Announced yesterday, MGM is the latest Hollywood studio to start investing in the future of filmed entertainment in the United Arab Emirates. Every week, it seems, another studio announces deals with Arab real estate firms and production companies to take advantage of the rapidly emerging entertainment market in the Middle East.

This latest $1 billion-dollar deal between Abu Dhabi-based real estate developer Sorouh and Jordanian animation company Rubicon hopes build an “entertainment destination” based on Rubicon and MGM franchised characters (but they say it’s not an amusement park?) as well as start a TV and film production fund.

Also of interest, “In January, DreamWorks Animation announced a billion-dollar strategic alliance with Dubai-based real estate company Tatweer to develop a range of tourism and leisure projects. Universal, Paramount, Nickelodeon and Marvel have all planted their flags in the UAE in the past 12 months. In October, Warner Bros. inked its own multibillion-dollar, multimedia deal with Abu Dhabi-based company Al-Dar. In addition to the now-customary real estate aspects, it also included a $500 million production fund and a $500 million vidgame fund as well as coin for Arab-language features.”

Read the full article in Variety here.

The Tribeca Film Festival proves once again its commitment to films from and about the Arab world, as seen in its recently announced 2008 line-up. Here are just a few of the noteworthy films:

1) The Aquarium (Genenet al Asmak), directed by Yousry Nasrallah, written by Nasser Abdel-Rahman and Nasrallah. (Egypt, France, Germany). An anesthesiologist anesthetist who listens to his patients mumbling under sedation and a late night talk show host (Hend Sabri) whose callers reveal secrets are the yearning principals of this intriguing new work, an ambitious examination of repression—both sexual and political—in Cairo today.

(AFF screened the Bay Area Premiere of Yousry Nasrallah’s Bab El-Shams in 2005)

2) Baghdad High, directed by Ivan O’Mahoney and Laura Winter. (UK) Four classmates (Kurd, Christian, Shiite, and Sunni/Shiite) in Baghdad are given cameras to document their last year in high school, resulting in a rare firsthand view of what it’s like growing up where sectarian violence rages right outside the classroom window. An HBO Documentary Film.

3) War, Love, God & Madness, directed by Mohamed Al-Daradji. (UK, Irag, Netherlands, Palestine, Sweden) – International Premiere. It’s no surprise that making a feature film in Iraq in 2003 wasn’t a picnic. But this extraordinary account of the peril-filled ordeal that the director and crew of Ahlaam went through must be seen to be believed.

(AFF screened the US Premiere of Ahlaam in 2006)

4) Whatever Lola Wants, directed by Nabil Ayouch, written by Jane Hawksley, Nathalie Saugeon and Ayouch. (France, Morocco) Perky blonde Lola is an aspiring dancer in New York, and she’s so smitten by a hunky Egyptian that when he unexpectedly heads home, she follows him. In Cairo, she discovers an even bigger passion —for belly dancing—and vows to master the art.

(AFF screened Nabil Ayouch’s last film Ali Zaoua in 2001)

There are many others, so if you’re in New York during the end of April, be sure to check all the Arab and Middle Eastern films here.

Fortissimo Films has taken the worldwide distribution rights (excluding the Middle East and North America) for CAPTAIN ABU RAED, the first film by Jordanian filmmaker, Amin Matalqa.

The film premiered at the 2007 Dubai Film Festival, taking the Best Actor Award for Nadim Sawalha, and was awarded the World Cinema Audience Award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

CAPTAIN ABU RAED marks the first Jordanian film for export and one of only a handful of films produced in Jordan during the last 50 years. As the Jordanian government, and more specifically, the Jordanian Royal Film Commission, grows and continues to invest in developing local filmmakers and local production facilities, we should expect to see many more films coming out of Jordan in the coming years.

Here’s a review of CAPTAIN ABU RAED from Screen International.

Arab Film Festival Volunteer Spring Social

Sunday March 16, 2008, 2PM- 5PM
Arab Film Festival Office
300 Brannan Street, Ste 508
San Francisco, CA 94107

Please join us for the Arab Film Festival Volunteers Spring Social!

To thank you for your past support and get excited for our 12th Annual Arab Film Festival, we have prepared an afternoon of fine company, joyful mingling, snacks and beverages. Our new Executive Director, Michel Shehadeh, Artistic Director Sonia El-Feki, and AFF board members will be in our office to greet you.
Whether you are a veteran volunteer, a first timer, or just looking to catch up with AFF friends, the Volunteer Spring Social is a great way to meet other Arab film enthusiasts, festival volunteers, and community members.

Please RSVP by contacting our volunteer coordinator, Wael Bhaisi at abushamaleh@hotmail.com