9 October 2009
With these words by Moore, who played a villain in the 2003 movie ‘Charlie’s Angels’, the third edition of the Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF) finally opened.
On Thursday, frenetic preparations took place at the Emirates Palace. Guests were still arriving and had to be accommodated.
The tent for both guests and public had to be set up outdoors. The sound system in the auditorium had to be checked. And, of course, the red carpet, in several pieces, had to be laid, vacuumed and stuck together so that high heels would not get stuck.
Security guards, media and an army of organisers were running up and down the festival floors at the Emirates Palace.
After 5pm, no one without a VIP invitation could pass beyond the lobby. Finally, stars started to bring out the lights on the red carpet about 6.30pm.
Unlike Hollywood, London or Cannes, members of the public were not allowed to watch them shine or sign an autograph, so the atmosphere was oddly quiet. Among the first to walk down the carpet was Rashid Assaf, Syrian actor.
“I believe Middle Eastern movies are very well represented in the festival and I’m planning to see lots of them,” he told Khaleej Times.
For some reason, the majority of stars last night were Syrian. Saloom Hadad, another well-known Syrian actor, was walking with Assaf.
There were also Jamal Suleiman and Hatem Ali, director of this year’s Ramadan TV series about Bedouin life, based on the poetry by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Since Indian movies are well represented in the festival, so were the stars, either guests or participants in the competition. Actress Tannishtha Chatterjee was one of them.
“I play in ‘Bombay Summer’, which is in the competition this year, a film about three people living in Bombay,” she said.
“The festival seems quite incredible and being here, it is a really nice experience for me. Like with any film festi val, it is all about watching new movies, meeting film directors and producers. My plan is to watch as many movies as possible,” she told Khaleej Times.
Petit, wearing discreet make-up and a strapless, black evening gown, Demi Moore was the last to walk the red carpet. “The Middle East Film Festival? I’ve just experienced it, so I’ll have a better idea afterwards, but we live in a global community and it is very important to witness films from the Arab world,” she said.
As the curtains went up, Shaikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, chairman of Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, organiser of MEIFF, welcomed the guests and the festival began.
One of the highlights of the ceremony was the presentation of Lifetime Achievement Award to Vanessa Redgrave, an Oscar-winning British actress. It was presented by another Oscar winner — Hilary Swank, who won for her role in ‘Million Dollar Baby’. Redgrave was not present but her husband Franco Nero accepted the award on her behalf.
