Cinema Akil at Market OTB 2015
Cinema Akil is a platform aiming to bring films from across the world to Dubai - an alternative to the commercial cinemas we have here. Although Cinema Akil has not opened its doors, the team behind it is organising pop up screenings across the city.
Last summer we had screenings at The Third Line gallery and between 16th-24th January there will be screenings at Market OTB (Market Outisde the Box, an outdoor pop up market that includes recycled cargo containers as retail spaces promoting local brands, cafes and food kiosks).
16th-19th January at 7:30PM
Björk: Biophilia Live
Director: Peter Strickland and Nick Fenton
Duration: 97 min | Genre: Documentary / Music | Language: English | 2014
‘Biophilia Live’ is a concert film directed by Peter Strickland and Nick Fenton and produced by Jacqui Edenbrow that captures the human element of Björk’s multi-disciplinary multimedia project: Biophilia.
Recorded live at Björk’s show at London’s Alexandra Palace in 2013, the film features Björk and her band performing every song on ‘Biophilia’ and more using a broad variety of instruments – some digital, some traditional, and some completely unclassifiable.
The film has already been hailed as “a captivating record of an artist in full command of her idiosyncratic powers” (Variety) and “an imaginative stand-alone artwork” (Hollywood Reporter) and is a vital piece of the grand mosaic that is ‘Biophilia.’
21st-24th January at 7:30PM
The Wild Blue Yonder
Director: Werner Herzog
Duration: 80 min | Genre: Sci-Fi | Language: English | 2005
An alien narrates the story of his dying planet, his and his people's visits to Earth and Earth's man-made demise, while human astronauts attempt to find an alternate planet for surviving humans to live on.
The film follows a hypothetical proposition: a group of astronauts are circling the earth in a spacecraft, but they cannot return, as our planet has become uninhabitable. The cause of this remains open; all-out war, outbreak of a new disease beyond control, radiation after the complete disappearance of the ozone layer, or whatever.
The crew of the spacecraft has to find a more hospitable place out there in space, and releases a probe from their cargo bay, Galileo. But Galileo -- after sending back very disquieting data -- has to be sent on a suicide mission. 'The Wild Blue Yonder' won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2005 Venice International Film Festival.
I never had a chance to attend Market OTB last year, so I'm looking forward to hanging out there this year. Here's a video from last year, looks like a fun space.
(But I do find the this comment in the video silly, "You don't feel like you're in Dubai, I think that's the nicest thing…although you have a great view of the Burj...and you obviously have the sunshine. But it's nice to get away from the malls and the beach and sit in a space where you don't quite feel like you're in Dubai." Not sure what part of shopping stalls and food kiosks by Burj Khalifa doesn't make it feel like you're in Dubai.)
Event details
Dates: Film screenings from 16th-24th January at 7.30pm (Market OTB 15th-24th January Sun-Thu: 4-10PM and Fri-Sat: 10AM-10PM)
Venue: Southridge Park, Downtown Dubai (location map)
Free entry.
Market OTB 2015 www.facebook.com/events/1534717590104747