Welcome to the latest edition of The Arts Edit, the weekly newsletter from The National's Abu Dhabi newsroom rounding up this week's most noteworthy arts and culture stories.
IN FOCUS
F1 The Movie returns to the Yas Marina Circuit tomorrow for its regional premiere, nearly seven months after Brad Pitt and company wrapped filming during the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Having seen the film, which is being released in UAE cinemas on Thursday, I can confirm it's as heart-pounding as you may hope, with director Joseph Kosinski effectively translating the visceral style he perfected in Top Gun: Maverick from one cockpit to another. Find my full review here.
The film follows ageing racer Sonny Hayes (Pitt), who returns for the second half of a Formula One season 30 years after the sport nearly killed him. He's there to help his former teammate-turned-team owner secure a win by the end of the season so the board can't force a sale. It's an underdog story inspired by the first season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive.
And Abu Dhabi's role in the film is no mere cameo. As in real life, the final race of the season is held in the emirate and, as it has in years past, the team's fate hangs in the balance. As a result, the film's thrilling and lengthy climactic sequence is set entirely on the Yas Marina Circuit.
As Kosniski told The National's Razmig Bedirian in March: "That is just a spectacular way to end the film.”
The film’s veteran producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Top Gun, Pirates of the Caribbean) spoke to our own Saeed Saeed from the paddock last year about role of the Abu Dhabi track, saying: “The Yas Marina Circuit is amazing and the people in Abu Dhabi have been so gracious and wonderful to us. They have welcomed our production with open arms and made everything very easy for us to film here.”
Production was supported by local crews that worked for 29 days in the UAE capital alongside the international crew. Filming during that period took place at Yas Marina Circuit, Zayed International Airport and twofour54 Studios at Yas Creative Hub.
"The impact for the wider industry, given the total amount of shoot days at 29, provided large economic benefits and extensive on-ground working opportunities for a variety of local professionals," said Sameer Al Jaberi, head of the Abu Dhabi Film Commission.
A record proportion of young talent was working on set. In total, 15 UAE-based interns worked on the film, five of whom were Emirati. Find more on the Abu Dhabi shoot here. And while it's perhaps the most extensive international shoot to date on Yas Island, it's not the first. Evelyn Lau traces the history of film on the island here.
Faisal Al Zaabi also took a deep dive into the evolution of Brad Pitt as a leading man, which you can learn more about here.
Looking back, it's astounding how many memorable film sequences that have resonated the world over were shot in the UAE, from Mission: Impossible to Fast and Furious. Now, F1 The Movie has earned a spot on that list.
Meet Ali Daylami, the first Gulf talent to win a Tony Award
In an industry shaped by familiar choruses and blockbuster adaptations, news that an original musical about two star-crossed robots had won Broadway's top prize made waves from Manhattan to Manama.
Ali Daylami became the first Bahraini - and the first person from the wider Gulf region - to receive a Tony Award as part of the producing team behind Maybe Happy Ending, which won Best Musical this month.
It is a personal achievement but also offers a path forward for a region more accustomed to experiencing drama from the seats.
“I'm definitely energised and inspired to keep going, to find new pieces and work that speak to me, and hopefully resonates with people in the same way this show did,” Daylami tells The National from New York.
“But I would love nothing more than to bring that energy back home to the Mena region. Not just as a show, but as something that's built for us, by us.”
Find more here.
Iranian artist Nima Nabavi's career pivot enters Dubai spotlight
“It’s far from perfect, but everything is where it needs to be,” Nima Nabavi says, stooping over Roswell2223, a work that took him a year and considerable physical strain to complete.
That the piece stretches for 5.5 metres and is the largest Nabavi has produced to date is only part of why the work was so taxing. The trial was in the details.
Nabavi is known for his complex artworks, which often draw from tenets of sacred geometry, but Roswell2223 stands out for its intricacy and ambition.
The work is an awe-inspiring constellation of shapes that come together in an effervescence of octagons, triangles and squares. Its backdrop is as mesmerising, gracefully moving across a spectrum of colours while making it seem that a light is emanating from its core.
Roswell2223 is the centrepiece for Sunrise at the Vortex, Nabavi’s solo exhibition at The Third Line, and marks a pivotal juncture in the Iranian artist’s career. He began the work in April 2022, as part of a residency programme at Roswell, New Mexico, intent on achieving something new and unprecedented.
Find more here.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
· Adonis at Dubai Opera – July 3
· Tul8te at Dubai World Trade Centre – July 4
· Bill Burr at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi – July 12
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
