Dubai filmmakers

Taken from the Kipp Report

19-year-old Vicky wants to make
thrillers and drama movies in Hollywood when he grows up. He also plans
on having a production house in Dubai. “Let’s see what happens,” says
the aspiring filmmaker.

Vicky represents Dubai’s next generation of filmmakers. He and his
friends hope that they will make it big in the future. “The film
industry does have a market here, but it is going to take a while for
it to begin because there are a lot of changes and stuff happening here
in Dubai. I think we are like the pioneers to start of at this age and
at this time,” he says.

Authorities from the filmmaking institutes in the region agree. “The
support of DIFF and a number of smaller regional film festivals, and
certainly with the growth of Dubai Studio City and others like that,
its inevitable that it will be a very successful medium in this part of
the world,” says Anthony Frantzis, the head of marketing and strategic
alliances of SAE institute.

He says that the institute’s film faculty is currently full, and
that they stopped advertising a year ago because of the growing number
of students interested in the industry.

Simon Hunter, the president of the New York Film Academy in Abu
Dhabi says that they have been marketing vigorously in the country.
Once people hear about them, then there is a lot of interest from
students across the region.

One such student is Suzan Iravanian. The short story writer came to
the academy from Iran, and says she is planning to make her stories
come to life. So does she think Dubai or Abu Dhabi will give her the
support she needs?

“I think the problem here is that they don’t have good ideas, but
they have the money.,” she says. “So, you can do anything and they will
accept you. There are lots of good opportunities here. But I don’t know
maybe they love to give their own native talents a better chance.”

But films by the Gulf nationals are few. So will the film industry
be able to persuade youngsters to make Dubai and Abu Dhabi as their
base?

“I think it’s the early days of the industry, and you are going to
need a couple of frontiersmen,” says Hunter. “People who do it for the
first time inspire others to do it as well […] There is certainly an
enormous amount of support in the Middle East for filmmaking. And its
not just budgets, there is also a lot of infrastructure that is being
built here. And so I think it will become over the next few years more
and more apparent that this is the place to shoot.”

With bases like Dubai Studio City and Twofour54 coming up in UAE,
there is a lot of scope for growth. But with the country’s strong
censorship policies, is creativity taking a hit?

“I think certainly think that students here are more mindful of the
cultural and other sensitivities, perhaps more so in than many other
places in the world,” says Frantzis. “But it doesn’t curb creativity.”

Hunter also agrees. “I think it can be seen as a hindrance, or it
can be seen as this is our culture, lets celebrate it,” he says.

Vicky feels differently. “There are quite a lot of restrictions
here,” he says. “So there’s a lot of stuff that you can’t show in films
and you can’t even make movies relating to your country like India or
America can, because it may be bad and you may get caught here.”

“You know sometimes censorship really can help the filmmakers to
make their movies. People will like it more,” says Iravanian. “Like in
my country (Iran), you can’t show sex relations. So, you will find
another way to show it. These ways will attract people. You are forced
to search for other ways to portray the same thing.”

So will Dubai become the next Hollywood in ten years time? “Make it 15,” says Vicky.