Abu Dhabi, Oct 18 (IANS) The Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF), starting here Oct 24, will host a talk – “100 Years of Indian cinema: Studying the past to define the future” – with filmmakers from the country.
The discussion will be held here Oct 27, according to the ADFF official website. The panelists are yet to be disclosed.
Ashok Amritraj will be at the fest to talk about his journey from becoming an international professional tennis player to attaining success in Hollywood.
ADFF, in its seventh edition, even has a special programme to celebrate the centenary year of Indian cinema. As part of it, some of the most admired films produced in a century of the $2 billion industry will be showcased at the event.
Guru Dutt’s “Pyaasa”, Ritwak Ghatak’s “Subarnarekha” and “Duvidha”, M.S. Sathyu’s “Garm Hava” and Jahnu Barua’s “Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai” are among those films.
The 10-day extravaganza will also witness masterclasses covering topics from breaking into Hollywood to the revival of Iraqi cinema.
Festival director Ali Al Jabri believes masterclasses are one of the ways by which ADFF is hoping to grow the local film industry and build a film culture.
“An important part of our work is creating connections between local film talent and the wider industry. The festival helps filmmakers develop their projects by introducing them to key players in the industry,” said Jabri.
“We have a multitude of producers, co-producers, sales agents, distributors, marketing executives and representatives from film funds from all around the world coming to ADFF and that creates opportunities,” he added.
“Show me the money!”, a panel of representatives from film funds from around the world will discuss financing opportunities available to Arab filmmakers, while “In Conversation with Daniel Schechter” offers an opportunity to learn from the director of the opening night film “Life of Crime”.
ADFF Masterclasses will be held in the Emirates Palace Ballroom. They are open to public for free on a first-come, first-served basis.
Film aficianados can catch up on a panel discussion “Location, Location, Location”, which will take a look at the trend for MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries to open film commissions to attract international film productions and what benefits are on offer to filmmakers.
A few inspirational women from across the film industry will discuss how they made it to the top, including Hiam Abass in the talk “Heroines of the Silver Screen”, while “Diaspora and the Renaissance of Iraqi cinema” looks at the rebirth of Iraqi cinema and the contribution of expat Iraqis.
The masterclass programme will close “Cinematic Debuts”, a panel discussion about the first films of renowned Arab filmmakers.