CULTURE VULTURE
Sharjah Art Foundation announces winners of first Short Film Production Grant
Sharjah Art Foundation has announced the winners of the first Short Film Production Grant, a part of Sharjah Film Platform (SFP). Emerging filmmakers Faisal Attrache, Mohammed Al Hammadi and Abdulrahman Al Madani will be awarded a total of $30,000 (Dh110,191) to support production of new work. The foundation also announced an open call for film submissions that will be screened alongside premieres of the recipients’ new works at the annual SFP in December 2018. “For more than two decades, we have supported and collaborated with emerging artists and filmmakers through commissions, screenings and other programmes, first through the Sharjah Biennial and then as part of Sharjah Art Foundation’s regular activities since 2009,” said Hoor Al Qasimi, director of Sharjah Art Foundation. “There is a dynamic community of artists in the United Arab Emirates and the surrounding regions, whose experimental work has made an important contribution to the broader cultural landscape.” The foundation has also announced an open call for the first SFP curated film programme, running from December 11 to 22. Curated by Al Qasimi, the programme will feature talks, workshops and masterclasses as well as film screenings, including the premieres of the films awarded the Short Film Production Grant. Interested filmmakers are invited to submit feature films, experimental films or short films by September 1. All artistic approaches, formats and themes will be accepted, and all open call submissions will be considered for a jury prize.
Ukrainian filmmaker says he is ready to die in Russian jail during the World Cup
When the World Cup starts in Russia on Thursday, Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, below, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Russia, will have spent a month without food. Sentsov says he is ready to die and the worst effects of his high-profile hunger strike are expected to start just as the football tournament gets under way. He is demanding Moscow releases dozens of Ukrainian political prisoners and has timed his protest to exert maximum pressure during Russia’s showcasing of the World Cup. President Vladimir Putin has hinted that backdoor talks to exchange prisoners with Kiev are under way, raising hopes for the release of the 41-yearold filmmaker and others languishing in Russian jails. But details remain scarce and it is anyone’s guess whether Ukraine and Russia will agree on a swap – and if they do, whether it will be in time to save Sentsov’s life.
Tale of an Egyptian band stranded in an Israeli town wins Best Musical Tony Award
A musical about an Egyptian band visiting an Israeli desert town triumphed on Broadway in New York on Sunday, sweeping the board with 10 Tony Awards, the highest honours in American theatre. It was an extraordinary success for a quiet 90-minute production that aches with longing for human connection and understanding, far removed from the brash commercialisation of its competitors. Harry
Potter and the Cursed Child was the other big winner of the 72nd Tony Awards, receiving six gongs, including Best Play. The Band’s Visit is adapted from a 2007 film about an Egyptian police band who get stranded in a town in Israel’s Negev Desert. Nominated 11 times, it triumphed over Mean Girls and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, the two most nominated shows, for Best New Musical. Tony Shalhoub (pictured), star of
Monk, won Best Actor in a Musical for his role as band leader Tewfik. He celebrated the win by referring to his father’s 1920 journey from Lebanon to New York’s Ellis Island, immigrating to the United States at the age of 8. “Tonight, I celebrate him and all of those in his family who journeyed before him and with him and after him,” said Shalhoub.