Al Sidr Environmental Film Festival

6:30pm, October 24, Thursday

Panel Discussion - Environmental Agency Abu Dhabi presents Marine Biodiversity in the UAE

An introduction to Marine Biodiversity in the UAE with leading experts from the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, including Dr. Himansu Das, Unit Head, Marine Endangered Species and Habitats, Dr. Hind Al Ameri, a Marine Conservation Scientist at the Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi, and Nessrine Alzahlawi, multilingual biodiversity conservation professional with 17 years of experience in biodiversity policy development. The panel is moderated by Arabella Willing, a British marine biologist known for her work with Hawksbill turtles and environmental outreach programmes.

7pm, October 25, Friday

Climate Tribe Short: Co-Creating with Nature: The Art of Circular Design - 9 min

Designer Reema Al Mheiri's mission to redefine waste leads her to repurpose discarded fish scales into stunning architectural floor lamps.

Wrought directed by Anna Sigrithur and Joel Penner (Canada) - 22 min

A short time lapse film exploring rot, fermentation and decay. Wrought unfolds a larger story about the ways humans create categories for the world around us that can be limiting. It explores (and challenges) terms like spoil, ferment, compost and rot as it coaxes audiences to decompose these categories and their associated binaries: self and other, human and non-human, and nature and culture. As the film title implies, we are all forged out of the relationships that transgress such binaries; we are all, indeed, wrought.

Against the Tide directed by Sarvnik Kaur (India/France) - 97 min

Two Indigenous fishermen are driven to desperation by a dying sea. Their friendship begins to fracture as they take different paths to provide for their struggling families.

2pm, October 26, Saturday

Ma Poule (My Girl) directed by Caroline Ophelie (France) - 18 min

Ever since the rooster died, Jasper’s only surviving hen has been plagued by depression. Forced to come down from the mountain where he lives far from everything, the septuagenarian sets out in search of companionship for his beloved gallinaceous friend.

Kes directed by Ken Loach (UK) - 110 min

Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper, a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy, tames and trains his pet kestrel falcon whom he names Kes.

5pm, October 26, Saturday

KAWAUSO directed by Akihito Izuhara (Japan) - 15 min

A girl is walking when a Japanese river otter catches up with her. The two try to communicate while the world threatens to sink under the weight of its consumer goods.

REEF Festival Short: Tree of Hell directed by Raed Zeno (Lebanon) - 24 min 

Raed discovers by chance that the beautiful tree growing in front of his house is one of the invasive trees that threatens the environmental diversity in the Lebanese forest. He begins the journey of exploring this tree with his friend Hadi and Dr. Muhammad, who specializes in invasive plants, at a time when the country is exposed to another type of invasion represented by Israeli attacks on humans and their environment. 

The Red Turtle directed by Michaela Dudoka De Wita (Japan/France) - 80 min

Turbulent waves, a storm and a capsized boat. Within one moment, a man is stranded alone on a desert island. He is not able to appreciate the golden sand, the limitless ocean or wild nature. Instead, he does everything he can to escape from it at the first opportunity. His perspective, however, changes when he meets a red turtle. Suspended between reality and a dream, this poetic story is an invitation to meditation on beauty, nature and the next stages of human life. An Oscar nominee and an award-winner from Cannes, this animation is the only production of legendary Studio Ghibli which was made outside Japan

7:30pm, October 26, Saturday

Climate Tribe Short: The Bee Keeper’s Journey - 6 min

We follow beekeeper and ecologist, Aisha Hareb Al Dhaheri, whose passion for beekeeping raises awareness about the local ecosystem in the United Arab Emirates. 

The Night Visitors directed by Michael Gitlin (US) - 72 min

The Night Visitors is a movie about moths. In large and small fragments, looking both inward and out, through a critical lens that is by turns social and personal, the film closely examines these underknown creatures. While The Night Visitors is interested in moths as organisms, with fascinating life histories, staggering biodiversity, and a functional importance as indicators of climate change and habitat degradation, its engagement with them is not primarily entomological. Instead, the film looks at moths as aesthetic beings and as carriers of meaning, aiming for a deep encounter with the beauty and incommensurability of the profoundly other.

Sleepless Birds directed by Tom Claudon and Dana Melaver (Germany) - 45 min

How does a tomato change our sense of time? At the border between science-fiction and documentary, Sleepless Birds tracks the rise of artificially-lit, industrial greenhouses in the French region of Bretagne. The film presents the environmental impact of grow lights on biodiversity, as well as on our rhythm and perception of time. In examining the case of agricultural light pollution, the film also raises questions about the unintended consequences of human attempts to overpower nature and control the elements.

3pm, October 27, Sunday

Panel Discussion - The Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi in Focus

This panel includes staff of the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi (NHMAD) who will discuss stories linking the past, present, and future, of natural history. From scientists, leaders in natural history to museum curators, this panel explores the role of natural history in presenting a profound understanding of our interconnected world. Hear from Dr. Peter C. Kjærgaard, Director of the NHMAD, Prof. Phil Manning, Director of Science, Sara Almarzooqi, Assistant Curator, Dr. Mark Beech, Curatorial and Scientific Lead, and Dr. Brigitte Howarth, Curator of Entomology.

5pm, October 27, Sunday

REEF Festival Short: Shift directed by Sherine Raffoul and Moussa Shabandar - 18 min

Sherine Raffoul and Moussa Shabandar capture the words of Chadi Saad in the high Lebanese mountains. The audience witnesses a poignant testimony from a man who was once a hunter, now condemning bird hunting as criminal. Chadi attributes his change in perspective to the beautiful colors of the birds and his readings, notably those of Spinoza, who revealed to him that man and nature are one. This documentary highlights the importance of a philosophical and scientific understanding, along with the necessity of documenting migratory birds and those seeking refuge in the heart of Lebanon.

Snow Leopard directed by Pema Tseden (China) - 109 min

This is a story about how people and animals finally get along. A snow leopard breaks into the sheep pen of a nomad and kills nine rams. Father and son then argue: the son insists on killing the snow leopard, but the father insists on releasing it.

7:30pm, October 27, Sunday

No Man’s Land directed by Kim Elias Majdalani (Lebanon) - 6 min

There's a dead-zone on the southern borders of Lebanon, where wildlife thrives.

Revenge of Nature directed by Kim Elias Majdalani (Lebanon) - 12 min

How nature reclaims its territory through ecological succession after an area has been abandoned by humans.

Donkey in a Brahmin Village directed by John Abraham - 90 min

A high-caste Brahmin college professor adopts a newborn donkey when its mother is killed, and brings it to his village, against the norms of his community. Villagers later kill the donkey attributing to it some bad things that happen, but later start to assign a kind of divinity to the animal…