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ONCE
Film
Title: Once
Duration: 15 minutes
Genre: Drama Suspense
Format: Super 16mm
Country: UAE
Languages: Arabic with English subtitles
SYNOPSIS
The film revolves around the day Hamda, a young Arab teenager, plans to meet her boyfriend Saeed for the first time. The film shows the journey Hamda goes through to see Saeed for half an hour. The journey shows Hamda's best friend Amna covering for her, Hamda lying to her father, Hamda going to the hair salon transforming herself from a young girl into a beautiful young woman and then traveling to her date with the excitement of meeting and fear of getting caught. Hamda thrives on excitement yet knows the big risk she is taking by seeing Saeed for the first time. Hamda and Saeed get to meet, however not all goes to plan.
CAST
The cast in the film are those from Dubai and the foreground cast are international, giving a great combination of people working on one production.
| Nifin Ghazar Al Din as ‘Hamda’ | Hamad Bassim Al Khalif as ‘Saeed’ | Shahad Mesk as ‘Amna’ | Bassim Sami Al Khalif as ‘Ahmed’ |
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From a young age Nifin has had a desire to act. She has acted in a variety of productions and short films that have won a number of awards. At the young age of sixteen Nifin is very well established as talent in the UAE. She is still currently in school, yet finds the time to juggle schoolwork with working as a professional actress.
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Hamad is twenty-four years of age. “Butterfly Kiss” is his first film he has acted in. Hamad studied at High Technology College and graduated in Business studies. Since graduating Hamad has worked for Etisalat for two and a half years and recently joined Du. Hamad loves to watch films and his favorite film genre is action.
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Shahad has been acting since a young age and has been involved in many productions. Shahad has acted in twenty TV serials for Ramadan as well as being featured in three films. Shahad is a very talented young actress and as well as spending much time acting she balances her acting schedule with being a member of the Mesk Kuwaiti Band. The band has performed in a variety of festivals in the gulf countries such as Muscat and Doha.
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Bassim is a talented actor. This is his second film he has acted in, his previous one being in 1986 for a Television Show. Bassim graduated in high school and thereafter joined a gas company where he gained a variety of technical skills. After leaving the gas company Bassim has gone into the purchasing business as well as becoming the Road Captain for the Harley Davidson group in Dubai.
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CREW
We are fortunate to have three International Volunteers for the film as main crew members in the role of Director of Photography and Editor. The rest of the crew are mainly UAE residents, both locals and expatriates. This film will be a great example to bring the local and expatriate community together and understand each other’s culture.
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Nayla Al Khaja |
Nayla is the founder of D-Seven Motion Pictures, previously known as Dessart Productions founded in 2002, a Dubai based production company which produces commercial material, independent documentaries and films. Nayla graduated from Dubai Women’s College with a degree in Mass Communication in 1999 and had a stint with Arabian Radio Network where she hosted her own travel show. It turned out to be a great success, her ratings being second to only the managing director’s show. However Nayla realized her true calling lay in film-production which prompted her to apply to Ryerson University in Canada, well known for its Film making program. She graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor in Image studies - Filmmaking. In 2006, she produced and directed a movie called Arabana which deals with the disturbing issue of a child abuse, a subject which is taboo in the Middle East. Although it was very difficult to fit such an intense subject in a span of six minutes, Nayla managed to do so quite efficiently and not without effect. The movie is hard hitting and makes you sit back and take notice. The movie was premiered at the Dubai International Film Festival and received special recognition for its content. |
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Sebastian Funke |
Sebastian was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany. He studied Law in Berlin, Germany and Filmmaking in New York. After doing NGO work in Beirut, Lebanon in 2005, Sebastian went back to filmmaking and producing. He has written, directed and produced several Music-Videos, Documentaries, TV-Commercials and Short-Films. Sebastian has filmed all over the world from Beirut to Sierra Leone, West-Africa. Sebastian was recently awarded at the renowned Art Directors Club in Germany and Europe as one of the best TV-commercial directors, and was shortlisted at the Cannes Festival. Additionally he has written a feature film which has been optioned by a production company in Germany. For Sebastian the most important thing in filmmaking is honesty: “honesty towards your audience, towards your story and towards your visual approach.” |
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Yan Vogel |
In 1995 Jan started to study cultural and communication studies. He always liked films but about that time he decided to focus on filmmaking. Jan did his first work as an intern for a production company. Until 1997 Jan studied and worked for commercial/music video productions and on one feature film in various jobs. In 1997 Jan started film studies as a cinematographer at A.F.I. in Los Angeles. Jan dropped out off the 2-year program after 1 year and used his tuition money instead to shoot a short film and various spec commercials with 2 friends to build a show reel. Since 2002 Jan has been directing and photographing commercials worldwide with his partner Rene Villar Rios and in 2007 Yan concentrated more in cinematography and since has been working as a cinematographer on worldwide commercials, documentaries and short films. Jan is passionate about cinematography because he likes to “capture the magic of life”. Jan feels that there are so many stories to tell and film is a very strong way to reach an audience. Jan loves to create a reality with pictures that takes the viewer into another world and makes them feel a story and get in touch with their own feelings and thoughts. |
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Reshel Shah |
Reshel was born and raised in Essex, United Kingdom. She graduated from Bournemouth Arts Institute in Film Production. Reshel balanced her university schedule with working in the film industry and worked her way up from runner to production coordinator. Reshel has worked on short films and commercials as well as feature films such as “Sunshine”. Reshel has participated in film courses included the New York Film Academy filmmaking course in Los Angeles. Reshel has also directed a short film “Shake up Bollywood” a twelve-minute short bringing the Eastern and Western culture together. The film was sent to Cannes film festival in 2008. Reshel’s dream is to become a film producer for features and believes that to be a great producer “ A lot of time, learning and experience is needed and I believe one day I will succeed by successfully having all three elements”. |
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Christian Pfeil |
Christian Pfeil is a talented DP and upcoming filmmaker of today. Christian studied film and photography in Stuttgart and Berlin. The key to his outstanding work is his creative and artistic ability combined with his technical expertise. Christian goes even further and guides his project from beginning to end. Christian enjoys leaving the beaten track and shoot on all available formats, be it film (S35mm, S16mm, even S8mm) or Video (RED One, HD Cam or HDV), “I would like to make a film look as authentic as possible”. Always looking for new ways to approach a project, Christian and Sebastian, formed the directing team ‘Pantera’, combing a distinctive cast and an imaginative look with a clear message. On their new show reel, the award-winning newcomers demonstrate their extraordinary abilities. The campaign ‘Safari’-IFAW which won several awards at the ADC Germany, the ADC Europe , at the New York Festivals and was shortlisted for the Cannes Lions. “We were absolutely delighted when we found out we had been nominated for the Cannes Lions. This particular project was really close to our hearts and we are very pleased that the way we conveyed the message had been acknowledged by such a prestigious awards body.” |
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Mohammad Aslam |
With two decades of experience, Mohammed Aslam has designed and produced everything from marketing and advertising campaigns and fashion shows to professional promos and videos. His artistic vision is evident in every aspect of his work. Mohammed Aslam’s portfolio includes show reels and two personal videos (written, narrated and directed). He has designed the choreography and directed many major fashion shows in the Middle East and India, including Dubai Fashion Fiesta, DSF daily fashion shows, The Islamic Fashion Fiesta, Oomphs Grand Fashion Shows, PG Fiesta Fashion Shows, and PG Face Competitions. His marketing expertise includes premium international brands in fashion wear, jewelry and leather accessories. Mohammed Aslam has also directed various musical shows and coordinated many launch events for major brands and boutiques, including Versace and Ferrari. He also heads the team of visual merchandising artists for set designs and window dressings. Additionally he is also a contemporary abstract artist with several works on display in India. |
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Zera Azmi |
Zera is a talented Make-up artist with much experience under her belt. Zera studied in Vancouver at Blanche Macdonald where she learnt a number of make-up techniques such as airbrushing and also was trained in theatre, period and fashion make-up. Zera started off by working for MAC cosmetics and thereafter moved onto becoming a freelance make-up artist which she has been doing for the past six years. She has worked on a major fashion shows such as Vancouver Fashion Week and Dubai Fashion Week. Zera believes that to be a great make-up artist for films “You have to visually know what the director is visually looking for may it be the dramatic or romantic look, it is always essential to have great communication with the director as well as have a creative mind of your own”. |
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