Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Timur Bekmambetov pick eight UAE stories to lead screenlife rollout
ABU DHABI: Ben Ross, CEO of Image Nation Abu Dhabi, joined Kazakh-Russian film director and producer Timur Bekmambetov on Tuesday at the Culture Summit Abu Dhabi to discuss screenlife, a pioneering format developed by Bekmambetov that is coming to the region for the first time.
Screenlife is a style of filmmaking where the entire story takes place on a digital screen — through text messages, video calls, social media and other everyday apps — reflecting how people communicate in today's tech-driven world. Notable examples include the horror film 'Unfriended' (2014) and the mystery thriller 'Searching' (2018).
Ben Ross (L) and Timur Bekmambetov (R) at the Culture Summit Abu Dhabi. (AN Photo by Mohamed Fawzy)
In the session, Ross and Bekmambetov announced that they have selected eight stories from UAE filmmakers to bring to life after the launch of the Screenlife Program in June 2024, which aims to help UAE citizens and residents master this new format and create authentic narratives with global resonance.
'We were drawn to it because it is so innovative and so forward-thinking,' Ross told Arab News. 'We enjoyed the screenlife movies, and it just felt like a natural step to evolve it into this region.'
Bekmambetov emphasized the universality of digital communication. 'The digital world is the same universally. There is a different cultural element … but every family has a WhatsApp chat with hundreds of people on it. My family in Kazakhstan have one, and the internet in Abu Dhabi is the same,' he told Arab News.
He said that the format is 'socially very impactful' and can give voice to those often left out of traditional cinema. 'Because it costs nothing, you can tell stories about your individual life with no money. It will help us to engage very different storytellers.'
Ross noted that the selected projects reflect a wide range of stories. 'Every story that we have chosen ... stood out in its own way. There's a huge variety being told — it's not formulaic.'
Bekmambetov also noted that Muslim women lead very different lifestyles, saying, 'maybe screenlife will bring their stories to life,' to which Ross added that some of the stories currently in development already do.
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