SICFF is the first film festival for children in the country and region, dedicated to enhance the media literacy of children and young people, foster children’s creativity and showcase the very best in filmmaking for, by and about children and young people.
The sixth edition of the Sharjah International Children’s Festival (SICFF) will kick off on 14th October 2018, with 54 premiers (12 international, 34 Middle Eastern, 7 UAE, and 1 Gulf films), 138 screenings, over 40 workshops, and for the very first time, will include panel discussions.
Themed ‘Think Cinema’, the six-day event will be held at Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre – with screenings also taking place at Cinemacity 06 Mall, and will showcase talent from across the globe.
Addressing a press conference on 24th September 2018, Jawaher bint Abdullah Al Qasimi, director of SICFF and FUNN Sharjah Media Arts for Youth and Children, said: “The festival will bring together an impressive galaxy of promising talents from around the world who have chosen the SICFF as a platform to showcase their work and introduce their countries’ cultures to a global audience.”
The festival will also screen a selection of short films to highlight the plight of refugees in countries such as Syria, Egypt, Jordon, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Jawaher bint Abdullah Al Qasimi added: “The SICFF’s selections this year will lay special focus on the plight of refugees. Our festival could not have seen the light of day if it weren’t for the patronage and unfailing encouragement offered by His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and his wife, Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi.
“We believe that art is key to enriching the personalities and perceptions of young people, and that the ideas presented in films are strong catalysts that fire up children’s imaginations and develop their ability to discover beauty.”
The US will have the maximum number of entries competing at this year’s SICFF Awards, followed by France and Russia.
The seven festival award categories include:
The films submitted for award categories will be judged by an independent jury featuring Arab and international film experts, critics and media personalities, renowned artists, directors and producers – Saudi documentary films producer Hana Makki, Bahraini actress Haifa Hussein, Palestinian filmmaker and producer Hani Abu Assad, film animator Brian Ferguson, movie critic Mansura Abdul Amir, and animator Simon Medard.
Below are some of the films that will screen at this year’s festival:
World Country (World Premiere)
Movie Synopsis: In this experimental film, we are taken through the impact of the current war-time violence by becoming immersed in the sights and sounds of the battlefield; looking into the faces of the very children it affects. These common experiences dissolve the boundaries that separate cultures and nations and we can only hope that these children will grow to know peace.
Director: Mohammad Borzouei
Country: Iran
Duration: 4 Minutes
Growing Alice (Middle East Premiere)
Movie Synopsis: People often ask, what would happen if walls could talk? What would they say about our lives… our upbringing? In this dazzling short, we become the quiet observers of little girl’s coming of age journey from the perspective of her mirror on the wall. Reflected back to us is the beautiful transition of a girl to a young woman: from the quiet moments of bonding between mother and baby, the tiny arguments and conflicts of adolescence, to the final journey and separation to adulthood.
Director: Danilo Zambrano
Country: Ireland
Duration: 4 minutes
The Guest: Aleppo – Istanbul
Movie Synopsis: The film follows the journey of Lena and Meryem during their escape from the war in Syria. Lena is a ten-year-old girl who has lost her family in the war. She finds herself forced to make her way to Turkey with her baby sister and their neighbor Meryem, along with the other refugees. Lena wants to return home, while Meryem’s hope is reach Europe. While showing Meryem and Lena overcoming the hurdles of a big city in a foreign country and becoming heroines of their story, the film enables people to have a better understanding of Syrian refugees’ feelings and the harsh reality they face every day.
Director: Andaç Haznederoglu
Country: Turkey, Jordan
Duration: 83 minutes
Labyrinth of the Heart (World Premiere)
Movie Synopsis: Where do you go to find your heart? In this animated piece, a young girl wanders to the Lost and Found at the Carnival in search of her heart. Listening closely to the beat, she follows it deep in the recesses of a nightmarish cavernous world. The quest proves to be evasive, and takes on a life of its own, as she presses on through treacherous worlds of fiery furnaces and dark forests.
Director: Mariam Khayat
Country: Saudi Arabia
Duration: 3 minutes
If You Fall
Movie Synopsis: 8-year-old Lila is learning how to ride a two-wheeled bicycle with the help of her father, an artist who sells his paintings every day at the market. They practice regularly together, with the promise that he will not let her fall when he lets go of her bicycle. When it becomes increasingly difficult for her father to make a living selling his paintings, things grow tense at home, and many responsibilities are shifted onto Lila’s mother, a reporter. The family works together through the role reversal, telling a story of unconditional love and support for one another.
Director: Tisha Deb Pillai
Country: Canada / India
Duration: 6 minutes
Vision
Movie Synopsis: It is the late 1940s in the United Arab Emirates. Two girls, Maryoom and Owaish sit together, relaxing on the beach one afternoon. Owaish muses about what her grandma expects will happen in the future as society and technology advance — that everything in life will become simpler. Entertaining the fantasy, Maryoom opens her eyes and is suddenly transported to present day. Dubai and life are unrecognizable. She is soon overwhelmed by the sights, lights, sounds, and enormous skyscrapers of the city. The premonition appears to have come true, but is the vision of the future as bright as Maryoom dreamed?
Director: Jawaher Alharmoodi
Country: UAE
Duration: 13 Minutes
The Chocolate Soldier (Middle East Premiere)
Movie Synopsis: It is 1945 and although Germany is now free from the Nazis, is remains occupied by allied troops. The future feels unstable for many, including 10-year-old girl Maria and her family. Her parents are distrustful of the American military presence in their small town, and they lament the sparse food rations. One day, Maria notices an American soldier just outside her window, enjoying a piece of chocolate as a snack. Her parents forbid her from speaking with him, until just the right rehearsed set of English words rebuild the trust and kindness that the war had torn away.
Director: Jackson Smith
Country: USA
Duration: 12 minutes
For more information on the workshops offered at this year’s festival, visit www.sicff.ae/sicff-workshops-2018/
Sources: Gulf News, Khaleej Times and SICFF
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Source: Cannes Lions
Kibsons International – The No.1 online home delivery service in fresh produce category in the UAE, recently booked a cinema campaign through Motivate Val Morgan.
As part of the cinema campaign, Kibsons International booked an on screen commercial and a sampling activity at two leading cinema locations in the Dubai.
On Screen Commercial
Commercial Duration: 30 sec.
Booking Type: Follow a Movie (Avengers: Infinity War)
Cinema Locations: VOX Cinemas – Mall of the Emirates and Reel Cinemas – the Dubai Mall
Watch the commercial below:
Sampling Activity
The sampling activity was executed in two bursts.
VOX Cinemas – Mall of the Emirates
Dates: 26th, 27th and 28th April 2018
Description: A box filled with fruits and vegetables were left on the seats of the Top 3 screens of the cinema screening Avengers: Infinity War.
Watch the video interviews with moviegoers who received the Kibsons goodie box at VOX Cinemas – Mall of the Emirates:
Reel Cinemas – The Dubai Mall
Dates: 3rd, 4th and 5th May 2018
Description: Boxes filled with fruits and vegetables were distributed to moviegoers entering the Top 3 Screens of the cinema to watch Avengers: Infinity War.
Interested in running a similar cinema campaign in UAE, Lebanon, Oman, Egypt, Qatar or Bahrain?
Contact a member of our sales team for more information.
Motivate Val Morgan is the official representative of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in the UAE.
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has released the remaining names of the 2018 Jury Presidents.
A total of 26 Presidents will guide specialist juries within the nine ‘Awards Tracks’. In addition to creative leaders drawn from across the spectrum of creative services, this year’s President line-up includes Fernando Machado, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Burger King and Mark D’Arcy, VP and Chief Creative Officer at Facebook.
For the first time in Festival history, Apple will participate in the juries with Tor Myhren, VP Marketing Communications appointed as Innovation President.
Jose Papa, Managing Director of Cannes Lions, said, “This year’s Jury Presidents represent a mix of world-renowned creative leaders as well as some incredibly well-respected names from the brand and technology worlds. It’s a real honour to welcome each of this year’s Presidents to the Festival community.”
Jury Presidents for Lions within the REACH, CRAFT, EXPERIENCE and INNOVATION tracks are as follows:
REACH – The insight, strategy and planning enabling brands to effectively engage consumers, at scale, and be heard amid the ongoing battle for attention.
CRAFT – Focusing on the artistry, skill, talent and flair required to deliver beautifully executed ideas with the power to cut through and bring the creative idea to life.
EXPERIENCE – Focussing on the powerful brand currency of intelligent customer journeys and immersive experiences – captivating new audiences at every touch point.
INNOVATION – Showcasing the conception and application of product development, business transformation and the new data-driven, tech-enabled creativity re-shaping the conversation between brand and consumer.
Presidents in the COMMUNICATIONS, IMPACT, GOOD, ENTERTAINMENT and HEALTH tracks for 2018 were announced in a previous article, which can be accessed here.
The Festival opened for entries on 18 January with a first deadline of 22 March. Final entry deadline is 20 April. The 2018 edition of Cannes Lions runs 18-22 June.
Source: Cannes Lions
The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched events on US television, so it’s not a surprise that movie studios consider it a prime time to premiere trailers for upcoming blockbusters.
This year’s Super Bowl was no exception. Trailers and teasers for Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Cloverfield Paradox , Mission: Impossible — Fallout, Avengers: Infinity War, and more all premiered during the big game.
Here are the trailers that aired during the game for your viewing pleasure:
Solo: A Star Wars Story
A troubled production (the original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were removed late in the game and replaced with Ron Howard) has meant that the publicity machine for the Han Solo origin adventure has started up at a rather late stage. But this first, impressive spot suggests that we might have been worrying for nothing. Tthis tease gives us a brief look at the stellar cast, including Woody Harrelson and Donald Glover, and some splashy action.
Releasing on 21 June 2018 across cinemas in UAE, Oman, Lebanon, Qatar and Bahrain. Releasing on 20 June 2018 across cinemas in Egypt.
Skyscraper
Can someone go check on Dwayne Johnson? Is he eating all right, sleeping all right, gym-ing all right? The mega-star is coming off a schedule that has him top-lining three major movies in the space of seven months, making him a completely justified candidate for the oft-used celebrity affliction of “exhaustion”. The third (after Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and video game-inspired actioner Rampage) is the oddly dated-looking Skyscraper, a film that would have starred Arnie or Sly back in the late 80s. That final stunt does look like quite the doozy though. Tom Cruise will be furious.
Releasing on 12 July 2018 across cinemas in UAE, Oman, Lebanon, Qatar and Bahrain. Releasing on 11 July 2018 across cinemas in Egypt.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
After his failed Dark Universe non-starter The Mummy, Tom Cruise is feeling the need, the need for the Mission: Impossible franchise to return like never before. The series continues to be a reliable money-maker (the most recent entry brought in $682m worldwide) and for the sixth instalment, Cruise is hoping his high-octane showing off will at least temporarily catapult him back to the top. The first trailer looks like more of the same, with some new recruits (hello, Angela Bassett and Henry Cavill) but the final stunt, typically what sells each film, doesn’t look quite as incredible as in previous attempts. But maybe they’re saving it for later sneak peeks.
Releasing on 26 July 2018 across cinemas in UAE, Oman, Lebanon, Qatar and Bahrain. Releasing on 25 July 2018 across cinemas in Egypt.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
After the first trailer teased bigger dino action than ever before, this flashy new Super Bowl spot gives us a more horror-based look at the summer sequel. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are returning along with an island full of unwanted beasts and for those who worried the last preview focused on just the bigger action scenes, this one has some of the more intimate creepy sequences that made the original film so successful. The new spot also teases a new dinosaur created by scientists that looks rather nasty and also incredibly hateful of children.
Releasing on 7 June 2018 across cinemas in UAE, Oman, Lebanon, Qatar and Bahrain. Releasing on 13 June 2018 across cinemas in Egypt.
Red Sparrow
Coming off the back of the divisive Darren Aronofsky horror/comedy/drama/satire/experiment Mother!, Jennifer Lawrence is shifting gears yet again for this spy thriller from her Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence. Trailers have previously shown off her surprisingly effective Russian accent and what looks to be a dark, sexual tone and tonight’s new spot doesn’t add a whole lot more but suggests another unusual role for Lawrence.
Releasing on 22 March 2018 across cinemas in UAE, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain. Releasing on 1 March 2018 across cinemas in Lebanon and 28 February 2018 across cinemas in Egypt.
The Avengers: Infinity War
One of the night’s most anticipated trailers offered up a look at the overdose of superheroes that will be teaming up in the next Avengers movie. Black Panther! Doctor Strange! Spider-Man! The Guardians lot! It’s a dream for anyone who thought that Captain America: Civil War could have done with a few more major Marvel characters.
Releasing on 26 April 2018 across cinemas in UAE, Oman, Lebanon, Qatar and Bahrain. Releasing on 25 April 2018 across cinemas in Egypt.
A Quiet Place
The night also saw a new look at the John Krasinski-directed horror film that stars himself and his off-screen wife, Emily Blunt, as a couple protecting their kids from monsters that use sound to attack. Like the first, longer trailer, this suggests great things with a creepy gimmick that could make this a hugely unsettling watch.
Releasing on 5 April 2018 across cinemas in UAE, Oman, Lebanon, Qatar and Bahrain. Releasing on 4 April 2018 across cinemas in Egypt.
Don’t miss out on advertising alongside these blockbusters – guaranteed to be crowd puller across cinemas in the UAE, Oman, Lebanon, Egypt, Qatar and Bahrain.
Contact a member of our sales team for information on cinema advertising opportunities.
Sources: The Guardian and USA Today
City Cinema was the first cinema chain to launch in the Sultanate of Oman – owned by Oman Arab Company LLC (which belongs to Jawad Sultan Group of Companies). City Cinema started its operation in 1971 by setting up its first cinema known as Al Nasr – which was later renamed as City Cinema Ruwi in 2008.
It was the first cinema chain to introduce luxury VIP seating and MX4D technology in Oman and had 9 locations in total: Shatti, Ruwi, Azaiba, MGM, Panorama, Sohar, Sur, Salalah and Buraimi.
Following the joint venture between Oman Arab Company and VOX Cinemas in August 2016, the City Cinema chain remained under its existing brand, but was powered by VOX Cinemas.
As of January 25 2018, all City Cinema locations will operate under the VOX Cinemas brand where cinemagoers will continue to get the best movie-watching experience.
Together with the two existing VOX Cinemas locations – City Centre Muscat and City Centre Qurum, the cinema chain will now operate 11 cinemas in the Sultanate of Oman.
As the official cinema advertising partner of VOX Cinemas, Motivate Val Morgan presently represents 90% of the cinema market in Oman.
Visit the VOX Cinemas Oman website to book movie tickets, and contact us for cinema advertising opportunities across all VOX locations in Oman.
Motivate Val Morgan is the official representative of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in the UAE.
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has released the names of the first 2018 Jury Presidents. The selected group of industry leaders are tasked with judging the best work in the world to win Lions, alongside their jury teams.
Jose Papa, Managing Director of Cannes Lions, said, “With all the changes we’ve introduced to the awards architecture, this year’s Jury Presidents have joined at an exciting time of renewal for the Festival. Every one of our Presidents is a leader in their field and I’m sure that the 2018 juries will be ably directed under their expert guidance.”
Jury Presidents for Lions within the Communications, Good, Entertainment, Health and Impact tracks are confirmed as follows:
COMMUNICATIONS – The big creative idea, where campaigns are brought to life through brilliant partnerships, people and storytelling.
GOOD – Going beyond brand purpose to use creative communications to shift culture, create change and positively impact the world.
ENTERTAINMENT – Celebrating creativity that goes beyond branded communications to create authentic entertainment that engages consumers and impacts culture.
HEALTH – Celebrating creativity in branded communications in this highly innovative but fiercely regulated sector with the unique power to truly change lives.
IMPACT – Celebrating commercial creative effectiveness and the techniques used to measure and impact branded communications.
The Festival opened for entries on 18 January with a final deadline of 20 April. The 2018 edition of Cannes Lions runs 18-22 June. Visit the Cannes Lions website for more information.
Source: Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
This year’s movie slate suggests a sudden industry interest in female-driven blockbusters.
After #MeToo and allegations of predatory behaviour by powerful men in Hollywood, it feels good for the soul that the year in film kicked off with news that women rule the box office. Last year, the three most popular films in the US had female leads, with Star Wars: The Last Jedi at No 1, followed by Beauty and the Beast and Wonder Woman in third place. Hollywood is still waking up to its masculinity problem, but 2018 looks as if it could be the year powerful women roar on screen in female-driven sci-fi, action blockbusters and super-sleuth thrillers.
Natalie Portman stars as a biologist in Annihilation
First up, in February, Ex Machina director Alex Garland’s eco-sci-fi, Annihilation, looks like Ghostbusters with a degree in biology; Natalie Portman and Jennifer Jason Leigh star as scientists in boiler suits leading an all-woman expedition to the site of an alien invasion.
Jennifer Lawrence stars as a ballerina turned Russian spy in Red Sparrow
In March, Jennifer Lawrence finds her inner Jason Bourne in the cold war thriller Red Sparrow, playing a Russian ballerina turned spy, while Alicia Vikander will shoot her way to international superstardom as Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider reboot.
Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider reboot. Photograph: Allstar/Warner Bros
And forget boring boys in tights with superpowers, summer’s hottest film is Ocean’s 8. The all-female crime caper spin-off is slated for released in June. If the trailer is anything to go by, sunglasses will be necessary to shield against the combined star-wattage of Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Helena Bonham Carter, Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson and Awkwafina playing an ‘octet of crims’ pulling off a $150m diamond necklace heist at the Met Ball.
Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, Awkwafina, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway and Sarah Paulson in Ocean’s 8. Photograph: Allstar/Warner Bros
In October, Claire Foy, star of Netflix’s The Crown, clearly over the tweeds and tiaras – steps into Rooney Mara’s skintight leathers as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl in the Spider’s Web.
Claire Foy stars as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl in the Sider’s Web
Female stars in high-adrenaline blockbusters are nothing new. (Top of mind: Sigourney Weaver in the Alien franchise, Linda Hamilton in The Terminator series, Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft and Salt, Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil and Scarlett Johansson in Lucy). But statistics reveal how few opportunities there are. In 2016, while 29% of the top-100 grossing films had female leads, the figure for action movies scraped in at just 3 per cent.
It would be pleasing to think that a new age of empowered women on screen is dawning in reaction to the #MeToo campaign. But 2018’s films with lead roles played by women would have been greenlit long before the last year’s upsetting revelations. So what’s going on? Is Hollywood finally getting into the swing of the Bechdel test?
In part, we have Hermione Granger and Katniss Everdeen to thank for the rise of the women-centred blockbusters, says Dr Shelley Cobb, associate professor of film at the University of Southampton. “I think Harry Potter and The Hunger Games were the turning point. You had these younger characters appealing to a millennial audience that grew older with them. Now that audience is an adult audience – young women and men who are interested in action heroes and heroines.”
Kate Muir, the screenwriter and former critic, says that the industry’s sudden interest in female-driven blockbusters boils down to hard cash. “I think it’s about economics, which is what Hollywood always pays most attention to. Over the past 10 years, people have realized that a woman can hold the box office in a big, big way.” She adds that the small screen has blazed a trail with its portrayal of “powerful, conflicted and complex” female heroes. “We’ve seen these fantastic women detectives over the past 10 years. We’ve seen these incredibly weird and wonderful female characters on our TV screen, but never in a cinema. There’s a real appetite for them and the executives are aware of that appetite.”
The industry found out exactly how hungry audiences are for female action stars last year when Wonder Woman stormed cinemas (kicking that smug smile off the face of Ben Affleck’s lumbering Batman). A lightning bolt movie, praised by Hillary Clinton as “inspiring”, it arrived with perfect timing, speaking to the feminist zeitgeist (not that all feminists agree it is feminist). Perhaps most significantly, as the year’s most successful comic book movie, Wonder Woman has also put an end to the false narratives that the Hollywood boy’s club has been pedalling for years (sample: “men don’t watch films about women”, “a female star isn’t bankable as the lead in a blockbuster”). And it has been reported that director Patty Jenkins has negotiated a record pay cheque for a woman of between $7m and $9m to make the sequel. “It matters,” says Muir. “Little girls wore Wonder Woman Halloween costumes last year and will wear Lara Croft this year,’” she says. “That’s really percolated the culture and changed the way girls are growing up.”
Melissa Silverstein, the founder and editor of website Women and Hollywood, makes the sharp observation that women’s stories have been ignored for so long, that they now look shiny and new. “Honestly, the thing about female content now is that it’s fresh content, because it’s been neglected for so long. You look at these women who have always been the sidekicks in the movies. What we’re saying now is let’s make them centre of the action.”
Taraji P Henson stars as a hitwoman in Proud Mary. Photograph: Allstar/Screen Gems
A film that she has got eye on in 2018 is the action thriller Proud Mary, featuring Hidden Figures star Taraji P Henson as a hitwoman with a gun collection that would make John Wick green with envy (it is out in March). “I’ll be interested to see how it does,” says Silverstein. “We need more leads who are not white and also not young [Henson is 47 and African American]. That’s exciting for me, how we branch out from the thing that became the norm: young white girls.”
Elsewhere, two of 2018’s most anticipated movies have female actors of colour – front and centre. Ava DuVernay has cast 12 Years a Slave’s Storm Reid as Meg Murry, the teenage girl saving the world in her adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. Chadwick Boseman is technically star of Marvel’s Black Panther, but watch the trailer and it is tempting to think that Wakanda’s female warriors (Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright) will steal the show.
“The white action heroine has a longer history,” says Cobb. She believes that we may be beginning to see the first shoots of Hollywood’s attempt to tackle the lack of diversity in film: “That’s not to suggest that this is a radical change that fixes everything forever, but I think you can relate these [films] to #OscarsSoWhite.”
The disappointing fact however, is that just one of 2018’s female-centred movies is directed by a woman: Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time.
Patty Jenkins made Warner Bros $413m at the box office with Wonder Woman, but Hollywood still can’t shake the feeling that women can’t be trusted with a tentpole movie.
Lupita Nyong’o, Chadwick Boseman and Danai Gurira in Black Panther. Photograph: AP
“Women directors are perceived as a risk,” says Alice Lowe, who made the horror-thriller Prevenge. “Having said that, I do think women for whatever reason, societal, nature or nurture, can doubt their own abilities.”
Lowe also talks about the industry’s rigid thinking about the kinds of films women should be directing. “What I have experienced is being asked to direct ‘women films’. As if ‘women’ are a type of niche! By this I mean a film that has a female lead and maybe themes that are seen as exclusively ‘female’: motherhood, romance, emotions. Sometimes these scripts might be great. But does that mean I’m being excluded from others?”
Nevertheless, 2018 will see more and more people attuned to women in Hollywood as a result of a number of female action heroes making an appearance throughout the year. Don’t miss out on catching them on the big screen!
Sources: Guardian News & Media Ltd and Gulf news (Tabloid)
The Dubai Lynx Festival programme is now online, brining you original thinking and jaw-dropping ideas from around the globe.
Register by 25 January and enjoy the early bird delegate rate. And book your table for the Dubai Lynx Awards to secure your place at the industry’s premier event on 14 March 2018.
Here are some of the world-leading creatives you’ll hear from at Dubai Lynx 2018 from 11-13 March:
Chaka Sobhani
Chief Creative Officer
Leo Burnett London
An award-winning director, writer and creative director, Chaka set up UK broadcaster ITV’s first in-house creative agency, production company and design studio. She then worked at leading independent agency Mother before joining Leo Burnett.
Hussein Dajani
General Manager – Digital Marketing-
Africa, Middle East, Turkey and India
Nissan
Hussein was voted one of the top ten people who are changing MENA’s marcomm landscape by the Huffington Post and was included in Gulf Marketing Review’s list of the Middle East’s brightest marketing professionals under the age of 40.
Fernando Machado
Global Chief Marketing Officer
Burger King
With a gift for infusing brands with purpose, Fernando was behind some of the most iconic Dove campaigns from Unilever and is also the driving force behind the pioneering comms that led to Burger King being crowned Cannes Lions 2017 Creative Marketer of the Year.
Hatoon Kadi
Script writer and Host –
Noon Alniswa Show
UTURN Entertainment
Included on the BBC’s 100 Women list in 2014, Dr. Hatoon Kadi, writer and host of the critically acclaimed UTURN show Noon Alniswa, has been praised for her clever use of humour and sarcasm to tackle sensitive social issues from a female perspective.
Mariam Farag
Head of CSR
MBC
A champion of female entrepreneurship, Mariam leads the CSR program at MBC Group and has 18 years of experience working in the fields of social development, humanitarian relief, communication, corporate and social change in the MENA region, and globally with UNDP, UNHCR and education and governmental sectors.
Ali Mumtaz
Regional Creative Director –
Middle East and Pakistan
BBDO
Ranked amongst the Top Ten creatives in the world by The Big Won Report, Ali Rez has collected more than 150 international awards in his career. He has also exhibited art at the Tate UK, and has spoken at TedX and Oxford University.
Ilkay Gurpinar
Chief Creative Officer
TBWA\Istanbul
Ilkay was named one of the World’s Most Influential Female Creative Directors by ADWOMEN. She was also voted the Advertising Person of the Year for Turkey by Advertising Age/Mediacat. She is the founding member and creative director of an international bi-annual arts and culture magazine, 212.
John Mescall
Global Executive Creative Director
McCann Worldgroup
The brains behind the viral hit Dumb Ways To Die, John has won over 60 Cannes Lions including six Grands Prix. He was ranked the eighth most creative person in advertising worldwide by Business Insider and was also named on Adweek’s Creativity 50, listing of the world’s 50 most influential creative thinkers and doers.
Browse dubailynx.com for the latest updates
Source: Dubai Lynx
The controversial period romance, starring Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, will hit the big screen on January 25, 2018.
The long wait is almost over. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s controversial period romance Padmaavat will now release across cinemas in UAE, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain on January 25, 2018.
Padmaavat has been in the eye of a storm due to its plot line. It’s a tale of a Hindu Rajput Queen and the Muslim invader Alauddin Khilji. However, several Rajput and right-wing groups in India found the portrayal of the Hindu queen offensive.
The period romance – featuring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh in lead roles, was earlier schedule for release on December 1, 2017.
The film has now been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), which asked its makers to change the movie Title from Padmavati to Padmaavat and also suggested other modifications to be made to the film.
Two Bollywood films at war
With the release date of Padmaavat now moved to January 25, the film will clash with the release date of R. Balki’s biography drama Pad Man – featuring Akshay Kumar, Radhika Apte and Sonam Kapoor in lead roles.
Pad Man is a biopic drama on Arunachalam Muruganantham – the inventor of a low-cost sanitary pad making machine in India, whose role will be played by Indian National Award-winning actor Akshay Kumar.
The next question is: will the clash of these two Bollywood blockbusters affect box office collections of Pad Man?
When asked about his reaction on the clash of the two films, Akshay Kumar said, “It is not about competition, it is a very big day, a big week, so all films can come. Both the films can release on that day as every film has the right to release whenever they (makers) want, and I am happy for them.”
Considering the star-studded cast featured in both films, the weekend of January 25 will be a crowd puller across cinemas in UAE, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain, and both Bollywood blockbusters are guaranteed to do well in the region.
Don’t miss out on advertising your brand alongside these blockbusters. Contact a member of our sales team for information on cinema advertising opportunities.
Source: Gulf news (Tabloid)
