The fourth edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF) 2010 concluded on October 22 after a 10-day long event,where Black Pearl Awards along with US$1 million in prizes was awarded to the best piece of work. Prior to the award ceremony,a host of Western and Arabic stars walked the Red Carpet at the elegantly-lit Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi. While American actress Uma Thurman wore a backless black gown with sparkling diamond earrings,Indian actress Nandana Sen represented Bollywood. Indian-origin actress Freida Pinto,British actor Jonathan Rhys Meyer,Lebanese filmmaker Imad Deiratany,Syrian actress Kinda Alloush and Egyptian actor-model Tamer Hagras,fashion designer Ozwald Boateng and Camilo Guevara,son of the legendary Ché Guevara were some of the prominent people to grace the Red Carpet at the closing ceremony. The awards ceremony was followed by the screening of the festivals closing- night film,Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame,a fantasy epic from renowned Hong Kong director Tsui. Premieres held The ten-day film festival,one of the largest in the Arab world,featured 172 movies from 43 countries,including 26 international premieres,including that of Autograph,a Bengali film by debut filmmaker Srijit Mukherji,on October 15. It was shown as part of the Showcase section - the Festivals selection of outstanding feature films from around the world. Attending the event were director Sriji Mukherji,actors Nandana Sen and Indraneil Sengupta who makes his debut in Bengali films. The movie also stars Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee. On popular demand,the film was once again screened on October 21 at the Cinestar at Marina Mall for the large number of Bengalis from Abu Dhabi. Miral,by American director Julian Schnabel,made its UAE debut at a screening in the Emirates Palace. The film,based on a semi-biographic book by Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal,follows four generations of women in the same family as they attempt to live in occupied Palestine from 1948 to 1993. The film stars Freida Pinto in the role of a haughty Palestinian schoolgirl who eventually becomes a journalist and author. Paan Singh Tomar too had its world premiere at the ADFF in the presence of director Tigmanshu Dhulia and actors Irrfan and Mahie Gill. The Hindi film,about a steeplechase athlete who represented India at the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games,but later became a dacoit due to circumstances,is set in Chambal,where dacoits still loom large. Another highlight of the festival was British filmmaker Kim Longinottos Pink Saris that depicted the evils of child marriage and the caste-conflict in the interiors of northern India - and a womans fight to bring about change. Shot in Uttar Pradesh,the docu-drama in Hindi evoked a mixed response. Produced by Channel 4 at a budget of 170,000 pounds,it revolves around 50-year-old Sampat Pal,founder leader of a women vigilante group called Gulabi Gang in Banda district. Randal Wallaces American biographical work,Secretariat starring Diane Lane and John Malkovich,was the opening film at the event and was attended by eminent personalities like H.E. Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei,Culture and Heritage Affairs Adviser at Crown Prince Court,Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage,Eissa Saif Rashed Al Mazrouei,Project Director of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage and Peter Scarlet,Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. Tsui Harks Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame,a fictional account of the exploits of Di Renjie,was shown after the closing ceremony. About the festival Established in the year 2007,the ADFF is presented by AD Authority for Culture and Heritage and is hosted by the AD Film Commission under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan. Since it is the only festival in the Middle-East,the films by Arab filmmakers are presented equally in the competition along with works of talented makers the world over. It is also represents the bold new voices of Arab cinema as a place for the world to gauge the pulse of Arab films. The movies were screened at the auditorium at Emirates Palace Auditorium, CineStar Cinemas; Marina Mall as well as the Abu Dhabi Theater,Heritage Village. The event was sponsored by LOréal (Official Beauty Partner); Emirates Palace and Intercontinental Hotels (Hospitality Partners); Abu Dhabi Airports Company and Abu Dhabi Media Company (Contributing Sponsors); Robert WAN and CineStar (Official Suppliers); Zee Network,Zee Television,MUBI,Radio 1 and Radio 2 (Media Partners). Talent in attendance Present from India during the 10-day event were actors Om Puri,Ila Arun,Prosenjit Chatterjee,Nandana Sen,Indraniel Sengupta,Mahie Gill and Irrfan,and directors Murali Nair,Srijit Mukherji and Tigmanshu Dhulia. Some of the prominent names from other parts of the world were Julianne Moore,Uma Thurman,Chris Hegedus,Kristen Johnston,Laura Poitras,Matthew Reeves,Kodi Johann Smit,Leslee Udwin,Adrien Brody,Reid Carolin,Alastair Clark,Joshua Atesh Litle,Kim Longinotto,Anne Lordon,Qays Najib,Meri Nazari,Monika Nolte,Freida Pinto as well as celebrities of the Arab world,including Khaled Abol Naga,Lebleba,Yehia El Fakharany and Yosra. Abu Dhabi Film Festival Winners of 2010 Black Pearl Awards Narrative feature competition 2010 Best Narrative Film ($100,000) : Silent Souls (Ovsyanki) (Russia)- directed by Aleksei Fedorchenko Best Narrative Film from the Arab World ($100,000) : Here Comes The Rain (Shatti Ya Dini) (Lebanon) - directed by Bahij Hojeij Best Actor ($25,000) :Andrew Garfield in the Mark Romanek-directed Never Let Me Go (UK/USA) Best Actress ($25,000) : Lubna Azabal (Canada/France) in Incendies - directed by Denis Villeneuve Jury Special Mention : Carlos - directed by Olivier Assayas (France/Germany) Documentary feature competition 2010 Best Documentary ($100,000),shared by Nostalgia For The Light (Nostalgia de la Luz) directed by Patricio Guzmán (Chile/Germany/France) and Pink Saris,directed by Kim Longinotto (United Kingdom/India) Best Documentary by an Arab Director or Related to Arab Culture ($100,000),shared by Homeland by George Sluizer (Netherlands) and We Were Communists (Sheoeyin Kenna),directed by Maher Abi Samra (Lebanon/France/United Arab Emirates) Jury Special Mentions : Tears Of Gaza (Gazas Tårer) by Vibeke Løkkeberg (Norway),and How Bitter My Sweet! (Bahebbak Ya Wahsh!),directed by Mohamed Soueid (Lebanon) New Horizons / Afaq Jadida Competition 2010 Best Narrative Film by a New Director ($100,000) : Gesher,directed by Vahid Vakilifar (Iran) Best Narrative Film by a New Director from the Arab World ($100,000) : OK,Enough,Goodbye (Tayeb,Khalas,Yalla),directed by Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia (Lebanon/United Arab Emirates) Best Documentary by a New Director ($100,000),shared by Elambulante,by Eduardo de la Serna,Lucas Marcheggiano and Adriana Yurcovich (Argentina) and Bill Cunningham New York,directed by Richard Press (USA) Best Documentary by a New Director from the Arab World Jury Special Mention ($25,000): Living Skin (Jeld Hayy),by Fawzi Saleh (Egypt) Abu Dhabi Film Festival Audience Choice Award 2010 ADFF Audience Choice Award ($30,000): West Is West, by Andy De Emmony (United Kingdom) Other top vote-getters included: Secretariat,directed by Randall Wallace (USA),Women Are Heroes,directed by JR (France),Kings Of Pastry,by Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker (France/Netherlands/United Kingdom/ USA) and Fair Game,directed by Doug Liman (USA/United Arab Emirates) ADFF NETPAC Award 2010 : Zephyr (Zefir) - directed by Belma Ba (Turkey) namita.nivas@expressindia.com
