Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08RPODUBAI44
2008-07-29 13:53:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Iran RPO Dubai
Cable title:  

USG-FUNDED DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL BRINGS IRANIANS AND

Tags:  IR KPAO SCUL 
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ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 291353Z JUL 08
FM RPO DUBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0304
INFO RUEHDIR/RPO DUBAI 0296
RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHDIR/RPO DUBAI 0001
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0264
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0232
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RPO DUBAI 000044 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/29/2018
TAGS: IR KPAO SCUL
SUBJECT: USG-FUNDED DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL BRINGS IRANIANS AND
AMERICANS TOGETHER

DUBAI 00000044 001.2 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: Amy Madsen, Acting Director, Iran Regional
Presence Office, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RPO DUBAI 000044

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/29/2018
TAGS: IR KPAO SCUL
SUBJECT: USG-FUNDED DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL BRINGS IRANIANS AND
AMERICANS TOGETHER

DUBAI 00000044 001.2 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: Amy Madsen, Acting Director, Iran Regional
Presence Office, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)


1. (C) Summary: The UAE's first documentary film initiative,
"Documentary Voices: Pulling Focus" was "a success" film
festival primary coordinator Mashid Zamani told IRPoffs July 22.
Zamani said that while she faced many challenges during the
planning stages typical to any new project, the festival met two
important objectives: it connected Iranian and American
filmmakers and it offered to the Dubai public a much-needed
documentary film platform. Emmy Award winning documentary
filmmaker Anisa Mehdi acted as Artistic Director for the film
festival. The Iran Regional Presence Office (IRPO) and the
International Information Programs (IIP) bureau provided the
initial project grants needed for the project, which helped to
foster public outreach to Iranians. Local institutions like the
Dubai Cultural Authority and private sources augmented this seed
funding, helping to increase the awareness of this art form in
Dubai and drawing in Arab filmmakers. Future festivals can
include even stronger content and there is potential to hold
such programs both in Dubai and Iran, Zamani said. End Summary.

Film Program Planning Challenging but Worthwhile

--------------


2. (U) IRPOffs met with Mashid Zamani, the Dubai-based Managing
Director of the partially USG-funded "Documentary Voices"
documentary film initiative on July 22. IRPOffs were looking to
gain insight on the challenges and successes of the program, in
hopes of applying lessons learned to potential future projects.
Varying degrees of support from partners; constraints on
Zamani's time from fundraising efforts; and inconsistent
oversight over programming made the planning and implementation
of the program complex said Zamani, but she added that the
festival did succeed in bringing together Iranian and American
filmmakers and in educating the Dubai public about the process
of creating documentary films. Given these two successes, she
sees the potential to have more film programs in the future in
both Dubai and in Iran.


3. (C) Partners: Based upon discussions with IRPO which began
in 2007, IRPO and Zamani envisioned the project incorporating

not only film showings typical to a cross-cultural film
festival, but an educational component that would encourage
Dubai-based filmmakers to learn about the full documentary film
process from conception to filming since the field is in its
nascent stage in UAE. Given that the program was in Dubai, IRPO
emphasized that UAE sensitivities needed to be addressed,
meaning the festival would have to include Arab, and at least a
few Emirati filmmakers. To plan such a program, Zamani
initially accepted help from the "grandfather" of Iranian
documentary film and founder of the Kish International
Documentary Film Festival, Kamran Shirdel. According to Zamani,
Shirdel was forced to resign from the Kish Festival, but he left
with the support and movies of several renowned international
documentarists, offering to Zamani a festival ready to be
implemented. Further, he lent to the film initiative expertise
in management and coordination.


4. (C) Zamani said she cordially annulled her collaboration with
Shirdel after several discussions because Shirdel sought an
"unrealistic" amount of resources and creative control of the
event. IRPO then introduced Zamani to US-based filmmaker Anisa
Mehdi (Note: Mehdi had been one of IRPO's first Official
Speakers in early 2007. Endnote) who was able to leverage her
network to bring American filmmakers to the program. Zamani
said her collaboration with Mehdi was successful and she would
work with her again. Shirdel maintained a positive
relationship, however, with the program's organizers - his film
"Pearl of the Gulf" was shown on opening night. Shirdel's Film
documented the leadership and culture of mid-1970s Dubai and was
a big hit with Emirati patrons. Looking towards the future,
Zamani noted that Shirdel would be a strong partner for a
potential American-Iranian film festival in Iran.


5. (C) Funding: Initially, Zamani spent her efforts actively
seeking Dubai-based public and corporate sponsors, including
Dubai's Knowledge Village, the Millennium Hotel, and in-kind
advertising contributions from the Arab Media Group. IRPO gave
a grant of $41,000 to Zamani that was amended to a total value
of $53,000, and State's Bureau of International Information
Programs (IIP) contributed $60,000 to the program. USG-support
was not publicized because of the potential sensitivity of
Iranian participants towards a program with US government

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involvement. Also, the film initiative included films from the
broader Middle East region, in addition to Iranian films, in
order to make the US-Iran focus less prominent.


6. (C) Internal Support: As the first of its kind documentary
festival in UAE, Zamani found support for it amongst Dubai
authorities and veterans of the festival scene in Dubai. Early
on, she consulted the Artistic Director of the Gulf Film
Festival (GFF),which is organized by the Dubai Arts and Culture
Authority. The director was generous in his advice to her about
effective ways to plan and market the festival. She faced a
minor setback, though, when the organizers of the GFF
"purposely" set their festival dates for the same week as the
initial "Documentary Voices" date in April, forcing her to
reschedule the program to July, a time when many people try to
escape Dubai's heat. Despite its less than ideal timing, the
success of the Documentary Voices festival has already prompted
the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, which donated $40,000 to
this year's festival, to reach out to Zamani to support next
year's program more actively by folding it under their purview.


7. (C) Programming: Zamani claimed that her preoccupation with
soliciting financial support meant she could not maintain full
oversight over the content and schedule of the festival, which
was under the direction of the Programming Director. As a
result, she thought - and received feedback - that there was
inconsistency in the quality of submitted films such that some
films from the United States were "too basic and boring"
compared to their Middle Eastern counterparts. She heard from
Emirati and Arab nationals that Arab filmmakers were not well
represented. From the outset, organizers planned for an equal
proportion of American, Iranian, and Arab films and filmmakers
but this plan was altered in the week preceding the festival
when two of the Arab filmmakers (one a Palestinian who was
unable to get a visa to the UAE) were unable to attend. For the
next festival, Zamani underlined the importance of allowing
significantly more networking time for the participants, which
this year's packed schedule did not allow. From informal
discussions with participants, Zamani found that the most
popular films were non-political, such as Satellite Queens, a
film about female hosts of a primetime Arab talk show, and Aref
Squared, an Iranian film about a poor cab driver in Tehran
longing to meet a popular pop singer.

Connecting People and Future Prospects

-------------- --------------


8. (C) Iranians and Americans Interaction: Zamani noted that
the program brought together Iranians and Americans through a
common interest and both groups were keen to view the others'
films. Iranians and Americans did not always socialize in mixed
groups, but Zamani alluded that this separation can be partially
attributed to the lack of formal networking opportunities in the
full schedule. Most of the participants were unaware of the USG
funding in the festival and Zamani kept this fact under the
radar as most of the audience was Iranian.


9. (C) Press: There was extensive media coverage of
"Documentary Voices." Zamani advertised the film festival in
several Dubai newspapers and did twice daily spots on Dubai Eye
radio station. She partly credited the continuous media
attention to the presence of Maestro Nader Mashayekhi, a
world-renowned composer who is the conductor of Tehran's
Symphony Orchestra. Iranian press covered the festival
significantly, and Zamani did interviews with Agha's digital,
Persian Media Company, and the Iran Student News Agency (ISNA).
The media interest helped participant filmmakers gain exposure
to the public.


10. (C) Future Programs: The festival could be continued on a
yearly basis and there are compelling reasons to host it both in
Dubai and in Iran, Zamani said. For artistic and "practical"
reasons, Dubai should host this film program because it is
important to promote documentary film in a region that has only
produced three such films. This festival directly responds to
needs to bring documentary film to the public and to nurture
budding filmmakers. Also, Iranian, Americans, and Arabs can more
easily gather together in Dubai. A joint American-Iranian film
program in Iran, which has a sophisticated film industry, would
meet "political" objectives of connecting American and Iranians.
Zamani has already heard from documentary film centers in Iran
who have expressed interest in a joint project, including one
headed by director Masoud Bakshi. An Iranian-hosted festival
would be more sophisticated in content, opting for higher level
master classes and joint panels rather than the basic workshops

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offered at this year's Dubai documentary film festival.


MADSEN
AMADSEN