“Miss Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas!” the voice of the compere boomed as the Hollywood power couple strode down the red carpet on Thursday at the opening of the Red Sea International Film Festival.
Ordinarily, Jones and Douglas might be the stars of the show. But this was one of those opening ceremonies packed with A-list guests. If you didn’t know better, you’d think half of Hollywood was here to catch some winter sun in Saudi Arabia.
Hosted by the Lebanese-Australian actress and dancer Daniella Rahme and Saudi filmmaker Hakeem Jomah, the show in Jeddah’s Al Balad district lived up to the festival’s branding: “The new home of film.” A beaming Will Smith – his reputation seemingly repaired after his infamous Oscars slap – sat alongside Vin Diesel, who was invited on stage by his Fast and the Furious co-star Michelle Rodriguez to collect an award for his popular characters.
“What is so iconic about a tree?” said Diesel, in good spirits, alluding to his role as Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
In truth, the stars who’d packed their bags for Jeddah were a curious assortment. Michelle Yeoh, the Oscar-winner from Everything Everywhere All At Once, sat alongside Cynthia Erivo, who had come clearly still in Wicked mode, with a bright green dress and ultra-long nails. Desperate Housewives’ Eva Longoria, looking fabulous in all gold, introduced Indian actor Aamir Khan, one of three guests who received honorary awards. Talk about random. But at least Longoria sounded convincing that she knew who the star of Lagaan actually was.
The other slightly unusual awards went to two female stars: Britain’s Emily Blunt and Egyptian actress Mona Zaki. Earlier in the day, Blunt visited the festival’s cultural centre for an "in conversation" event, with one member of the audience even dressing up as Mary Poppins (the role Blunt reprised in Mary Poppins Returns).
Over the next eight days, the festival will host further career-covering Q&As with some of the aforementioned, including Yeoh, Longoria and Erivo, although the highlight for film fans will surely be the appearance of Michael Mann, the veteran director of epic crime saga Heat, which will screen at the festival.
There were some technical hitches on the night – more than once, the autocue prompt was beamed onto the screen in the adjoining cinema where most of the media had gathered to watch the ceremony unfold. Jury president Spike Lee, wearing his trademark beret, gave a speech, movingly recalling his first time in the region when he shot a scene for his epic Malcolm X.
He then introduced his fellow jury members, actors Minnie Driver and Daniel Dae Kim and Egyptian filmmaker Abu Bakr Shawky. Struggling to pronounce her name, Lee mistakenly referred to Turkish actress Tuba Buyukustun as his fellow “brother”, before hastily changing it to “sister”.
Lee and co will oversee 16 films in completion over the festival, a promising-looking line-up from across the region and beyond. “Hollywood can only do so much,” said Lee, who repeatedly called the festival's selection as “the future of cinema”. That may be wishful thinking, but the point was well made. In four years, the festival has become a leading supporter of cinema in the Middle East, while the Red Sea Fund has become a force in financing Arab and African film projects.
Opening with Saudi-Egyptian co-production The Tale of Daye’s Family, the festival then welcomed revellers to a glitzy open-air party, with musical performances and DJs playing into the night. Like the rest of this curtain-raiser, it was an ostentatious display of wealth. But then again, that’s always what happens when Hollywood comes to town.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)
Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)
Wednesday
Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)
Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)
Norwich City v Everton (9pm)
Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)
Thursday
Burnley v Watford (9pm)
Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)
Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 502hp at 7,600rpm
Torque: 637Nm at 5,150rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh317,671
On sale: now
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What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Saturday's schedule at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 race, 12:30pm
Formula 1 final practice, 2pm
Formula 1 qualifying, 5pm
Formula 2 race, 6:40pm
Performance: Sam Smith
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
If you go:
Getting there:
Flying to Guyana requires first reaching New York with either Emirates or Etihad, then connecting with JetBlue or Caribbean Air at JFK airport. Prices start from around Dh7,000.
Getting around:
Wildlife Worldwide offers a range of Guyana itineraries, such as its small group tour, the 15-day ‘Ultimate Guyana Nature Experience’ which features Georgetown, the Iwokrama Rainforest (one of the world’s four remaining pristine tropical rainforests left in the world), the Amerindian village of Surama and the Rupununi Savannah, known for its giant anteaters and river otters; wildlifeworldwide.com
Pakistan v New Zealand Test series
Pakistan: Sarfraz (c), Hafeez, Imam, Azhar, Sohail, Shafiq, Azam, Saad, Yasir, Asif, Abbas, Hassan, Afridi, Ashraf, Hamza
New Zealand: Williamson (c), Blundell, Boult, De Grandhomme, Henry, Latham, Nicholls, Ajaz, Raval, Sodhi, Somerville, Southee, Taylor, Wagner
Umpires: Bruce Oxerford (AUS) and Ian Gould (ENG); TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS); Match referee: David Boon (AUS)
Tickets and schedule: Entry is free for all spectators. Gates open at 9am. Play commences at 10am
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
