Text and interview: Anastasia Lelyukh Cinema occupies a significant part of the modern culture of many countries. In some of them, the film industry is even a significant sector of the economy. Motion picture production is focused on film studios. Films are shown in movie theaters, on television, distributed "on video". In the form of video cassettes (less and less) and DVDs (mostly). With the advent of high-speed Internet, downloading movies in the form of video files on specialized sites or through peer-to-peer networks has become available.
It is believed that cinema emerged as a form of art only with the advent of paid movie screenings in December 1895, when the Lumiere brothers created the first cinema on Paris on Boulevard des Capucines. Naturally, everyone wanted to look at moving pictures, which gradually turned from a simple visual set into meaningful plots, to which sound was added, and then color. So began the distribution of cinema around the world, and film distribution appeared.
The distribution of cinema in most countries, including Russia, began with the distribution of films showing films made abroad. Very quickly, in addition to the converted theaters and cafes, specialized cinemas began to open and cinema networks formed. The USA was the leader in this area, where by 1908 3 thousand cinemas appeared. The rapid development of the film distribution network led to the development of the American film industry and the creation of Hollywood in the late 1910s.
Film distribution has experienced three periods of potentially massive outflow of spectators from cinemas: in the 1950s of the XX century in the United States - during the widespread distribution of television; at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s of the same century - with the advent of consumer video recordings and at the beginning of the 21st century, when technology for watching films via the Internet became widespread. Nevertheless, film distribution, and in particular film distributors, are struggling with the trend of individual viewing, improving movie theaters and improving technology.
I decided to find out how this is happening in the United Arab Emirates first-hand, contacting the Emirate distributors directly, thanks to which every Thursday (the eve of the weekend in the Arab world), new premieres flawlessly appear in movie theaters throughout the country .
My first interlocutor was Roy Chakra, Managing Director of Shooting Stars (in translation from English - shooting stars, meteorites; author's note) in Dubai. Roy, like his brother, continues the work of his father, Joe Chakra, who at one time became one of the first film distributors in the Middle East region.
Roy, please tell us about your father’s work and how Shooting Stars was created.
My father devoted most of his life to working for Warner Bros. (WB), which is one of the largest film and television series in the United States. He was the last of the Chakra family who personally knew and met with Jack Warner, one of the four brothers who created the film concern.
It is noteworthy that the parents of the legendary four - Harry Warner, Albert Warner, Sam Warner and Jack Warner - emigrated to the United States from the Russian Empire (from the territory of present Belarus) in the late 19th century.
In 1949, his father began working at one of the WB branches in Beirut. Then he was 14 years old. He got a job as a courier to earn money for his studies. In 1960, when he was barely 25 years old, he was already the manager of the branch.
Finally, in 1967, he received the position of supervisor in the Middle East region and managed 18 branches until 1987, when the management of the film studio decided to close their offices due to political instability in the region. The distribution of WB films was entrusted to the most devoted and trusted performer - my father. He was able to achieve what became the largest film distributor in the region. He transferred his passion for films, knowledge and connections to us, his two sons. And we continue his work to this day. Tony Chakra is the managing director of Shooting Stars in the Levant region, I work with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. My office is based in Dubai.
It is necessary to retreat here to tell that Roy did not immediately start working in Dubai. At first he gained experience and a good school abroad. Being, if I may say so, in the "epicenter" of film production.
From 1997 to 2000, Roy worked at Warner Bros Pictures in Los Angeles, in the international distribution department. Then he was transferred to the London office of the film company to lead the distribution of such well-known blockbusters as "Harry Potter", "Lord of the Rings" in the regions of Eastern Europe and the Middle East, " Matrix "(" Matrix ")," Troy "(" Troy ") and others. In March 2006, Roy moved to the UAE and now runs the Shooting Stars office in Dubai.
Roy, tell me, cinema and films is your passion or are you just continuing your family business?
Passion is just a word that cannot fully reflect those feelings that I have for films. I love cinema so much that when I was at school, my whole wardrobe consisted of T-shirts advertising new films. You could say that I was a lively walking ad for every new movie.
How many films have Shooting Stars brought and shown in the UAE since its inception?
This figure has already reached 150.
Please tell us about the plans of Shooting Stars for 2013.
As for commercial rental, we will continue to set new goals and achieve new records, being the largest distributor of WB studio in the UAE. As regards our activities related to consumer goods, we will pay special attention to our portfolio of brands that we represent, replenishing it with even more famous and iconic characters. In addition, we will continue to work towards increasing the number of our licensees, choosing, of course, only the best and most worthy in this class. This will allow us, I am convinced, to get the most optimal “visibility” of our brand in the region.
Do you collaborate with any other Hollywood movie studios or plan to do this in the near future?
Basically, of course, we work with WB. This is our most important partner. Despite this, we do sometimes bring in some films of independent directors and producers, the rights to which we acquire while participating in various film markets, such as the Berlin Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival and the American Film Market.
By what criteria do you select films for the UAE and GCC countries?
As I already noted, these are, for the most part, commercial films that WB creates and which will be interesting to watch for any public in any country in the world. If we are talking about independent cinema, then, selecting films, we are guided by the fact that it should be either action movies or comedy action movies. They are most popular among viewers in the Middle East. The following are horror movies. Comedy is also a success. Middle Eastern viewers, as a rule, do not really like drama.
It is interesting to learn about your personal preferences. Name your favorites.
Favorite movie genre? Any genre that stimulates and makes you think outside the box allows you to look at something in a new way.
Favorite movie? "New Cinema Paradiso" ("Cinema Paradiso") and "Ordinary Suspects" ("Usual Suspects").
Producer? Michael Mann
Actor and actress? Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Charlize Theron.
TV series? "Beauties" ("Entourage").
Singer? Rihanna
Kitchen and drink? Japanese Water.
Tell me, would you like to cooperate with any Russian-language film studio, distributor? Or maybe you plan to bring any film in Russian to the UAE?
Yes, we plan to bring and show in the entire Middle East region, including the UAE, a very beautiful Russian 3D cartoon called "The Snow Queen". The cartoon was created by the Voronezh studio Wizart Animation in 2012. The script was written by Vadim Sveshnikov and Vladlen Barbe. The directors are Maxim Sveshnikov (Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin Zmey, Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych, Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber, Squirrel and Strelka. Star Dogs) and Vladlen Barbe. Of course, the cartoon will be dubbed into English before appearing here in theaters.
Do you know any Russian-speaking directors, actors and actresses whose work you know?
Yes, of course. I know Nikita Mikhalkov, Timur Bekmambetov, Milla Jovovich and Anton Yelchin. Familiar with their work in the cinema.
What will your wishes be for readers of Russian Emirates magazine for 2013?
I wish the readers of the magazine to see more interesting films this year.
