{"id":58177,"date":"2024-10-23T11:18:54","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T07:18:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/?p=58177"},"modified":"2024-10-23T20:51:37","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T16:51:37","slug":"films-for-life-the-al-sidr-environmental-film-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/films-for-life-the-al-sidr-environmental-film-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Films for life: the Al Sidr Environmental Film Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The fourth edition of the Al Sidr Environmental Film Festival<\/a> opens at The Arts Center of NYUAD evening (Thursday). The three-day festival, produced in collaboration with Environment Agency \u2013 Abu Dhabi, this year takes its theme, \u2018All Living Things\u2019, from the Quran\u2019s Surah Al An’am: \u201cAll living beings roaming the earth and winged birds soaring in the sky are communities like yourselves\u201d (Quran 6:38).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, the festival asks simply, how can we learn from all living beings, and what new perspectives do all beings generously offer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It manages to do this by programming a wide variety of films \u2013 shorts and feature-length movies, documentaries and fiction, mainstream releases and festival favourites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The festival\u2019s Artistic Director is Dr Nezar Andary, himself an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and cultural consultant who is also Associate Professor of Digital Production and Storytelling at AUD. We asked him about the thinking behind the festival: \u201cTo create a space where the engaging aesthetics forgive a strong ecological consciousness\u201d, he said. \u201dOr in simpler terms, to communicate climate changes in ways that wake people up and also create curiosity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We don’t want to show the kind of clich\u00e9d documentary that just hits you over the head with facts or the cinema of spectacle like those apocalyptic end-of-the-world films \u2013 we really aim to mix up the curation, to challenge the audience and provoke new questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt not an easy thing to communicate climate change because it is a slow and invisible violence, so we try to choose films that have strong cinematic values. I also believe that the environmental film movement has always been part of cinema, so we are always looking for classic films that helps understand our relationship to nature.\u201d This year\u2019s programme includes two strong auteur voices, Ken Loach and John Abraham; two good animations, including one Studio Ghibli co-production; and work from two local organisations that Dr Andary regards as important, The Climate Tribe in the UAE and Lebanon\u2019s REEF film festival.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More generally, he wants to build a groundswell of consciousness about the role of nature and the value of sustainability \u2013 ideally with great involvement from the audiences. \u201cWe want to be more immersive, more about creating a conversation between citizen scientist, scientist, filmmakers. We want to improve our ability to communicate on ecology and climate change.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says he has been influenced in this festival and others in particular by the works of Rob Nixon on ‘slow violence’<\/a> and James Bridle on ‘planetary intelligence’<\/a>, how AI might help us to become better stewards of our planet.  “These and others were part of the curation process \u2013 each year I try to really explore the project in specific ways.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the fourth Al Sidr Festival, and Nezar commends the support of EAD Abu Dhabi for its longevity: \u201cto sustain fully four years of one cultural event in the UAE is an amazing accomplishment\u201d.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Al Sidr? \u201cWell, I have been influenced by Karen Armstrong writing about revisiting ancient religious scripts in search of new relationship with nature. The sidr tree [also known as the jujube or lote tree] figures in religions from Buddhism and Islam, representing both transcendence and sustainability. And historically it\u2019s part of the culture of the region \u2013 honey is made from the flowers of the sidr tree, and the leaves were used by Emirati women to make soap. The sidr tree felt like a most appropriate symbol for an environmental festival.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All panels and screenings in the Al Sidr Environmental Film Festival take place in the Blue Theater of NYUAD’s Arts Center. Tickets are free, but you need to pre-register on this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The programme:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Exhibition: Conservatory for Plants with Obesity<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Created by Camilla Singh\u00a0with the participation of\u00a0Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, this is a multi-sensory sci-fi installation blending natural elements and artifice to explore transformation driven by human excess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the conservatory, plant life gradually shifts from simplicity to exaggerated form as an ecological response to human indulgence and carbon dioxide overproduction. As always, plants adapt to their surroundings, and in this case morphing in response to excess, much like their natural responses to light or touch. We witness the plants during a process of transformation, taking on surreal, exaggerated forms, expressing their adaptation to a new state of balance where stored fat embodies their participation in excess. Its a story that underscores humanity’s role as an intrinsic part of the natural world, rather than architects or observers \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Blue Hall at The Arts Center for the duration of the festival.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Thursday 24 October <\/mark><\/strong>6.30pm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Panel Discussion \u2013 Marine Biodiversity in the UAE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts from the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi tackle the subject. They include Dr Himansu Das<\/strong>, EAAD\u2019s Unit Head for Marine Endangered Species and Habitats; Dr Hind Al Ameri<\/strong>, a marine conservation scientist at EAAD; and Nessrine Alzahlawi<\/strong>, a biodiversity conservation professional with 17 years of experience in biodiversity policy development. The panel is moderated by Arabella Willing<\/strong>, a British marine biologist known for her work with Hawksbill turtles and environmental outreach programmes.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Friday 25 October <\/mark><\/strong>7pm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Co-Creating with Nature: The Art of Circular Design<\/strong>
(The Climate Tribe, 2024: 9 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designer Reema Al Mheirii talks eloquently about her heritage and her mission to redefine waste – a process which has led her to repurpose discarded fish scales into a regenerative biomaterial from which she makes architectural floor lamps.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Wrought<\/strong>
(dir Anna Sigrithur and Joel Penner, Canada, 2022: 22 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A time-lapse film of rotting and fermentation in action, Wrought<\/em> creates an intimate, immersive world where decay can be beautiful, tender and even surprisingly human. Wrought unfolds a larger story about the ways humans create categories for the world around us that can be limiting; it challenges terms like spoil, ferment, compost and rot as it coaxes audiences to decompose these categories and their associated binaries. As the title implies, we are all forged out of the relationships that transgress such binaries; we are all, indeed, wrought.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Against the Tide<\/strong>
(dir Sarvnik Kaur, India\/France, 2023: 97 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winner of the Sundance 2023 V\u00e9rit\u00e9 Filmmaking Prize, this captivating documentary of class, climate change, and overfishing centres on the lives of two indigenous fishermen. Best friends Rakesh and Ganesh both grew up in the Koli caste, both entered their traditional profession as fishermen, and both are struggling to provide for their young families. They face common problems: bureaucratic rules, plastic ocean garbage, high-tech Chinese fishing fleets, an overpopulation of jellyfish, and, most ominous of all, fish stocks depleted due to climate change. But in some crucial ways they are completely different. Rakesh has always been poor; Ganesh could afford to go to school abroad. Rakesh uses his father’s rickety boat and navigates by the moon and the tides; Ganesh has a power boat and prefers newer, innovative methods, like shining LED lights into the water to lure fish at night. Tension builds between the friends; how could it not, whenever tradition and modernity clash?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Saturday 26 October <\/mark><\/strong>2pm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ma Poule | My Girl<\/strong>
(dir Caroline Oph\u00e9lie, France, 2023: 18 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ever since the rooster died, Jasper\u2019s only surviving hen has been plagued by depression. Forced to come down from the mountain where he lives far from the modern world, the old man sets out in search of companionship for his beloved feathered friend.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Kes<\/strong>
(dir Ken Loach, UK, 1969: 110 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy is a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy who discovers his own private means of fulfilment when he adopts a fledgling kestrel and proceeds to train it in the art of falconry. Loach’s compassionate treatment means the film is both a biting indictment of the British class system of the time but also a celebration of the power of relationships between humans and animals \u2013 and his kestrel has everything that Billy needs: freedom, pride, respect and independence.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Saturday 26 October <\/mark><\/strong>5pm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kawauso<\/strong>
(dir Akihito Izuhara, Japan, 2023: 15 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A beautiful, elegant, elegiac animation of a young girl and a river otter in an empty town trying to establish some mutual contact. Together, they watch their world perish slowly around them …<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Tree of Hell<\/strong>
(dir Raed Zeno, Lebanon, 2024: 24 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raed discovers by chance that the beautiful tree growing in front of his house belongs to an invasive species that threatens environmental diversity in the Lebanese forest. He begins the journey of exploring this tree with his friend Hadi Awada, whose own land has been contaminated by white phosphorus from Israeli bombardments. The comparison between the \u201ctree from hell\u201d and the threat posed by Israel serves to link Lebanon’s ecological challenges to the other urgent issues facing the country. A REEF Festival Short.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Red Turtle<\/strong>
(dir Michaela Dudoka De Wita, Japan\/France, 2016: 80 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An animated fantasy drama with no dialogue that tells the story of a man shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. His attempts to escape are foiled by what turns out to be a giant red hawksbill sea turtle; she turns into a red-haired woman, they reconcile, and they live together on the island \u2026 Suspended between reality and a dream, this poetic story is a meditation on beauty, nature and the stages of human life. An Oscar nominee and an award-winner from Cannes, the film was a co-production of legendary Studio Ghibli and a number of French production companies.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Saturday 26 October <\/mark><\/strong>7.30pm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bee Keeper\u2019s Journey<\/strong>
(The Climate Tribe, 2024: 6 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We follow beekeeper and ecologist Aisha Hareb Al Dhaheri, whose passion for beekeeping raises awareness about the local ecosystem in the United Arab Emirates. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Night Visitors<\/strong>
(dir Michael Gitlin, USA, 2023: 72 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A movie about moths; film and video artist Michael Gitlin emphasises their surreal beauty as well as their ecological relevance. He\u2019s interested in moths as organisms, with fascinating life histories, staggering biodiversity, and a functional importance as indicators of climate change and habitat degradation; but he also sees moths as aesthetic beings and as carriers of meaning.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Sleepless Birds<\/strong>
(dir Tom Claudon and Dana Melaver, Germany, 2021: 45 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can a tomato change our sense of time? At the border between science fiction and documentary, Sleepless Birds tracks the rise of artificially-lit, industrial greenhouses in the French province of Brittany: the film shows the environmental impact of grow lights on biodiversity, as well as on our own rhythms and perception of time. In examining the case of agricultural light pollution, the film raises questions about the unintended consequences of human attempts to overpower nature and control the elements.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Sunday 27 October<\/mark><\/strong> 3pm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Panel Discussion \u2013 The Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi in Focus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The panel includes staff of the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi (NHMAD) who will discuss stories linking the past, present, and future of natural history, exploring the role of natural history in presenting a profound understanding of our interconnected world. Hear from Dr Peter C. Kj\u00e6rgaard<\/strong>, NHMAD\u2019s director; Prof Phil Manning<\/strong>, Director of Science; Sara Almarzooqi, Assistant Curator; Dr Mark Beech<\/strong>, Curatorial and Scientific Lead; and Dr Brigitte Howarth<\/strong>, Curator of Entomology.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Sunday 27 October<\/mark><\/strong> 5pm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shift<\/strong>
(dir Sherine Raffoul and Moussa Shabandar, Lebanon, 2024: 18 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chadi Saad was once an enthusiast bird hunter who has made a 360o<\/sup> turn and condemns hunting as criminal. He attributes his change in perspective to the birds\u2019 beautiful colours and his reading that revealed to him that man and nature are one. This documentary highlights the importance of a philosophical and scientific understanding, along with the necessity of documenting migratory birds and those seeking refuge in the heart of Lebanon. A REEF Festival Short.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Xue Bao | Snow Leopard<\/strong>
(dir Pema Tseden, China, 2023: 109 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a story about how people and animals can finally get along. A snow leopard, rare and globally endangered, breaks into the pen of a herder family and kills nine goats. The father and son argue about what to do: the son wants to kill the snow leopard, the father insists on releasing it since the animal represents the spirit of the mountains. It\u2019s a scenario that summarises the clash between traditional values and contemporary developments in a modernising Tibet; Tseden, who died before the film could be released, devoted his career to illustrating the complexities of modern life in his native land, and his final completed feature is no exception.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Sunday 27 October<\/mark><\/strong> 7.30pm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Man\u2019s Land<\/strong>
(dir Kim Elias Majdalani, Lebanon, 2023: 6 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s a dead zone on the disputed southern borders of Lebanon, where wildlife thrives in the absence of human settlement.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Revenge of Nature<\/strong>
(dir Kim Elias Majdalani, Lebanon, 2019: 12 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How nature reclaims its territory through ecological succession after an area has been abandoned by humans.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Agraharathil Kazhuthai | Donkey in a Brahmin Village<\/strong>
(dir John Abraham, India, 1977: 90 min)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A college professor faces ridicule when he adopts a newborn donkey after its mother is killed. He leaves Madras and takes the foal to his home village, against the norms of his community. Bad things start to happen, and the villagers blame the donkey; they kill it, and magically miracles beginning happening in the village. The villagers erect a shrine to the donkey, but they get their comeuppance \u2026 Abraham\u2019s Tamil-language satire on social norms among high-caste Brahmins was originally shunned but has since attained cult status.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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