From our first meeting, I knew Jamal Al Sharif possessed the stuff great leaders are made of. I was a mere listener then, sitting on the sidelines of an encounter between the Dubai Film and TV Commission (DFTC) Chairman and a film industry figure who was trying to convince him to do things her way. I cheered silently, as Al Sharif at once supported firmly his own choices -- and those of the Commission -- and listened to her suggestions, told in that typical "I know better than you" tone that so-called Hollywood experts tend to use to address relative "newcomers" to the game. Because in terms of timing, and timing only, Dubai is indeed the last player to join the world game of cinema and outsiders tend to make the mistake of thinking that young means naive.
Not in the case of Dubai, because while sitting on the sidelines, the powers that be in the emirate have had a chance to observe everyone else's mistakes, so as not to repeat them.
Fast forward a couple of years to present time and Al Sharif has, of course, proven me right. He's helped to create a commission that secured enviable shoots for both Star Trek Beyond and the latest Jackie Chan project. And we're just talking about the last two months alone. There are countless serials and dramas filming in Dubai Studio City at all times and a heap of other projects being considered by the Commission these days, so many they have had to turn down quite a few because the location is just too busy.
Then there is the respect for his culture that Al Sharif exudes but also encourages. Films are chosen by the DFTC with certain criteria in mind and you'll have to read all about the Sex and the City 2 capers below, told in Al Sharif's own, honest and easygoing words, to find out exactly what I mean. Dubai is indeed a city of opportunity, wonder and endless possibilities. Everything is possible and all is doable in cinematic terms, but never forget to respect the region. And in these days of geopolitical conflicts and violence generated by skewed versions of religion and belonging, it's refreshing to find a balance between freedom and chaos. To me, Dubai feels like an oasis of middle ground in this world of antipodean opinions.
I caught up with Jamal Al Sharif at last year's Dubai International Film Festival, and as the festival gets ready to kick off its 12th edition in a couple of days, once again in partnership with DFTC and Dubai Studio City, it seemed like the perfect time to celebrate its Chairman, who is also the Managing Director of DSC. These three entities, each with a very precise and well-thought-out mandate, combine to represent at once the cinematic infrastructure, the resources and the glamour of the film industry in the UAE. And Al Sharif, with that hint of an American accent, his warm demeanor and easy sense of humor, epitomizes the best the region has to offer.
From where I stand, I find you've always been clear about what you wanted to achieve with the Commission, though I met you through someone who wanted to tell you how to do things. I think that's the mistake most foreigners make who come here, they want to do things their way. How has it been for you since you've started at the Commission and what have you achieved since you began?
Jamal Al Sharif: Very good question, diplomatic and political at the same time. We go a bit back, when we talk about the Film Commission in this part of the region, and when I say this part of the region I mean the Gulf. It's very much new, and media was always a tabu in this part of the world. When you would ask a woman to go in front of the camera, in the 60s or 70s there were no women! If you look at most of the TV soaps, men. If you look back at TV news reporters, if they were women they were all from Egypt and Lebanon, or Palestine. Look at the difference today. You look at Dubai's TV, flip on every channel I guarantee you won't see anyone but local faces. So the shift has begun. To move to the next level and the next level is on the horizon, not too far. It may have taken Hollywood 100 years but it's taken us 15 at most. For various reasons. Socially, culturally, financially, and the education part of the experience. How do we see it, where are we, where do we go? We still like to listen to people, we like to hear how people experience this, what went right and what went wrong. Going fast in this business is not advised. I have hundreds of people walking into my office giving me scripts, asking for money, and it's not that. It's not about giving them the money or making the movie, there is always a purpose. Why do you need to make this film, soap opera or drama? There must be a goal, an objective. And why here? How will you add value to my country and to my people? What will you benefit from. I don't want you to come, we take your money and then the show is rubbish. And people will say "look, that's the worst thing that Dubai has done!"
Yeah, Abu Dhabi did that with Sex and the City 2, they refused to have it film in the emirate, because it was disrespectful to the culture! And the film turned out to be a bit of a... disaster anyway...
Jamal Al Sharif: Media has a sharp edge. They will cut you on one side and protect you on the other. We have to be very careful here. The Film Commission has been very selective so far of what films should come. Not because we're picky or we don't like certain people but because we are making sure we're making the right decisions. I got that script on the table, Sex and The City 2, and I looked at it. I really respected the producer and director. We met in a hotel and they said they would even change the name of the film to "Love and the City". From my point of view I thought OK, but culturally the UAE is not ready yet. I'm ready for it, I lived in the States, you're ready for it, but I have to respect the culture here. Number two, I asked "do you know Mr. Producer that your first film or the TV series were never distributed here? And the first film, was never screened in our theaters at all?" He said no. And I told him, how would we be able to allow you to shoot here? There would be too many controversial "myths" about it, I'd rather we remained friends for their next one. They respected the decision, they went to Abu Dhabi and they also said the same -- we have a great relationship with the commission there. They went to Morocco and filmed there. I respect their decision. They probably did a lot for UAE tourism, since everyone thought the film took place in Abu Dhabi!
Jamal Al Sharif introduces the cast members and filmmakers of Star Trek Beyond at a press conference in Dubai
Some film commissions, around the Arab world, have lost face with filmmakers, because they haven't given the support needed at the right time. How do you avoid doing that at DFTC?
Jamal Al Sharif: There is always a reason why we say yes or no to a project. We like to hear from people, I have consultants, I have friends I turn to, in the past years we have been capturing the right information and putting together the goals and strategies for the next five years ahead. It changes. Every year we review, every six months we review, we make sure we have achieved some of our goals and targets and what we should do next. Some other countries in the region they want to move fast. Putting money in, doing, making. What have they achieved out of it? They have either lost their film festival, or they even lost their film commission.
Part of our mandate is to induce tourism, support local industries, support local films, reduce cost of filming, attract filmmakers to Dubai, make Dubai a destination, not in the region but worldwide, for filmmaking and TV. Those are big goals! We have put forth priorities, like automation, process of filming and permits to go online, that was a goal of 2015 and we finished a year early. Something we promised ourselves to achieve before going to the next level, because the film industry is not only about shooting. We had experiences with films that were shot and the movie is just no good. Who gets the blame, not only the director and producer but also Dubai.
How important is the idea of being respectful to the culture here, when a project hits your desk?
Jamal Al Sharif: It's important. If you came 11 years ago to the Dubai International Film Festival, the type of movies, the genre of movies that are showing today, there was no way you could show them 11 years ago. Our country has developed, the media has developed, the topics have opened up. Five years ago I wouldn't have been talking to you about these topics. Islamists and jihadists getting killed, or we should kill them or we should bomb them, (Jamal points to a newspapers headline on the table in front of us) but today it's a whole different region. You tell me you want to show a movie about terrorism, I'll support it. Because we're against it, terrorism. These topics have opened up. Although we still maintain our culture -- our religion and the respect of all religions, not only one. One script was cursing Christianity and we don't do that. There is respect. Our book believes and respects Christianity. So we asked the writer to remove it, they refused to remove it and I explained, in our religion, Islam does not allow anyone to curse anyone. We had to remove that line because we don't allow it.
It's interesting because the DFTC is still pretty open-minded all around. I mean, one of the biggest films to come out of the UAE has been City of Life by Ali F. Mostafa, and that doesn't show Dubai as being all about kittens and unicorns. It shows the real, grittier existence of people who live and work in the emirate.
Jamal Al Sharif: As reality, as it's happening. Every country has issues, not just Dubai, every city. And you have to accept them. Can't run away from them, the ladies in bikinis on the beach and the guy who is praying in the mosque -- that's our country. Again, we need to make movies that are good for people, movies that add value to the community. When I have a script that is only about abuse and drugs and violence, just because it would be commercially viable, we try to educate those people instead. For example, The Theory of Everything, the opening film of the Dubai International Film Festival in 2014. You saw the message, how important it is. The guy had hopes, was so positive, and he beat his condition. Overcame it. How much of that kind of message do we get in cinema today?
Can a production film here, in Dubai, from beginning to end?
Jamal Al Sharif: Absolutely! The connectivity that Dubai has with the rest of the world makes it all happen easily. Proximity of the UAE in general and Dubai in particular, you're eight hours away tops from nearly everywhere. Twelve hours to NYC, five hours to Rome, six hours to UK. And infrastructure, roads, hotels, police, first aid, all this is important to film crews. Drones and aerial shooting as well. And we offer post-production with Stargate Studios.
Now the wildcard questions -- what is the first film you remember watching?
Jamal Al Sharif: I almost don't want to give you the title because you'll think I'm very aggressive...
Is it Rocky?
Jamal Al Sharif: Close, it's Rambo! Sylvester Stallone was always my hero, I met him in Cannes, I have a picture with him. We had a nice chat, I told him I was a big fan since I was a child. Every kid wanted to be him. I imitated him a bit and he laughed! Those days, there were few stars on the screen. Action stars were either him or Arnold Schwarzenegger, today there are so many people! But my favorite sequel films are Batman and Superman.
And finally, three words that describe you?
Jamal Al Sharif: I was born on the Second of April, I'm Aries, and everyone tells me I'm 99 percent Aries. So I'm calm, I'm friendly and I love people, positivity. I'm positive.
Images courtesy of the Dubai Film and TV Commission, used with permission.