The Dubai Film Fest Diaries 2015: Women Filmmakers, Arab Cinema, <i>The Peanuts Movie</i> and Jacob Tremblay

My third day here was highlighted by a touching talk with nine-year old Room co-star Jacob Tremblay, an insightful chat about Arab cinema and women filmmakers with DIFF's Managing Director Shivani Pandya and a trip down comic strip memory lane with the producer and director of The Peanuts Movie.
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In this great celebration of life that we call the Dubai International Film Festival, my third day here was highlighted by a touching talk with nine-year old Room co-star Jacob Tremblay, an insightful chat about Arab cinema and women filmmakers with DIFF's Managing Director Shivani Pandya and a trip down comic strip memory lane with the producer and director of The Peanuts Movie.

Jacob Tremblay on his SAG nomination, Dubai and chocolate fondue.

Talking with Room's nine year old star Jacob Tremblay is like speaking with a miniature man. He's poised, polite -- says "pardon" when he needs a reporter to repeat a tricky question -- and he's a super sharp dresser. On opening night he stole the show with his remarks about Dubai, which I'm sure could soon spin into a spokesperson gig with Dubai Tourism, and during our brief but lovely chat on one of the terraces of the Al Qasr Hotel, he was candid and direct. What did he do to celebrate his recent SAG nomination for outstanding performance in a supporting role? "I had a banana split and a chocolate fondue," he said very seriously, and then continued, "we are staying for four more days after my dad gets here on Saturday and we'll go to this big beach and water park." When I asked him how he stays grounded, he replied, "I have a teacher and if I'm filming I have a tutor; when I go back home I can play with my friends, and we can have a playdate." What do Tremblay's friend think of his movie star status? "They ask me if I've been in a limo and I'm like, I don't know."

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When it comes to show business, it's clear Tremblay is in it for the long haul, and he's even got a favorite actor he'd like to work with, Michael J. Fox, because he admits, "Back to the Future is my favorite movie. I watched all three of them backwards on the airplane here. I even met Doc, through this thing I'm doing... but it's a surprise and I can't tell you." And what kind of roles would he like to pursue? "I would like to be in an action film because I've never been... An action movie like Star Wars, you know, an 'action-comi-drama'."

'More determined than ever': DIFF Managing Director Shivani Pandya talks about Arab narratives and women filmmakers.

It's undeniable that there is an unsettled world around us. It's not just one conflict, one form of extremism or one civil war, but a global unrest of sorts. Yet this year's DIFF feels like an oasis of alternative narratives, ones that at once distract, engross and enlighten. I asked Pandya to talk about this wondrous feeling in the air and she answered, "The world has become like that it's not one place necessarily, our real belief is that it's really important to continue what we're out to achieve. You know one of our mandates has always been "building cultural bridges" and it's more important than ever at this time." Then I pushed her to disclose if it was more difficult to put the festival together, from a strictly logistical point of view, and her reply was, "we're even more determined with our mission. Films we got without a problem, with respect to filmmakers our industry delegation is as strong as ever. There has been absolutely no change of plan whatsoever. There were questions asked and we addressed those and assured everyone."

2015-12-12-1449926332-3245790-500581558.jpg I've also noticed that while for the past few years films from the Arab world were focusing on the events leading up to and following 2011, this year the stories have evolved to more human tales and global themes. "It's really interesting because we've noticed that too," Pandya said, "the filmmakers are out to show different aspects of life. We've actually been delighted it's moving and diversifying. Fiction is moving away from the same stories and exploring different genres, different styles and going into other territories. Everyone has noticed this change and I also think a lot of them are trying to get commercial success out of these films."

On the morning of our talk, I was horrified to read the recent Directors' Guild report that states women filmmakers only make up 6.7 percent of feature film directors for titles released in the last two years. I've always noticed that at DIFF it's very woman-centric, and I asked Pandya to talk a bit about that. She said, "we have thirty to forty percent women filmmakers in our festival. You know the talent is here. We don't create it, we're just giving them a base." Pandya elaborated further, "we've been very encouraging, in this region, there are a lot of women CEOs and in corporate jobs so it's really lovely and very encouraging. It's been very consistent. Dubai Film Connection is very women-centric, even the IWC award has two projects by women. I'm really really proud that there is such a high percentage of women coming out of the Arab world."

The Peanuts Movie: Honoring the legacy of Charles M. Schulz.

It's undeniable that the moment Snoopy and Charlie Brown come into a room, we all become children again. I experienced this firsthand while I was interviewing Craig Schulz, Charles' son and the producer of the Golden Globes nominated The Peanuts Movie. As we spoke, the life-size costumed characters who had been greeting children on the red carpet for the gala screening of the 3D film at DIFF appeared behind him, wanting to take a break from the heat and the bright lights in the green room. I let out a giggle and later even managed to get my photo taken with them. Yes, grown up, jaded me, I turned into my ten-year old self faster than you can say "Good grief!"

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Catching up with Craig Schulz was a great treat, as was talking with the film's director Steve Martino. With Schulz we concentrated more on what it took to get the film made, which he explained, "it was my story and my son was the screenwriter, I had the idea of the movie but I needed them to create the structure." Then continued, "we had the story we wanted, the movie we wanted and then went out to find Steve Martino and Blue Sky Studios to make the movie, so we went backwards. Usually the studios buy a franchise... For us, for the movie, it was really about honoring my dad's work." The last "Peanuts" movie was in 1980, thirty five years ago and when I told Schulz there is no better time than the present to make a new one, he answered, "I think children are all the same around the world, I think what happens is really not until they become adults that the problems start. If we could take all the kids and the kids could run the world we would probably have a great planet. That's what is great about the Peanuts gang, they never grow up." Wisdom indeed.

With Martino, I got into my usual thoughts, on how cinema can be such a powerful tool to heal the divisive world we now inhabit. Martino indulged me graciously with his answer, "the audience that we create movies for is a global audience. I'm always looking for those experiences that are universal." And continued, "what is wonderful about what Charles Schulz created for fifty years is he reflected the human condition. The feelings we are afraid to share out loud, our insecurities, our self doubt, will we succeed, do people like us? I always look at my own life experience. Often in a world where we have access to information, we lose sight of the little things. It's how you live your life, and Charlie Brown shows us. We always want to have a little take away from a film, so you can have a conversation with your kids and they can have others with their friends."

All images by Getty Images, courtesy of the Dubai International Film Festival and used with permission.

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