Cannes, May 19: The International Film Guide hosted a lunch party last Sunday in Abu Dhabi’s pavilion at Cannes Film Festival, where a number of international figures in the cinema industry were present to mark the launch of the 46th edition of the Guide.
The Guide, of which the Abu Dhabi Film Commission is a Gold Sponsor, is an annual authoritative and trusted source of information on contemporary world cinema, providing summaries of all the major festivals and film markets.
Guests, including Larry Brownell, Executive Director of the Association of Film Commissioners International, were welcomed by David Shepherd, the Director of Abu Dhabi Film Commission.
During Festival, the Abu Dhabi Film Commission had stepped up efforts to promote the development processes of the film industry in the Middle East and Arab World.
It brought together top film industry professionals from across Arab countries, including producer Tarak Ben Ammar; Raja Shariff, the International Director of Al Noor Holdings in Doha; Jamal Al Sharief, the Executive Director of Dubai Studio City; and filmmakers and industry personnel from the UAE, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Saudi Arabia.
It also included Mohammed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei, General Director of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Media Company; Edward Borgerding, Imagenation Abu Dhabi CEO; and Peter Scarlett, Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.
The meeting was part of a program of daily events at the Abu Dhabi Pavilion in Cannes. Hosted by ADACH, Abu Dhabi Film Commission, Abu Dhabi Film Festival, Imagenation Abu Dhabi and TwoFour54, the pavilion provides the Emirate’s leading film and TV organizations with a chance to promote Abu Dhabi as a global filmmaking hub. It also serves as a meeting place for filmmakers and industry delegates throughout the festival.
Meanwhile, the traditional UAE music group Soqour Al Maqabil and the artist Kamal Musallam, a pioneer in combining jazz and Arabic music, presented a flavour of Emirati heritage in music and dance at the Cannes Film Festival during a concert on the beach.
The event, which was attended by residents and visitors of Cannes, sought to present a music marriage of jazz tunes with classical Arabic melodies.
Musallam and his band presented their work at international festivals of jazz in the Middle East and Asia, and shared the stage with top names in music such as Kanye West, Joss Stone and Ziggy Marley.
More than 1000 international cinema figures joined Abu Dhabi’s annual celebration of movies at the Cannes Film Festival, held at the Vegaluna Beach where ‘Visit Abu Dhabi’ promotional laser sign was abundant in addition to signs of ADACH, Imagenation Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Film Festival, and TwoFour54 that decorate the hosting tent.
Mazrouei welcomed a range of guests during the event, including UAE directors Nawaf Al Jinahi (of the film “The Sea Remained”) and Ali Mustafa (of the film “City of Life”); Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi (“No One Knows Anything About Persian Cats”); President and General Director of the Sayyad Publishing House Group Bassam Saeed Friha; producers Ashok Omrtraj, Michael London and Matte Pekerman; Executive Director of Toronto International Film Festival Pierce Handling; and prominent film personalities from Qatar, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia.
Also present at the ceremony were David Sheppard, Edward Borgerding, Peter Scarlet, and Wayne Borg, Chief Operating Officer at TwoFour54.
—Agencies