Last month filmmaker Saad Hendawy came back from the opening round of the Dubai International Film Festival with positive news Judging by the most obvious criteria, the first Dubai International Film Festival (6-11 December) was a major success. It opened with Al-Rihla Al-Kubra (The Big Journey), a stimulating French-Moroccan production directed by Ismael Ferroukhi in which a Moroccan living in France takes his French son on a pilgrimage to the Maghreb. It set a standard of quality that the programme (a total of 80 films in eight categories) was to live up to, demonstrating remarkable variety as well. Screenings and fringe events were meticulously organised. And with 13,000 film-goers crowding Gemira City, Mercato Cinema and the Open Theatre of the Dubai Media City -- large-scale and ultramodern venues that made for exciting viewing -- audience interaction was intensive, the number of tickets sold reached 18,000 two days before the closing ceremony. In addition to features, documentaries and short films, films were screened under several intriguing titles: "Bridges of Cultural Dialogue", "Contemporary World Cinema", "Films from the Indian Peninsula", "Bollywood meets Hollywood", "Hollywood Films of High Technical Standard". Special screenings were also held in honour of actor Omar Sharif and filmmakers and Subhash Ghai, both of whom were presented with the festival shield by Abdul-Hamid Gomaa, executive director of the Dubai Media City, the event's organiser. According to Sheikh Ahmed Bin Said Al-Maktoum, festival president, the event was conceived in response to "awareness of the role of cinema as an exemplary forum for intercultural understanding". This is why it was under the rubric of "cultural dialogue" that the festival was launched. "It's an endeavour to build new cultural bridges between the East and West," he said, "and precisely at this time -- when there is a dire need for it, more so than at any previous time -- to build friendship and foster communication among the cultures of the world." Neil D Stephenson, festival director, stressed the long-term argument of which the festival is a proposition, as it were, calling the launching of the festival "a step in the direction of establishing an entertainment industry", to which will be added, in the near future, a film production apparatus and a school of filmmaking -- a whole-hearted adoption of cinematic art on the part the Arab world. It is the openness and plurality of Dubai, he contended, that qualifies it to perform this role. For his part Masoud Al-Ali, a festival board member and the director of two programme categories is concerned, first and foremost, with "the good film" that deals intelligently and innovatively with a social or political issue. "I favour neither big-budget enterprises nor independent films -- nor star vehicles," he declares. "What I look for rather is content, meaning, and credibility in terms of reflecting the true visage of Arab reality, its ugliness as well as its beauty, on every conceivable level." The timing clash with both the Cairo and Morocco festivals -- all three take place in early December -- Al-Ali dismissed as secondary to considerations of climate and the availability of hotel accommodation. Both the Cairo and Morocco festivals, he added, had always been held earlier in the year. Delays were not announced until Dubai was planned; but arrangements were made to avoid screening the same films, and the festival administration has every intention of coordinating with its peers in Cairo and Morocco in future years. Mohamed Makhlouf, the short and independent film champion behind the Independent Arab Screen Festival's two rounds (held in Doha and London respectively) feels that the Dubai Film Festival provides him with space in which to perform the same role of promoting "young Arab cinema" and a new opportunity for "learning to achieve one's dreams". Obliged to choose no more than 15 films, he prioritised artistic quality, followed by "novelty of concept and idea", with a particular focus on ideas that communicate Arab concerns to the Western viewer. "Our only image in the West is one of hatred and brutality -- suicidal and terrorist -- and it's important to show them, through film, that we are human too," he elaborated. "We have our own culture and sense of humour, and a unique character to boot." To achieve such an objective, he added, requires inter-Arab cooperation and attention to art, which facilitates interaction and transcendence. And judging by the sight of large crowds of people flooding the screening venues, both Arab and non- Arab, gathering in an atmosphere of peace to express their love of cinema, such transcendence seemed possible indeed. The power of cinema is such that it can counter hatred and violence, bringing people together by exciting hearts and minds. What was even more pleasing was the sight of Emirati boys and girls discussing the films on offer, their eyes glinting with the light of a new Arab cinema, culturally distinct, both willing and able to relate to the rest of the world.
