They’ve got talent!

They’ve got talent! Silvia Radan (silvia@khaleejtimes.com) / 3 July 2013 Saleh Al Shunnar was the last Emirati standing with a chance to win the Dh50,000 Best Film award in the Arab Film Studio’s film competition. Minutes before the awards were announced on Monday night in Yas Viceroy hotel, the Dubai-born was the centre of attention, giving interviews, posing for photos and greeting friends and supporters. Arab Film Studio, which was established in 2011 in partnership with Image Nation and twofour54, is a short film competition that aims at discovering talent and giving aspiring talent the tools to carve out a career for themselves. “Image Nation gave us $5000 to make a short film, and also a lot of support in the form of training, even hotel accommodation,” said Saleh, who has never before attempted to make a film. His story is one that he much cares about: litter. Titled Recycled, Saleh’s short film is about a Western film director shooting a movie in Hatta, but litter keeps appearing in every scene. Eventually, he gives up, but his Emirati assistant director takes the discarded film reels and creates a short film about litter, which is the actual film the audience gets to see. “Litter really bothers me. This particular story came to me as I was sitting in my usual cafe in Dubai, having a karak. I kept seeing people throwing rubbish on the street, when garbage bins are nearby,” said Saleh. The Emirati filmmaker was happy to have reached this stage of the competition, especially since the films were judged by the likes of Jude Law, David Frankel (director of  The Devil Wears Prada), Michael Brandt (writer, The Double), UAE’s Nawaf Al Janahi (director, Sea Shadow) and several other international film industry personalities. “In my view, I have won already. We all did. Just to finish the film was an accomplishment in itself,” mentioned Saleh. Altogether, there were 13 contestants selected for the competition and only six made it to the final: Mohamed Islem Cherchali, a Dubai resident from Algeria, Muneer Al Busaidi, an Omani living in Abu Dhabi, Allegra Brooksbank, a Dubai-based American, Belal Anteple, a Syrian living in Al Ain, Sara Saber, a Dubai resident from Egypt and Saleh Al Shunnar. Saleh’s Recycled did not win the big Best Film award, but it did take one of the other seven awards, the Best Sound Design. The night, in fact, belonged to Sara Saber, who scooped not only the much desired Best Film, but also Best Screenplay and Best Editing for her short film In Her Eyes. “Oh, my God! Thank you very much!” she burst out on the stage as she received the Best Film trophy. “I’ve been blessed with a fantastic team, who supported all my crazy ideas,” she went on. In Her Eyes is a story of two different generations and their separate values. A mother and her daughter find themselves at crossroads as their visions clash – the mother finds reason in the art of poetry, despite her poverty, while the daughter wants to pursue a financially successful life. “This is my story,” Sara told Khaleej Times. “I have this inner struggle in me weather or not to pursue art, but I think I can combine art and business,” she went on. Details for the 2014 Arab Film Studio competition will be announced later this autumn.   Taylor Scott International