Abu Dhabi Film Festival 13 to 22 October

From Ahlan

10 Things You Should Know About the Abu Dhabi Film Festival

By Shannon Wylie Monday, 10 October 2011

From A-listers on the red carpet to international movie premieres, here's the low-down on the Abu Dhabi Film festival line-up

1. Facts at a Glance
The Abu Dhabi Film Festival runs from 13 to 22 October. Expect to pay around Dhs25 for most movies screenings. For a full list of films and prices and to book tickets visit abudhabifilmfestival.ae.

2. There's a New Screening Venue in Town
There is an all-new venue for this year’s film festival. The majority of films, which used to be screened at Emirates Palace, are being moved to the 500-seat Abu Dhabi Theatre near Marina Mall.

3. Abu Dhabi’s First Open Air Cinema
The 2011 festival has welcomed an outdoor cinema for the first time. Imagine sitting under the stars watching the hottest new flicks on the screen? We know, amazing right! The open-air venue at the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr seats 1200 people and it will also host the opening night film at the ADFF. Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, Between the Bridges, Abu Dhabi.

4. A-list Faces at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival
The Abu Dhabi Film Festival is always an A-list fest so make sure you’re at the movie premieres to check out the big stars. Last year the hottest A-listers at the film festival were Uma Thurman, Julianne Moore and Adrian Brody. Rumoured to be on the emirate's red carpet this year is George Clooney. Keep your eyes peeled!

5. International Premiere
There are more than 200 features and short films on display this year, among them the international premiere of Bobby Fisher Against the World, directed by Academy Award-nominated Liz Garbus. The film is the first documentary about the late troubled chess player, Bobby Fisher and it’s already getting rave reviews. The drama is been shown at 9.30pm, 17 October and 1.45pm, 19 October at Vox 2, Marina Mall. Tickets cost Dhs25.

6. Hollywood Comes to Abu Dhabi
Hollywood films on this year's schedule include The Ides of March with - ogle alert! - George Clooney and Ryan Gosling (9.30pm, 14 October, Abu Dhabi Theatre), which is fresh from Toronto film fest; Dangerous Method, about Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, starring Keira Knightley and Michael Fassbender (9.30pm, 17 October and 3.30pm, 19 October, Abu Dhabi Theatre); Contagion, starring Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Gwenth Paltrow and Marion Cottilard (7pm, 18 October, Abu Dhabi Theatre), and the much-talked-about Tilda Swinton movie We Need to Talk About Kevin, about a fictitious high school massacre (9pm, 15 October and 8.45pm, 21 October, Vox 1, Marina Mall).

7. Homegrown Movie Talent
Emirati film Sea Shadow is premiering for the first time in Abu Dhabi. The film was the first to be made in a series of five feature films produced by the Abu Dhabi-based company Imagenation. 9.30pm, 19 October, Abu Dhabi Theatre. 10pm, 20 October, Vox 6, Marina Mall.

8. Chat with Directors
Don't miss Script to Screen: Writing and Directing, 'a Conversation With Michael Brandt and Derek Haas' about making films. The writing team behind The Double, starring Richard Gere and Martin Sheen, is premiering at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival and the makers will be discussing how to write a blockbuster, get into the business and direct a film. Their talk is at 2.30pm, 16 October, The Fairmont, Abu Dhabi. Tickets are free. The Double is screening at 9.30pm, 15 October, Abu Dhabi Theatre. 7.30pm, 17 October, Fairmont, Abu Dhabi. Tickets cost Dhs25.

9. Movie Masterclass for the Masses
Get a Masterclass with American filmmaker Todd Solondz. The master film craftsmen will be unleashing his secrets in Abu Dhabi during a candid workshop where you’ll learn all about how to make it in the industry. His Masterclass is at 11am, 17 October, The Fairmont, Abu Dhabi.

10. Ticket Tip
Love movies? Want to see as many as possible at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival? Well, get your hands on the Festival Pass which allows you access to all films showing for a one-off fee of Dhs350. For more information see abudhabifilmfestival.ae.

From Hindustan Times

The stars of Abu Dhabi

Gautaman Bhaskaran, Hindustan Times

Abu Dhabi, October 13, 2011

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival will open here later today with Philippe Falardeau’s acclaimed classroom drama, Monsieur Lazhar from Canada’s Quebec. The country’s official submission for next year’s Oscars, the movie purports to be a poignant look at love and loss.

Among the stars to attend the Festival will be American actress Evan Rachel Wood, who plays in George Clooney’s Ides of March, which recently opened the Venice Film Festival. But Clooney is not coming much to the disappointment of the actor’s innumerable admirers.

Lily Cole -- essaying as a boarding school girl in the rather spooky The Moth Diaries -- will walk the Red Carpet along with Topher Grace, who plays along with Richard Gere in The Double Premiere. But Gere again is not going to be here.

British helmer Michael Winterbottom will fly down with his India-based Trishna, adapted from Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Frieda Pinto has a prominent role here, but it is not yet clear whether she would be in town as well.

However, Pinto may well be at the Doha Film Festival, opening on October 25 with Back Gold, where she portrays a princess. Todd Solondz from the U.S. will screen his Dark Horse (premiered at Venice) and be in attendance himself.

A large contingent from the Middle East will be part of the Festival. Among them will be Iranian director Ashgar Farhadi with his latest A Separation. Marjane Satrapi will also be here with her Chicken with Plums (premiered at Venice), a wonderful follow-up to Persepolis

sadDonkey wrote:I take the 4

Cinderella wrote:I hear she's going to a Mosque... while there...
that's interesting!

Evan Rachel Wood's Abu Dhabi sightseeing to include mosque

ABU DHABI // While one of the biggest names appearing at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival is only in the capital for a couple of nights, she still intends to squeeze in visits to two of its landmarks.

"I'm definitely going to go to the mosque," said Evan Rachel Wood, talking to The National on Saturday afternoon and pointing at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque from her eighth-floor suite in the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr. "And then I think I'm going to go on the fastest roller coaster in the world at Ferrari World."

Read the whole article here: LINK