• City Circles Talk: The Museum as an Urban Anchor

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Part of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi’s ongoing City Circles programme exploring the connections between architecture, the environment, and urban life, this conversation looks at the ways museums operate within the urban fabric, exploring their role in shaping movement, gathering, and the [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Discesa libera | Free Fall: dir Sandro Torella (2025)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Manuel Falco is a young actor who, after an early success, finds himself avoided by everyone because of his excessive disrespectfulness. He is forced to start over, taking on modest jobs — among them caring for Vittorio, an elderly man [ ... ]

    Free
  • Promis le Ciel | Promised Sky: dir Erige Sehiri (2025)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Sehiri’s intimate drama follows four generations of Ivorian immigrant women as they find solidarity, conflict and sometimes a sense of displacement in one another’s company. We're dropped into the lives of Marie (Aïssa Maïga), Naney (Debora Lobe Naney) and Jolie [ ... ]

    AED 30
  • The Kid: dir Charlie Chaplin (1921)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    An evening of cinema and live music at the Manarat's restuarant Taparelle, featuring a screening Chaplin's silent masterpiece – comedy, emotion, and unforgettable storytelling – with a DJ gig by Amin Fari. The result "reimagines a timeless cinematic masterpiece through [ ... ]

    AED 30
  • Sirât: dir Oliver Laxe (2025)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Luis and his son Esteban travel to a rave held in the deserts of southern Morocco in search of his missing daughter. They hand out her photo again and again; hope is fading, but they hear from a group of [ ... ]

    AED 30
  • Father Mother Sister Brother: dir Jim Jarmusch (2025)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Jarmusch's Golden Lion winner is a comedy-drama anthology that follows three estranged family relationships in three different countries around the world, exploring the closeness and awkwardness of parents and their grownup children in US, Dublin and Paris. The stellar ensemble [ ... ]

    AED 30
  • The Jury Experience – Death by AI: Who Pays the Price?

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    True immersive theatre: the audience is the jury at the heart of a live trial – hear the testimonies, consider the evidence, weigh the arguments ... and deliver a verdict. The case also seems very now: a driverless car is [ ... ]

    From AED 150
  • Animenia Abu Dhabi

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Animenia returns to Manarat Al Saadiyat with five days of cosplay, music, food, and J-pop culture – “step inside a world inspired by the hidden corners of Neo-Tokyo, where glowing signs, colourful characters, and offbeat discoveries bring anime culture to [ ... ]

    AED 95
  • Beauty and the Beast: dir Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise (1991)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    A tale as old as time gets the Disney treatment, with added lustre from a newly restored print of this family-friendly animation: the beast (an enchanted prince, of course) tries to win the love of the young and beautiful Belle [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • The Holdovers: dir Alexander Payne (2023)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    A warm-hearted and thoughtful holiday story of three lonely, shipwrecked people who find support in the most unlikely of places. A curmudgeonly teacher (Paul Giamatti) is forced to remain on campus at a New England prep school over Christmas to [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • The Muppet Christmas Carol: dir Brian Henson (1992)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    The best film version of Dickens' novel? Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine, obviously having a lot of fun) is visted on Christmas Eve by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Together with kind, humble Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog) [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • It’s a Wonderful Life: dir Frank Capra (1946)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Capra's classic snow-laden tearjerker (five Oscar nominations) has James Stewart as a struggling banker (!) who becomes so disillusioned with his small-town life that he contemplates suicide. Fortunately his trainee guardian angel, Clarence (Henry Travers), is able to intervene and [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Abu Dhabi Art

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    The 16th edition of Abu Dhabi Art will take place from 19 to 23 November, as usual at Manarat al Saadiyat. The fair element has more than 140 galleries from 37 countries, by far the largest number to date – [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • The Teachers’ Lounge: dir İlker Çatak (2023)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Carla Nowak (Leonie Benesch) is an idealistic new high-school teacher. She seems to have connected with her Year 8 students, who are engaged and eager to learn in her maths class. But something is bubbling underneath the surface, and she’s [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • The Mummy: dir Stephen Sommers (1999)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Action-packed tongue-firmly-in-cheek adventure. Deep in the Egyptian desert, a band of explorers searching for long-lost treasure have accidentally unearthed and resurrected a 3,000-year-old Egyptian priest. Adventurer Rick O' Connell (Brendan Fraser) pairs up with librarian (?) Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) and [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein: dir Charles Barton (1948)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Gratifyingly, this does exactly what it says on the tin (or rather, in the title): the world of railroad baggage handlers Chick Young (Bud Abbott) and Wilbur Grey (Lou Costello) is turned upside down when they receive a strange shipment [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Psycho: dir Alfred Hitchcock (1960)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    It doesn't get much better than the original if you want a psychological thriller dripping with suspense. Janet Leigh stars as Phoenix secretary Marion Crane, absconding with a small fortune of her employer’s money; she takes a wrong turn in [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • La Llorona: dir Jayro Bustamante (2019)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Guatemalan auteur Jayro Bustamante’s transfixing fusion of folklore, magical realism and searing political commentary was inspired by the real-life indictment of the authoritarian Efraín Ríos Montt for crimes against humanity. A notorious, indignant, ageing former military dictator, Enrique stands trial [ ... ]

    Free
  • Sorry We Missed You: dir Ken Loach (2019)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Characteristically powerful social drama of the British working class from Ken Loach. This wrenching, intimate family drama exposes the dark side of the so-called 'gig economy; an unrelenting work schedule, a ruthless supervisor and the needs of their two teenage [ ... ]

    Free
  • 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: dir Richard Fleischer (1954)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Another of Cinema Space’s free-to-view classics, this one a restored version of the Oscar-winning Jules Verne story: Kirk Douglas, Paul Lukas, and Peter Lorre are shipwrecked, taken captive by the mysterious Captain Nemo (James Mason) on his submarine Nautilus. Wavering [ ... ]

    Free
  • Hester Street: dir Joan Micklin Silver (1975)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Carol Kane is extraordinary as a Jewish immigrant arriving in late 19th-century New York with her young son Yossele (Paul Freedman) to join a husband (Steven Keach) who she hasn’t seen in three years. He's embraced the new world and [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • LAST CHANCE Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Subtitled explicitly 'Contemporary Art from Korea, 1960s to Today', this exhibition is a selection of works from the Seoul Museum of Art, curated by SeMA's Kyung-Hwan Yeo and Maya El Khalil for the Abu Dhabi Festival, and it aims to [ ... ]

    Free
  • Layered Dialogues: Society as Medium – In/Visible City

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Another in the series of panel discussions based around the Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits exhibition at this venue (runs to 30 June and is well worth seeing). Artist Minouk Lim talks with Wael Al Awar, Principal architect [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Layered Dialogues: Society as Medium

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Subtitled 'Objects as Anchors: Material, Narrative, and Memory', this panel discussion riffs on the recently-opened Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits exhibition at this venue (runs to 30 June and is well worth seeing). As the blurb puts it: [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Gloria! dir Margherita Vicario (2024)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Set in a Venetian boarding school for orphaned girls at the end of the 18th century, Gloria! tells the story of a group of talented young musicians who are dteermined to make music. There's a mischievous musical anachronism at the [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • A Tale of Two Sisters: dir Kim Jee-woon (2003)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    After a stint in a mental hospital, Korean teen Su-mi reunites with her beloved sister Su-yeon and they return to live at their family home. The girls' father has remarried, and the siblings are immediately resentful of his new wife. [ ... ]

    Free
  • Dog Days: dir Kim Douck-min (2024)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Single man Min-sang is a meticulous planner and obsessively tidy. He just wants peace and quiet — but his building has become an unofficial home for stray dogs, thanks to the free-spirited vet Jin-young who is his tenant. A chance [ ... ]

    Free
  • Jaurim, the Wonderland: dir Kim Ji-hwan (2023)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    One of South Korea's top bands, Jaurim, celebrated their 25th anniversary with a special album featuring a live concert and a chorus made up of 117 fans. This film documents the making of the album, intercut with personal anecdotes from [ ... ]

    Free
  • Arab Film Studio Collection

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    A curated collection of short narrative and documentary films produced and directed by alumnii from Arab Film Studio, an initiative supporting emerging filmmakers that plays a vital role in nurturing the UAE’s film industry and positioning Abu Dhabi as a [ ... ]

    Free
  • My Beautiful Girl, Mari: dir Lee Sung-gang (2002)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Kim Nam-woo is struggling wife life as people around him seem to be constantly leaving him – his best friend, Jun-ho, is going to study in Seoul; his widowed mother is paying more attention to her new boyfriend. Then he [ ... ]

    Free
  • Secret – Untold Meoldy: dir Seo You-min (2025)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    A wrist injury forces promising pianist Yu Jun to return to Korea for treatment. While recuperating at his father’s music college, he comes across a mysterious woman named Jung A in an old practice room; their growing connection takes an [ ... ]

    Free
  • C’est si bon: dir Kim Hyun-suk (2015)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Three young artists bicker over their music in the hip music bar C’est Si Bon, where they formed the C’est Si Bon Trio. Tehn beautiful socialite Ja-young enters the picture and becomes their muse, and a series of moving love [ ... ]

    Free
  • Parasite: dir Bong Joon Ho (2019)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    The South Korean smash hit and multi award winner (including the Cannes Palme d'Or in 2019 and a Best Picture Oscar) is a black comedy thriller: it follows the street-smart Kim family scamming their way into the household of the [ ... ]

    Free
  • Moon Is The Oldest TV: dir Amanda Kim (2023)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Kim's documentary profiles the career of Nam June Paik and his pioneering contributions to video art. A timely meditation on the contradictory ways in which technology elicits both fascist tendencies and intercultural understanding, the film charts Paik’s artistic evolution with [ ... ]

    Free
  • Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Now this should be one of the highlights of the UAE's exhibition year, not just because of the content – it's subtitled explicitly 'Contemporary Art from Korea, 1960s to Today', and South Korea is home to some of the most [ ... ]

    Free
  • A Life on Tape / Bilder (m)einer Mutter: dir Melanie Lischker (1921)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Melanie Lischker's documentary reconstructs the life of her mother (who she barely remembers) from over 100 hours of Super 8 and video footage that was meticulously recorded over the decades, mostly by her father. The result is the poignant story [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • A plein temps: dir Eric Gravel (2021)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Single mother Julie (César award-winning actress Laure Calamy) works a grueling job as a head chambermaid in a five-star Parisian hotel while struggling to raise her two children at the end of a commuter line. A job opportunity arises that [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Culture Summit Abu Dhabi

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    The seventh edition of the Summit, which runs 27-29 April, again brings together "thought leaders" from art, heritage, media, museums, music, public policy and technology to debate the role of culture. This year's theme is the catch-all 'Culture for Humanity [ ... ]

    Invitation only
  • Diamanti: dir Ferzan Özpetek (2024)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    A dazzling film set in n 1970s Rome in a dressmaking atelier for film and theatre. The atelier is directed by two very different sisters, one determined and slightly despotic, the other more fragile and tormented. An important order comes [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Perfect Days: dir Wim Wenders (2023)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Writer-director Wim Wenders tells a Tokyo-set story that celebrates the hidden joys and minutiae of Japanese culture . Winner of Best Actor at Cannes 2023, Koji Yakusho stars as Hirayama, a contemplative middle-aged man who lives a life of modesty [ ... ]

    Free
  • Bo-ri: dir Kim Jinyu (2018)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Bo-ri, an 11-year-old girl in a seaside village, is the only family member who can hear; she becomes more and more accustomed to talking with her school friends while finding it hard to communicate with her family in sign language. [ ... ]

    Free
  • A Real Pain: dir Jesse Eisenberg (2024)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Jesse Eisenberg wrote, directed and stars in this whip-sharp comedy of two Jewish American cousins touring Poland in honour of their grandmother. The fun comes from the verbal sparring between uptight, neurotic David (Eisenberg) and his outgoing, unpredictable cousin Benji [ ... ]

    Free
  • She Chef: dir Melanie Liebheit & Gereon Wetzel (2022)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    The remarkable journey of aspiring Austrian chef Agnes Karrasch as she journeys through exceptional restaurants and diverse culinary cultures to become the first and only woman to win the 2018 culinary world cup. Screens as part of the NAAS  She-Reel [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Sabrina: dir Billy Wilder (1954)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    A newly-restored print of one of Hollywood's classics – romantic, witty, a great director, and full of stars: Humphrey Bogart, William Holden and Audrey Hepburn lead in this Cinderella story of a gauche girl who returns from a trip to [ ... ]

    Free
  • TOUCH: dir Baltasar Kormákur (2024)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Superbly filmed, the romantic film of the year spans decades, continents and cultures as a widower embarks on an emotional journey. Based on the bestseller by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson and directed by Iceland’s multi-award-winning director Baltasar Kormákur, TOUCH is the [ ... ]

    Free