tickets purchased online, the officially unemployed, Casa Árabe Language Center students and Youth Card holders, by showing the proper identification.
    You may only receive one discount. Sales in advance at www.casaarabe.es Any tickets not sold on the Internet in advanced will be made available for purchase on the day of the screening at the Casa Árabe headquarters, as of one hour before each film begins. Assigned seats with tickets.
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    Nujoom Alghamen was the director of this documentary (United Arab Emirates, 2014, 95 min.). She will meet with the public on the occasion of this screening.
    Fatima Alhameli was the first Emirati women who owns camels to get her camel signed up for a contest and take part in camel auctions in the United Arab Emirates. Despite all the difficulties and challenges encountered when attempting to demonstrate that she could compete in one of the most male-dominated fields, Fatima’s desire to win a race or contest remains the only way to make up for her failures and overcome them. Fatima’s story is reflected in a unique way in this film, which shows the path she has chosen and the challenges she has faced both socially and personally. Right when Fatima begins to lose hope, an unexpected reward comes into her life.
  • The Tainted Veil

    June 09, 20177:30 p.m.
    MADRID
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62). 7:30 p.m. 5 euros: general tickets at the box office.
    4 euros: Tickets purchased online, the officially unemployed, Casa Árabe Language Center students and Youth Card holders, by showing the proper identification.
    You may only receive one discount. Sales in advance at www.casaarabe.es Any tickets not sold on the Internet in advanced will be made available for purchase on the day of the screening at the Casa Árabe headquarters, as of one hour before each film begins. Assigned seats with tickets.
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    Last chance at the Casa Árabe headquarters in Madrid to see this documentary by Nahla Al Fahad, Mazen al Khayrat and Ovidio Salazar (United Arab Emirates, France, Egypt, Denmark, Morocco, Turkey, Syria United Kingdom, 2015, 78 min.).

    The film, made in nine countries, provides a voice for different opinions about use of the hijab through interviews with women and well-known personages from the religious and political worlds, who discuss the reasons why or why not to choose wearing the veil. Examined in the documentary are the origins of the hijab, the place it holds in today’s societies and its implications and effects throughout the centuries.
  • Hamama 

    June 16, 20177:30 p.m.
    MADRID
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62). 7:30 p.m. 5 euros: general tickets at the box office.
    4 euros: Tickets purchased online, the officially unemployed, Casa Árabe Language Center students and Youth Card holders, by showing the proper identification.
    You may only receive one discount. Sales in advance at www.casaarabe.es Any tickets not sold on the Internet in advanced will be made available for purchase on the day of the screening at the Casa Árabe headquarters, as of one hour before each film begins. Assigned seats with tickets.
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    Last screening of this documentary by Nujoom Alghamen (United Arab Emirates, 2010, 64 min.).
    Hamama is a 90 year-old Bedouin woman healer whose reputation has spread throughout the Emirates because she possesses the innate gift of curing diseases and working the most unimaginable miracles. Her healing powers are incredibly valuable to huge numbers of patients, who still come to see her en masse every day at her home, in search of remedies for their illnesses. The most unbelievable part is that Hamama is neither a doctor nor a physical therapist. She does not use the latest technological advancements, but rather archaic methods from age-old tradition, such as moxibustion, massages, herbs and natural spices, to work her magic.
  • Sea Shadow

    June 23, 20177:30 p.m.
    MADRID
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62). 7:30 p.m. 5 euros: general tickets at the box office.
    4 euros: Tickets purchased online, the officially unemployed, Casa Árabe Language Center students and Youth Card holders, by showing the proper identification.
    You may only receive one discount. Sales in advance at www.casaarabe.es Any tickets not sold on the Internet in advanced will be made available for purchase on the day of the screening at the Casa Árabe headquarters, as of one hour before each film begins. Assigned seats with tickets.
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    Mansoor and Kaltham are the two youths starring in this fictional story directed by Nawaf Al’Janah (United Arab Emirates, 2011).

    Set in a small coastal area in the United Arab Emirates, the film follows the lives of Mansoor and Kaltham as they struggle between tradition and conventionalism on their path towards maturity. Forced by family and deeply rooted values, the two youths must find the courage to forge their own way.
  • City of Life

    June 30, 20177:30 p.m.
    MADRID
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62). 7:30 p.m. 5 euros: general tickets at the box office.
    4 euros: Tickets purchased online, the officially unemployed, Casa Árabe Language Center students and Youth Card holders, by showing the proper identification.
    You may only receive one discount. Sales in advance at www.casaarabe.es Any tickets not sold on the Internet in advanced will be made available for purchase on the day of the screening at the Casa Árabe headquarters, as of one hour before each film begins. Assigned seats with tickets.
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    Screening of the fictional film directed by Ali F. Mostafa (United Arab Emirates, 2009, 119 min.).
    A privileged young Arab ill at ease with his cultural identity, and his less fortunate friend, a disillusioned taxi driver who bears an odd resemblance to a Bollywood star, and a former Romanian dancer looking for love... all these stories take place in Dubai, a city filled with opportunities where dreams can still come true.
  • Nearby Sky (Samma Qarribah)

    July 07, 20177:30 p.m.
    MADRID
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62). 7:30 p.m. 5 euros: general tickets at the box office.
    4 euros: Tickets purchased online, the officially unemployed, Casa Árabe Language Center students and Youth Card holders, by showing the proper identification.
    You may only receive one discount. Sales in advance at www.casaarabe.es Any tickets not sold on the Internet in advanced will be made available for purchase on the day of the screening at the Casa Árabe headquarters, as of one hour before each film begins. Assigned seats with tickets.
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    Fatima Alhameli is the first woman in the Emirates who owns camels that is able to sign her camel up in a competition. Director Nujoom Alghamen tells us her story through this documentary (United Arab Emirates, 2014, 95 min.).
    Fatima Alhameli is the first Emirate women who owns camels ever to have had her camel signed up for a competition and take part in the United Arab Emirates’ camel auctions. Despite all the difficulties and challenges encountered when attempting to demonstrate that she could compete in one of the most male-dominated fields, Fatima’s desire to win a race or contest remains the only way to make up for her failures and overcome them. Fatima’s story is reflected in a unique way in this film, which shows the path she has chosen and the challenges she has faced both socially and personally. Right when Fatima begins to lose hope, an unexpected reward comes into her life.
  • Sea Shadow

    July 14, 20177:30 p.m.
    MADRID
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62). 7:30 p.m. 5 euros: general tickets at the box office.
    4 euros: Tickets purchased online, the officially unemployed, Casa Árabe Language Center students and Youth Card holders, by showing the proper identification.
    You may only receive one discount. Sales in advance at www.casaarabe.es Any tickets not sold on the Internet in advanced will be made available for purchase on the day of the screening at the Casa Árabe headquarters, as of one hour before each film begins. Assigned seats with tickets.
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    Nawaf Al’Janah directed this fictional film (United Arab Emirates, 2011), the last in our series devoted to new filmmakers from the United Arab Emirates.
    Set in a small coastal area in the United Arab Emirates, the film follows the lives of Mansoor and Kaltham as they struggle between tradition and conventionalism on their path towards maturity. Forced by family and deeply rooted values, the two youths must find the courage to forge their own way.


This film series has been given a grant by the Department of the Presidency and Local Administration of the Autonomous Regional Government of Andalusia.