He was speaking ahead of the screening of AmericanEast, a film about Arab-Americans living in post 9/11 Los Angeles which made its Middle East premiere last night. “There is a drought of Arab-American films,” said Shaloub. “So many times Arab-Americans are stereotyped. We need to get some of these stories told.”

Rather than waiting for Hollywood to make those films, he believes that the Arab and Arab-American community should begin making those movies. It was this belief that apparently pushed AmericanEast to be made.

And he also feels there’s  potential for such films to be made in the GCC. “We have to invest as a group of people. We have to invest in ourselves. We are not going to change people’s perceptions over night but we have to demonstrate and show faith in ourselves in the skills and talents,” stressed the Monk star.

AmericanEast tells the story of Mustafa (Sayed Badreya), who wants to open a Middle Eastern restaurant with Jewish friend and client Sam (Tony Shaloub), with an occasionally iconoclastic view of Middle East politics and life as an Arab-American.

“The movie is very important to me,” Shaloub said. “We knew going into this movie that it was going to be controversial. We hoped it would provoke argument not just discussion. It was important for us. Those who don’t agree with a lot of what we’re saying will make their own films. We hope that it will start an avalanche of different stories. We hope that we’ve created some kind of explosion with our story and among story tellers.”

Sayed Badreya, scriptwriter and actor in the film, was also instrumental in making the film happen. But Badreya cautioned that the film should not be seen as an “Arab movie”. “It is the story of every American, every immigrant,” Badreya said. “What is important is for people to listen to our story. The movie is not Arab - the story is American - the person is Arab.”

Shaloub said he along with Hesham Issawi and Sayed Badreya was working on initiatives to promote understanding and awareness of different cultures in America. They had already instituted the Arab-American film awards and were working on introducing cinema as part of school programmes for cultural awareness.

Rooting for 90 Millas

By Zoe Sinclair

It’s only 90 miles from the Cuba to the southern most tip of Florida, but for Latin Americans it often seems a long way from their roots. As Gloria Estefan spoke of her passion for Latin American music, it was clear how important the film journey through the evolution of Cuban music in the documentary, 90 Millas, was. “They will never separate us from our musical heritage and our cultural heritage,” she said.

90 Millas, directed by her husband Emilio Estefan, is a documentary of Cuban music which looks at Latin American artistes across generations.

Estefan said she was happy to see such stars as Enrique Iglesias and Shakira holding the banner for Latin America for today’s generation of music lovers. For the Estefans’ part, both Emilio and Gloria visiting DIFF this week and walking the red carpet for the gala screening, they also paid tribute to their links to the region.

Emilio received a round of applause from gathered press as he spilled out his few Arabic words paying homage to his Lebanese roots.

“I’m very proud of my Middle Eastern heritage,” he laughed.

Gloria noted that Shakira’s combination of her Latin roots with her Middle Eastern background was partly aided by Emilio’s guidance when he worked with the artiste. “He told her this is what you have to inject because it has to be true,” she said.

And the theme of paying homage to your roots and remembering your heritage regardless of background is what crossed cultures with the documentary 90 Millas. “It’s something beautiful,” Gloria said.

Gloria will take to the stage after the screening of 90 millas on Thursday evening as part of Rhythm and Reels at the Dubai Media Amphitheatre for her first Middle East concert.

And she hinted she would love to come back with her whole show as part of her uncompleted world tour.

Kids have a ball with Bee Movie

By Preeti Kannan

The Children’s Gala yesterday turned out to be a colourful evening with scores of children, from different age groups, dressed in their best outfits, gathering at DIFF for the Middle East premiere of the animation flick, Bee Movie.

DIFF had organised a children’s party before the screening where enthusiastic children watched puppet shows, got their faces painted and had a ball.

Nine-year-old Jasmine Mitchell said, “I love animation movies and am really excited to watch the Bee Movie. I have seen some of the previews and it looks like fun.”

Eduardo Garcia, three, was with his mother and could barely contain his excitement. Holding on to a balloon, the youngster was waiting with breathless anticipation for the screening. 

Welcoming the children’s segment, several mums termed the inclusion of films for children as ‘thoughtful’.  Laura Dominguez, who had brought her son and daughter along, said, “It is really difficult to find children’s movies. Last DIFF, we had come for Happy Feet and this year, seems even more interesting. However, there should be more movies for kids.”

Henna Khan, who had brought her twin sons, noted, “It is nice when festivals have children’s movies as not all film festivals cater for kids. My kids love animation and cartoon movies. They have been looking forward to this all week.”

Director of Bee Movie, Steve Hickner, who was also at the premiere, said he was ‘delighted’ to see so many children turning up for the screening of his film, which he said has taken four years to make.

Touching on the animation market in the US, Hickner remarked, “The animation market is huge in the US and four to five films get released every year. It is much more strenuous to make animation movies as you have to work on them frame by frame with artists.”

A bigger and better DIFF

By Mary Nammour

About 55,000 people are expected to attend the screenings at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) this year as many film professionals from around the world consider DIFF to be an ideal venue for meeting people from various cultural backgrounds and interacting with ingenious, creative minds, according to Masood Amrallah Al Ali, DIFF’s Artistic Director.

He also said that it is a healthy sign that there is a multiplicity of film festivals in the UAE.

Speaking to Khaleej Times on the second day of DIFF, Al Ali said, “We have 16 movies that are having their international premieres in Dubai. This is a clear indication of the trust world producers and filmmakers repose in DIFF. They consider it to be the right place to hold their movie premieres. Obviously, we see that the festival is increasingly gaining international reputation. We are also noticing a sharp increase in audience participation. We are also getting a wider coverage in international media. Last year, around 35,000 people attended the screenings of movies at DIFF. This year, the number is expected to reach 55,000.”

The fourth edition of DIFF has witnessed an expansion of the Muhr Awards for Arab World Cinema Creativity segment. “Last year, we had 10 films competing in each of the long drama, short drama and documentary categories. Whereas this year there are 12 films competing in each category. We accepted more entries because of the huge number of quality productions. Furthermore, the number of Muhr Awards in the long drama category has been raised from three to nine. The Emirati Voices segment will showcase nine Emirati films this year as compared to five last year,” said Al Ali.

The Dubai Film Connection is also a new segment this year. “Out of 105 scripts we have received, we have shortlisted 15 scripts to compete for three awards. These awards can contribute to the production of movies for the scripts,” Al Ali explained.

On the multiplicity of film festivals in the UAE, DIFF’s artistic director said that it is a healthy phenomenon. “When there are plenty of alternatives, the windows will widen for everybody so that they can be part of the cultural events. Paris, for instance, holds more than 300 film festivals each year; there may be many film festivals launching on the same day in that city. So Dubai is clearly in need for such cultural projects because it has become a metropolitan city with all nationalities of the world being part of life in the emirate. DIFF is also a crucial cultural venue for discussion, exchange of views and a place where culture and art aficionados try to somehow bridge some bridges,” he said.

Al Ali pointed out that the festival’s organisers have tried their best to make the fourth edition of the film festival a bigger success. He added that a new initiative has been added to DIFF 2007 which is calle Rhythm and Reels. It features a screening of a musical movie and then a live performance by the star of that movie in the open air. The highlight of the Rhythm and Reels this year is the concert by Latin artiste Gloria Estefan.

Feeling on ‘top of the universe’

By Mehre Alam

Akbar Khan is enjoying every moment of his “Taj glory”. The Indian director’s film, Taj Mahal - An Eternal Love Story, short-listed for the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), is set for its world premiere today.

“I am feeling on top of the universe,” Khan said while talking to Khaleej Times yesterday.

Following its world premiere, Taj Mahal will be re-released in India. Trade pundits had marked the movie a failure at the box office when it was first released in India, even though it earned laurels from critics.

Why the re-release? “I had wilfully withdrawn my film from theatres. Its release was mistimed. The theatres where the film released were not good enough. My film needed a different kind of release,” explained the actor, who has himself acted in some yesteryear Bollywood films, without much success though.

The actor believes the re-release will do the trick at the box-office. “See, in any case, my film has earned high praise from film pundits. The young, old, all alike have liked my film. Even Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh watched this film with his family at a special screening at his house. He later sent me a letter lavishing wholesome praise on the movie,” Khan said.

Taj Mahal starred actors Zulfi Syed, Soniya Jehan, Manisha Koirala and ex-Hollywood star Kabir Bedi.

There are some other official laurels waiting for Khan as well . “The Mayor of Agra, the city of Taj Mahal, is hosting a big event on February 17, 2008, in commemoration of the Taj being elected one of the Seven Wonders. My film will be synergised at the event, which is likely to be attended by former President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam,” he gushed.

Khan may have inspired some others, including Hollywood legend Ben Kingsley, to plan movies on the Taj theme. “But I have covered all aspects of Shah Jahan (the Mughal emperor in whose reign the Taj was built). His youth, his old age, his wars, his passions, his relationships with his beloved, his sons etc. Is there anything left for the other directors now?” Khan said, with pun sounding clear in his voice.

Khan is thrilled that his film is being screened at DIIF, and especially so, that the event is taking place in Dubai. “I think Dubai has today become a nucleus of promoting a composite culture. It’s a place that can show the way to the world on how to bridge the East-West divide.”