ADFF @ The Pavilion Downtown Dubai

Co-Curated by Butheina Hamed Kazim

May 13 - August 3, 2011

ADFF @ The Pavilion Downtown Dubai is a four-month long series of film screenings presented by the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF) in collaboration with film producer Butheina Hamed Kazim and in partnership with The Pavilion Downtown Dubai. The initiative is a first for ADFF as it showcases highlights of the capital's festival to the Dubai community as part of its commitment to a greater selection of screenings and activities in the UAE throughout the year.

ADFF @ The Pavilion Downtown Dubai aims to facilitate and encourage the increasingly active conversation among filmmakers, supporters, patrons and enthusiasts across the UAE, who are central to the exciting growth of the local film culture. Hosted at The Pavilion Downtown Dubai, the venue is a unique hub for a diverse range of arts events, offering a platform to promote an active cultural community to the public and to support the work of a rising generation of artists in the region. Along with the cinema where the films will be hosted, The Pavilion includes two galleries, a library, a café and a shisha lounge facing the Burj Khalifa.

Co-curator Butheina Hamed Kazim and the ADFF programming team have carefully selected from among highlights of the past two years to give an overview of several sections that are presented at the festival each October in Abu Dhabi.

Launching on May 13, ADFF @ The Pavilion Downtown Dubai will begin with four films that have received ADFF's SANAD grants which support Arab cinema. Through the coming months, future installments of the series will focus on past ADFF award winners; titles from The Museum of Modern Art (New York) and ArteEast's groundbreaking program 'Mapping Subjectivity'; and, during the Holy Month of Ramadan, a selection of Emirati short films that have been entered in the Emirates Film Competition, as well as films that help broaden public awareness towards significant environmental issues.

"Over the past few years, the Abu Dhabi Film Festival has helped to create a fertile ground for film culture to take root in the UAE and our screenings at The Pavilion Downtown Dubai mark an exciting partnership that we hope will inspire more collaborations and initiatives to connect audiences and filmmakers across the UAE," said Eissa Saif Rashed Al Mazrouei, Director of Special Projects, ADACH.  "We are also happy that this series, which shows the diversity and quality that is at the heart of our program each year, includes a number of films by Emiratis whose work is too often seen only in festivals."

"Film lovers in the UAE rarely have the chance to see the kinds of films we show at ADFF except during the festivals in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, so we are delighted to present this series of outstanding films all through the coming summer.   Having one of Dubai's most exciting contemporary art spaces as the home for our first long-running series is an ideal way to allow a wider audience to discover some of the most engaging works of local, regional and international cinema," said Peter Scarlet, Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. 

The series runs from May through August 2011 with a premiere screening every Friday and two repeat screenings every Saturday. All films that are not in English are screened with English subtitles. For a full program of films, please visit www.pavilion.ae or www.abudhabifilmfestival.ae

SANAD Projects - New Arab Cinema 

Screening Schedule

Son of Babylon - Mohamed Al Daradji | Arabic, Kurdish | Iraq, UK, UAE | 2009 | 100min

May 13, 7:30pm

May 14, 5:30pm & 7:30pm

OK, Enough, Goodbye - Rania Attieh & Daniel Garcia | Arabic | Lebanon, UAE | 2010 | 

92min

May 20, 7:30pm

May 21, 5:30pm & 7:30pm

We Were Communists - Maher Abi Samra | Arabic | Lebanon, France, UAE | 2010 | 85min

May 27, 7:30pm

May 28, 5:30pm & 7:30pm

Here Comes The Rain - Bahij Hojeij | Arabic | Lebanon, UAE | 2010 | 100min 

June 3, 7:30pm

June 4, 5:30pm & 7:30pm

About Abu Dhabi Film Festival

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival (formerly the Middle East International Film Festival) was established in 2007, with the aim of helping to create a vibrant film culture throughout the region. Presented each October by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, the event is committed to curating exceptional programs to engage and educate the local community, inspire filmmakers and nurture the growth of the regional film industry.

With its commitment to presenting works by Arab filmmakers in competition alongside those by major talents of world cinema, the Festival offers Abu Dhabi's diverse and enthusiastic audiences a means of engaging with their own and others' cultures through the art of cinema. At the same time, a strong focus on the bold new voices of Arab cinema connects with Abu Dhabi's role as a burgeoning cultural capital in the region and marks the festival as a place for the world to discover and gauge the pulse of recent Arab filmmaking.

About Butheina Hamed Kazim

Kazim is the producer of the independent documentary film Letters to Palestine, which has screened across Palestine and premiered at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) in December 2010. She was a juror for the iEmmys Asia & Africa competition and a curator for an independent films program at the Shelter in Dubai and is currently working on a series for Al Jazeera Documentary Channel.

Kazim represented the UAE at the Berlinale as part of the Abu Dhabi Film Commission delegation attending the European Producers Club Forum, a talent workshop, which invites young and emerging filmmakers from all over the world.  Kazim is regular commentator on issues of media, culture and communication and co-hosts Dubai Tonight a radio talk show on Dubai Eye 103.8. Kazim is currently the Strategy & Business Development Manager at Dubai Media Incorporated, which operates six pan-Arab TV channels and other media platforms including print, publishing and radio.

About The Pavilion Downtown Dubai

The Pavilion is the city's newest dedicated non-profit contemporary art space providing a place to view, discuss and participate in works by local and international artists. Developed by the multidivisional group Cultural Engineering, the pavilion is a unique hub for a diverse range of art events offering a platform to promote an active arts community to the public and to support the work of a rising generation of artists in the region.

The Pavilion's programming will reinforce its role as a place for artistic discourse, research and education. The building itself reflects a unique interior that supports a dialogue between art and its audience.

Media Contacts

For inquiries on Abu Dhabi Film Festival:

William Royce

Abu Dhabi Film Festival

T +9712 556 4590

press@adff.ae

For inquiries on The Pavilion Downtown 

Dubai:

Tarané Ali Khan

t h r e e | Communications & Consulting

T +9714  3411 367

tarane@three-pr.com