Black Box Cinema at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2023
The 6th edition of Nawaf Al Janahi’s Black Box Cinema returns to the 32nd edition of Abu Dhabi International Book Fair this month.
Between May 22-28, there will be a total of 22 short films screening in the specially built cinema space.
One program consists of 15 short films from the UAE and the Arab World and a second program will include 7 short films from Turkey, the Guest of Honor Country at the book fair this year. All films are subtitled in English.
There will also be two talks, conducted in Arabic and moderated by Nawaf Al Janahi:
Rawi, Toward Better Screenplays (May 24 at 7pm)
An introduction to Rawi, one of the leading screenwriting labs in the Arab world. This session will offer information about its history, its benefits and success stories, and how new writers could join.
Guest Speaker: Baha Al Hussein
The Story Between Words and Images (May 26 at 7pm)
Considering the continuous comparison between novels and the films adapted from them, this discussion sheds the light on how storytelling differs between the medium of literature and the medium of cinema.
Guest Speakers: Ali Saeed, Yousef Ibrahim
The following is the film line up and below it you will find the screening schedule per day.
15 short films from the UAE and the Arab world:
Abed (Abedalsalam Al Haj, 2022, 10 min, Jordan)
Forced to work, a young boy must one night face his biggest fear of darkness.
Amber (Faisal Hashmi, 2020, 10 min, UAE)
A barber at a highway barbershop is caught in a deadly situation when he realizes that his first customer of the day isn't who he seems.
Big Day (Ahmed Samir, 2022, 15 min, Egypt)
A wedding is turned upside down after rumors spread that the groom is planning to run away.
Doors of Makkah (Mohanad Diab, 2021, 10min, Documentary, Egypt)
Facing marginalization and challenges women suffer from in EL Nuba, Makkah has managed to be a leader in her community and became her own success story, keeping her smile all the way.
Flesh and Blood (Ines Arsi, 2022, 19 min, Tunisia)
Victim of a rape by her young neighbor, 19-year-old Donia sees her life shattered when she realizes she is pregnant.
Litre of Gas (Ibrahim Ramy, 2022, 17 min, Egypt)
Amidst a nation-wide rise in oil prices, an unemployed man goes on a journey searching for gasoline for his car, only to find himself instead exploring the socioeconomic injustices that put him in this situation in the first place.
Long Trip (Ali Kadhum, 2021, 13 min, Iraq, Belgium)
After the death of his father, Dries must make a fundamental decision to either cremate the body or return it to be buried in his birth country as tradition subscribes.
My Vibe (Faiza Ambah, 2021, 35 min, Documentary, Saudi Arabia)
When cinema comes to the old neighborhoods of Jeddah, the lives of three teenagers are forever changed.
Othman (Khaled Zidan, 2022, 35 min, Saudi Arabia)
Othman works as a security guard of a parking lot at a government hospital and lives harmoniously with his cousin. Events take a turn that shakes him out of his customary complacency and forces him to face reality.
Panting (Hassan Saeed, 2021, 9 min, Saudi Arabia, Canada)
A young man finds himself in a maze between reality and virtual reality as he seeks to meet the girl he knew through social media websites.
The Sea Bride (Mohammed Ateeq, 2021, 15 min, Bahrain)
A young woman must decide to either surrender to her family’s decision, society and traditions and accepts to marry a man who abused her femininity, or rebel against all that.
A Small Dream (Sarra'a Al Shehhi, 2022, 16 min, UAE)
A young woman has a small and seemingly simple dream of swimming in the sea. She encounters various obstacles and struggles to find balance between fulfilling her dream and her fear of judgment.
This World Is Wonderful (Hmoud Faris, 13 min, Kuwait)
In our world there is motherhood, childhood, a knife, and a key.
Trinou (Nejib Kthiri, 2022, 15 min, Tunisia, UK)
Desperate teenager tries to escape his miserable reality by collecting magazine cut-outs.
Unveiling Selma (Mariam Al Serkal and Maaria Sayed, 15 min, UAE)
Between house chores, a neglectful husband, and an innocent daughter, 35-year-old Selma decides to free herself and rediscover her womanhood.
7 short films from Turkey:
Avarya (Gokalp Gonen, 2019, 20 min)
Embarked on a journey to discover a new habitable planet, a man finds himself trapped in his spaceship as the robot overseer tells him that every single candidate planet is unsuitable. Eventually, the man finds a way out, but that will only reveal a dark secret.
Beautiful Weather (Okan Akgun, 2021, 11 min)
A lost phone and a forgotten poetry book bring a young woman into the world of an employee at a metro station, challenging the banality of his existence.
Give Me a Lighter (Gokhan Kaya, 2018, 30 min)
The Dumlupinar Submarine collides with a Swedish ship while cruising in the Dardanelles which causes it to sink into the depths of the sea within seconds. Days pass while the trapped soldiers inside the submarine wait to be rescued.
Hello Afrika (Hasan Serin, 2020, 12 min)
With a desire to help, two 9-year-old girls go from their mountain village on an adventure to save the children in Africa whom they heard are dying of hunger.
Passing Through the Forest (Gizem Ibak, 2020, 15 min)
A man in his sixties who is living alone realizes that the guest who appeared in the hall one evening was not alien to him at all.
Shared Solitude (Nurbanu Atalay, 2020, 13 min)
A socialite elder man escapes his loneliness when he starts sharing a cake left at his door by an elder woman. Despite the joy this brings him, one day he must make a choice.
Storyteller (Anıl Guldogan, 2018, 16 min)
A story writer who works at a train station sells his stories to passengers secretly because it’s forbidden for him to have side jobs. One day he falls in love, and his story begins.
