At the third round of MEIFF, in Abu Dhabi, Peter , the festival's new director, spoke to Hani Mustafa Since 1982 Peter has been working in the field of film festivals. He directed the San Francisco International Film Festival, the oldest in the U.S., from 1983 to 2001. A few months after 9/11, together with other New Yorkers, Robert Di Niro founded the Tribeca Film Festival, which launched in the spring of 2002. joined a few months later, taking on programming until he became artistic director. has also worked in film production and film education. What drove him to come to Abu Dhabi? How different are the challenges in San Francisco, New York and the Gulf? And what could be the significance of a Middle East film festival in the world at large? I love the Middle East and I was really excited by the prospect of what it has and its enormous possibility. I travelled many times to the Middle East in the last ten years. My wife was born in Tehran. There is human warmth here that I do not find in America and I do not find in Europe. This festival is about cinema, but it is also about hospitality. You know Fred Ester, when he danced, his dance was very graceful and he made it look very easy. What you do not know is that he had been rehearsing every step, every camera move, for months, but you're not supposed to know it is hard. That is what it's like designing a festival programme. As MEIFF's director I design the programme. I have programmers with me but usually I do the choosing. I do not have a committee for choosing films, I only work with a team of programmers who are helping because I respect their taste but we do not have a vote. Then again, I always programme the film that has passionate defenders. Maybe I think it is terrible, maybe we have a big fight, but if it has a passionate defender then we show it, because the festival should be about passion. I know for example that there are certain things that people don't like to see here, for example films with overt sexuality. I wouldn't show it here, specifically here in Abu Dhabi. Also, I know that the UAE has no diplomatic relations with Israel, so films from Israel couldn't be shown here. But we have films by Palestinian filmmakers, and I am happy about that. I programmed the Tribeca Film Festival, the festival that began in New York, in lower Manhattan, in the second year. The first edition was before I came, and the third year we had a press conference to announce what we were doing, or to announce that there would be a festival even before the programmes. There was the governor of New York and Robert Di Niro, and a couple of other people. A journalist raised his hand and said, "Last year you showed us lots of films by people who brought us 9/11, are going to do that again?" I said, "I am not sure what are you referring to? But you might be referring to the fact that we had last year two flims from Afghanistan in the competition, three films from Egypt, two films from Iran and one film from Syria. If that what you are talking about -- I can't give you numbers yet, we haven't finalised the programme. But I can tell you that we are going to show even more of those films -- and I will tell you why..." We live in a world that is a mess in many ways, I think the only chance of understanding each other better is cinema. Cinema is more effective than newspapers or television. I mean, take a good film that you can understand: There is a guy, maybe his skin colour is different than yours, or he seems to behave in a way that you have never seen before, but if you watched the film you would understand that we have more in common than we have different. It is our last chance. And that is how we programmed Tribeca and that is how we programme here. It is all I know how to do. I said in the opening ceremony that from the title of the festival, you should find that it is Middle Eastern and also international. And I said that my goal is to have two separate competitions, for fiction films and documentaries. Half of these films should be from the region including Turkey, North Africa and Iran. Some friends from the US and Europe were sceptical: "Good luck. You will never get a strong selection." But we had a strong one. I wanted those filmmakers from the region to be at the same table with those from North America, Europe, and Asia. For example at the Cairo Film Festival there is the international competition and the Arab competition. But it is importance that films should be seen at the same level. Here [in the region], there is a growing number of people who want to make films. I think you can see that, they make films not only in film schools but by seeing lots of films as well. That is how the French New Wave began. They said they watched many films, that is how they start the process. Here, if you want to see films you go to the mall, you see Hollywood, you see Bollywood, you see almost nothing else. There is a big world out there. I want that to be part of the festival. Approximately, 10 percent of the population here are Emiratis, also there are people from 200 countries living here. One of the cabinet leaders -- I can't remember who -- said this summer that the expats here are not doing anything to integrate. That's often true in any country. I think that the film festival could be a great opportunity to change that. Ok, you are British and we have three British films. If you are going to buy tickets for these films, you will look at the programme and maybe close your eyes to pick a fourth film. This could help to understand more about not only Emiratis but also people from this region. Hipsters, Black Pearl winner MEIFF awards & prizes Narrative Feature Competition ï Black Pearl Award for Best Narrative Film ($100,000) -- Hipsters (Stilyagi), directed by Valery Todorovsky (Russia) ï Black Pearl Award for Best New Narrative Director ($50,000) -- Glendyn Ivin, Last Ride (Australia) ï Black Pearl Award for Best Middle Eastern Narrative Film ($100,000) -- The Time That Remains (Al Zaman Al Baqi), directed by Elia Suleiman (Palestine, UK, Italy, Belgium, France) ï Black Pearl Award for Best New Middle Eastern Narrative Director ($50,000) -- Pelin Esmer, 10 to 11 (11'e 10 Kala), Turkey, France, Germany ï Black Pearl Award for Best Actor ($25,000) -- Hamed Behdad, No One Knows About Persian Cats, directed by Bahman Ghobadi (Iran) ï Black Pearl Award for Best Actress ($25,000) -- Alicia Laguna and Sonia Couoh, Northless (Norteado), directed by Rigoberto Pérezcano (Mexico) ï Jury Special Mention -- Northless (Norteado), directed by Rigoberto Pérezcano (Mexico) Documentary Feature Competition ï Black Pearl Award for Best Documentary Film ($100,000) -- The Frontier Gandhi: Badshah Khan, A Torch for Peace, directed by T. C. McLuhan (Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, USA) ï Black Pearl Award for Best New Documentary Director ($50,000) -- Johan Grimonprez, Double Take (Netherlands, Belgium) ï Black Pearl Award for Best Middle Eastern Documentary Film ($100,000) -- On the Way to School (Yki Dil Bir Bavul), directed by Orhan Eskiköy and �zgèr Doan (Turkey) ï Black Pearl Award for Best New Middle Eastern Documentary Director ($50,000) -- Mohamed Zran, Being Here (Zarzis), Tunisia ï Jury Special Mention -- The Age of Stupid, directed by Franny Armstrong (UK) Short Film CompetitionDownload the original attachment ï Black Pearl Award for Best Narrative Short ($25,000) -- The Six Dollar Fifty Man, directed by Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland (New Zealand) ï Black Pearl Award for Best Documentary Short ($25,000) -- Wagah, directed by Supriyo Sen and Najaf Bilgrami (Pakistan, India, Germany) ï Black Pearl Award for Best Middle Eastern Short ($25,000) -- Tripoli, Quiet (Trablos Al-Hada), directed by Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia (Lebanon) ï Black Pearl Award for Best Student Short -- First Prize ($15,000) -- Anna, directed by Runar Runarsson (Denmark) ï Black Pearl Award for Best Student Short -- Second Prize ($10,000) -- Kasia, directed by Elisabet Llado (Belgium) ï Black Pearl Award for Best Student Short -- Third Prize ($5,000) -- Schautag, directed by Marvin Kren (Germany) Audience Choice Award ($25,000) ï No One Knows About Persian Cats, directed by Bahman Ghobadi (Iran) ï Jury Special Mention (Short Narrative) -- The Employment (El empleo), directed by Santiago "Bou" Grasso (Argentina) ï Jury Special Mention (Short Documentary) -- The Herd, directed by Ken Wardrop (Ireland) ï Jury Special Mention (Middle Eastern Short) -- Fatenah, directed by Ahmad Habash (Palestine) ï Jury Special Mention (Middle Eastern Short) -- Spring 89 (Rabie 89), directed by Ayten Amin (Egypt) ï Jury Special Mention (Student Short) -- Our Neck of the Woods, directed by Rob Connolly (USA) JURIES Narrative Feature Competition ï Abbas Kiarostami, President ï Joan Chen ï Sunil Doshi ï Michael Fitzgerald ï Nayla Al Khaja ï Mohamed Khan Documentary Feature Competition ï James Longley, President ï Gonzalo Arijón ï Joslyn Barnes ï Rashid Masharawi ï Hend Sabry Short Film Competition ï Yousry Nasrallah, President ï Deepa Mehta ï Gary Meyer ï Menna Shalabi ï Chadi Zeneddine
