The unseen photo was taken during their visit to India to promote their 2017 action movie 'xXx: Return of Xander Cage'
In one corner of its 31,962sqm exhibition space, a black pavilion stands out, displaying no books. This is the Black Box cinema, a project of Emirati filmmaker Nawaf Al Janahi.
"We have 18 great Arabic films screening this year," said Al Janahi.
Among them there are four Emirati short films, along with shorts from Lebanon, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Kuwait.
"We went to see Eye and Mermaid, a film from Saudi Arabia. It was really quite good," said Imthiaz Nair, an Indian resident in Abu Dhabi.
"I've always been fascinated by films from Saudi Arabia because cinema is forbidden there, yet there are so many people doing film. That's really the reason we chose this particular film and it turned out it was a good choice," added Nair.
Another favourite at the Black Box Cinema this year is Zakaria, a 14-minute Egyptian film by Emad Maher made in 2012.
It is the only one in the programme that comes close to a comedy, being inspired by Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz's novel Dreams.
The plot evolves around Zakaria, who was forbidden by his doctor to eat chicken. Fearing the consequences of breaking the rules, he completely abstains from any chicken product, even after his death!
Except for Friday, when there are only three films showing, every day of the fair there are seven different films from the 18 screened, which visitors can see free of charge.
There is also the option of choosing a film to watch, but it comes at a small price.
"We have the same format this year as last year. In the afternoon, people can choose what film to see if they buy a book at the fair and prove it by bringing us the receipt," explained Al Janahi.
The Buy a Book, Watch a Film option is an attempt to bring books and the cinema closer, so visitors who purchase specialised books on cinema from participating publishing houses may choose one of the 18 films to watch anytime between 2pm and 5pm.
ADIBF goes on at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre until May 3.
silvia@khaleejtimes.com
The unseen photo was taken during their visit to India to promote their 2017 action movie 'xXx: Return of Xander Cage'
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