Community

P7
Community
Two students
from
Northwestern
University in Qatar will
have the opportunity
this summer to
further their research.
Community
Art Deco
cinema in
eastern
Germany keeps
its plush while
updating for the
modern age.
P20
Monday, June 13, 2016
Ramadan 8, 1437 AH
DOHA
33°C—42°C TODAY
LIFESTYLE/HOROSCOPE 13
PUZZLES 14 & 15
On the
Zika trail
COVER
STORY
BONDING: Evellyn Mendes Santos, 9, kisses her baby sister, Heloyse, outside of their home in
Joao Pessoa, Brazil. Their mother, Maria da Luz Mendes Santos, said it was her “biggest dream” to
have two daughters.
It has reached 60 countries and
territories, but there’s much that
the scientists still don’t know
about the crippling virus. P4-5
2
GULF TIMES Monday, June 13, 2016
COMMUNITY
ROUND & ABOUT
Love Me Tomorrow
GENRE: Comedy,
Romance
CAST: Piolo
Pascual, Coleen
Garcia, Dawn Zulueta
DIRECTION:
Gino M Santos
SYNOPSIS: A
generational love
story about a DJ, a
conflicted millennial
woman, and a woman
who is described to
be ‘on the verge of
renaissance’. They
will be caught in a
love triangle that will
spark thoughts on
one-night stands,
May-December
affairs and other
aspects of life.
Love Me Tomorrow
is a timely and
empowering film
that celebrates the
enduring power of
true love.
PRAYER TIME
Fajr
Shorooq (sunrise)
Zuhr (noon)
Asr (afternoon)
Maghreb (sunset)
Isha (night)
3.14am
4.43am
11.34am
2.57pm
6.28pm
7.58pm
USEFUL NUMBERS
THEATRES: The
Mall, Royal Plaza
Emergency
999
Worldwide Emergency Number
112
Kahramaa – Electricity and Water
991
Local Directory
180
International Calls Enquires
150
Hamad International Airport
40106666
Labor Department
44508111, 44406537
Mowasalat Taxi
44588888
Qatar Airways
44496000
Hamad Medical Corporation
44392222, 44393333
Qatar General Electricity and
Water Corporation
44845555, 44845464
Primary Health Care Corporation
44593333
44593363
Qatar Assistive Technology
Centre
44594050
Qatar News Agency
44450205
44450333
Q-Post – General Postal
Corporation
44464444
Humanitarian Services Office
(Single window facility for the repatriation of bodies)
Ministry of Interior
40253371, 40253372,
40253369
Ministry of Health
40253370, 40253364
Hamad Medical Corporation
40253368, 40253365
Qatar Airways
40253374
ote Unquote
u
Q Only when
you drink from the
river of silence shall you
indeed sing. And when you have
reached the mountain top, then you
shall begin to climb. And when the
earth shall claim your limbs, then
shall you truly dance.
X-Men: Apocalypse
GENRE: Action, Animation
CAST: James Mcavoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer
Lawrence
DIRECTION: Clay Kaytis, Fergal Reilly
SYNOPSIS: With the emergence of the world’s first
mutant, Apocalypse, the X-Men must unite to defeat his
extinction level plan. En Sabah Nur, a powerful being believed
to be the first mutant on Earth, rules over ancient Egypt until
he is betrayed by a rebellion. His four lieutenants die, using
their powers to safeguard him. Awakened in 1983 by chance,
he observes the new world and believes that humanity has lost
its way without his presence.
THEATRE: Royal Plaza
— Khalil Gibran
Community Editor
Kamran Rehmat
e-mail: community@gulf-times.com
Telephone: 44466405
Fax: 44350474
Mall Cinema (1): Te3n (Hindi) 3pm;
Love Me Tomorrow (2D) 8.45pm;
Te3n (Hindi) 11pm.
Mall Cinema (2): Angry Birds Movie
(2D) 2.30pm; Frog Kingdom
(2D) 4.15 & 9pm; X-Men Apocalypse
(2D) 10.45pm.
Mall Cinema (3): House Full 3 (Hindi)
2.30pm; Un Homme A La Hauter “Up
For Love” (2D) 9pm; Warcraft (2D)
10.30pm.
Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (1):
Frog Kingdom (2D) 2.30pm; Angry
Birds Movie (2D) 4.15pm; Love Me
Tomorrow (2D) 8.30pm; Te3n (Hindi)
11pm.
Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (2):
Te3n (Hindi) 2.30pm; Frog Kingdom
(2D) 8.45pm; Warcraft (2D)
10.45pm.
Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (3):
House Full 3 (2D) 3pm; Un Homme A
La Hauter “Up For Love” (2D) 8.30pm;
X-Men Apocalypse (2D) 10.30pm.
Asian Town Cinema: Iraivil (Tamil)
8pm; King Liar (Malayalam) 10.30pm;
A. Aa (Telugu) 7.30pm; Te3n (Hindi)
7.30 & 11pm; Housefull 3 (Hindi) 7.45
& 10.45pm.
Monday, June 13, 2016
Chinese Food Culture Festival
DATE: June 30-July 9
TIME: 8pm- 12pm
VENUE: Barwa Commercial Avenue
Want to taste Chinese food? Want to watch
breath taking Chinese performances? Well now
you can enjoy the authentic taste and watch
wonderful Chinese performances at the Dragon
Mart China Mall. Bringing you 10 days of food
festivities. Barwa Commercial Avenue, opposite
Al Watan petrol station from June 30 to July 9,
from 8pm-12pm.
Ramadan Nights @ Aqua Park
TIME: 8pm — 2am
VENUE: Aqua Park
With a special month, comes a special treat
from Qatar’s number 1 theme park – Aqua
Park.
Come spend the beautiful Ramadan nights
at Aqua Park and get to also view the 2016
matches on a giant screen. Join other football
fans and enjoy the UEFA Euro 2016 feeling
in France right here in Qatar. Let the fun &
excitement begin!
Blood and Arteries exhibition
DATE: Tomorrow-July 11
TIME: 9am-11:55pm
VENUE: Katara, Bldg 18
Creative 4D Exhibition on blood and
arteries with verses from the Qur’an and a
free blood test.
Katara Beach Volleyball Championship
DATE: Until June 25
TIME: 9pm- 11:55pm
VENUE: Katara Beach
Katara announces the launch of Katara
Beach Volleyball Tournament 2016 in
Ramadan on Katara beach volleyball
court. Participants are welcome from all
nationalities provided they weren’t in the
records of the Qatari Volleyball Association
for the season of 2015 – 2016.
Find your treasure competition
DATE: Until July 1
TIME: 8pm-11pm
VENUE: Katara
You might be amongst the winners by
participating in the competition every
Thursday and Friday after the Tarawih
prayers and look for the treasure box to win
the QR2,500. You are kindly requested, once
you find the box, to go to the kiosk opposite
building 15 to know if you’re the lucky winner.
Mathaf Education Summer Program
DATE: June 19-20
TIME: 10am
VENUE: Museum of Modern Art
When school ends, fun begins at Mathaf!
Bring your favourite character to life. Ages
8-11 years old. June 19-20, from 10am –
12noon. Participants explore different
characters found in artworks from the
Mathaf’s collection; and learn different
techniques of 3D modelling to bring their
favourite characters to life and to create their
own stories.
Qur’an Memorisation
DATE: Until June 23
TIME: 10am-11:30am
VENUE: Katara Masjid
Stemming from its keenness to raise the
young generation and enforce their bond
with their Islamic identity and principles
of their true religion, the Cultural Village
Foundation-Katara announces the
organisation of its fourth consecutive edition
of the Qur’an Memorisation Sessions, during
the holy month of Ramadan.
3
COMMUNITY
ROUND & ABOUT
EVENTS
GULF TIMES
Summer Camp & Clinic
DATE: July 3-14
TIME: 9am
VENUE: Al Waab, Al Bustan, Doha
The camps & clinics are a fantastic
opportunity to maintain contact time with your
coach, whether that is soccer, basketball or
multi-sports. Come along, learn new skills and
meet new friends who have the same passion
and desire for the game as you do.
Karting & Mini Moto Track
DATE: Until July 1
TIME: 6:30pm
VENUE: Losail International Circuit
The Karting and Mini Moto Track will be
open every Thursday and Friday until July 1
after which the track will close until further
notice. QR100 per session of 15 minutes.
Helmet mask QR15 – not refundable.
Dance Classes with Salsa n Candela
VENUE: Hilton Hotel-West Bay
Salsa n Candela offers variety of dance
classes for kids and adults at Hilton Hotel,
Eforea Spa Studio, such as Salsa, Bachata,
Kizomba, Swing, Tango and Greek classes.
Price at QR60 per class per person.
Shifting Sands
DATE: Until July 7
VENUE: Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Museum,
Alsamariyah
MA students of UCL Qatar are organising and
curating an exhibition as part of UCLQurates.
In the very recent past, Qatar has undergone
a significant transformation; through these
developments, people have had to adapt to the
changing landscape in which they live.
Let’s meet and learn some moves every
Monday night. You don’t need to do
anything, just join us. Level 1 (intermediate
level) 7pm and for beginner level 8pm. Be
there at Raddison Blu Hotel Cabana Club.
QSports Summer Camp
DATE: June 19-Sept 1
TIME: 8am-1pm
VENUE: Al Jazeera Academy
Registration for QSports Summer
Camp 2016 is now open. QSports summer
camps are committed to providing a safe,
fun and skill-based experience for kids
between the ages of four and 14. We have a
dedicated team of specialist kid’s coaches
and classes and activities are safe, planned,
progressive, active, creative, inclusive
and designed to maximise participation
of all children by offering a variety of
activities.
Spring Exhibition MIA
DATE: Until July 16
TIME: 10:30am- 5pm
VENUE: QM Gallery Al Riwaq
An exhibition of 15 contemporary
Chinese artists, curated by internationally
acclaimed New York-based Chinese artist
Cai Guo-Qiang, is on view at the QM
Gallery Al Riwaq. The exhibition is the
major highlight presented in the context
of the Qatar China 2016 Year of Culture.
Artworks exemplifying each and every
artist’s unique artistic language and
methodology are displayed in individual
galleries.
Al Gannas
DATE: Until Oct 30
TIME: 9am -11:30am
VENUE: Al Gannas Society
Al Gannas Association is participating in
the ‘Our culture is a school’ programme by
organising many activities for the students
every Monday and Wednesday of the week.
These activities include explanations on
hunting and related tools, kinds of falcons
and preys, in addition to workshop on
how to carry a falcon, set a traditional
tent (made of goat & camel hair), prepare
traditional Arabic coffee, etc.
Qatari Agricultural Product Yards
DATE: Until June 30
VENUE: Al Mazrooa, Al Zakheera, Al
Khor, Al Wakrah
The Ministry of Environment has opened
the 4th season of Qatari agricultural
product yards for selling locally produced
fruits, vegetables, poultry, fish and
livestock. Work in these yards will continue
for seven months. The yards will operate
three days a week on Thursdays, Fridays
and Saturdays from 7am to 5pm, with
livestock vendors in Al Mazrooa operating
at the same times throughout the week.
Sunset Kayaking
DATE: June 17-25
TIME: 4pm
VENUE: Al Thakhira
This is a tour designed for the holy month
of Ramadan. Enjoy a great sunset paddling in
the beautiful mangroves of Al Thakhira. After
Kayaking, we head back to the beach and go
for a potluck Iftar where people share their
food! There will be a BBQ set up as well.
Join in our Walk-in Weekends
DATE: Every Saturday
VENUE: MIA Atrium
MIA art education and calligraphy teams
offer walk-in workshops in MIA’s atrium
every Saturday. These walk-in workshops
are for open for all family members.
Beach Football Championship
DATE: Until June 25
TIME: 9pm-11:55pm
VENUE: Katara
Al-Frjan committee for football
tournaments in Aspire announces the launch
of the Sixth Edition for Katara Beach Football
Championship 2016 in Ramadan on Katara
beach football pitch.
FOODIE CHOICE
Yamativo Salsa Classes
DATE: Every Monday
TIME: 7pm
VENUE: Radisson Blu
It’s always fun and always challenging.
RESTAURANT: Light House Restaurant
LOCATION: Grand Regal Hotel, Doha
Located on the top floor, an elegant allday dining restaurant serves international
buffet daily. Here you can savour a wide
choice of culinary delights and enjoy
spectacular views across West Bay, the city
and beyond.
Compiled by Nausheen Shaikh. E-mail: gtlisting@gmail.com, Events and timings subject to change
4
GULF TIMES Monday, June 13, 2016
COMMUNITY
COVER STORY
Chasing an epidemic
Zika has now reached 60 countries and territories, including large
swaths of the Americas and almost no-one has the immunity that
has developed in parts of Africa and Asia, writes Alexandra Zavis
A MOTHER’S LOVE: “She’s everything in my life. It doesn’t matter what she has, for me, it’s nothing,” Maria da Luz Mendes Santos says about her daughter, Heloyse, who was born with microcephaly.
“She brought a lot of happiness to my family.”
I
n a place where the bite of
a common mosquito has
brought crippling birth
defects and early death, they
are the detectives sent to
gather clues about the crime.
The four women have
been plying the back roads of
northeastern Brazil for days. Their
quarry: new mothers who may
have been infected with the Zika
virus during their pregnancies.
Conceicao Alcantara, a 34-yearold woman who’d given birth
the month before, was on their
list. Her daughter was born with
microcephaly, a serious condition
that afflicts some babies whose
mothers have been exposed to
the virus, leaving them with an
abnormally small skull, and often
an underdeveloped brain.
Alcantara had been reluctant
to speak to the investigators — an
American paediatrician, and two
nurses and a phlebotomist from
Brazil. She didn’t want her tiny
daughter turned into a public
curiosity, she said.
As a physiotherapist herself
who’d worked with microcephalic
babies, she already knew the
condition’s devastating potential
impact: seizures, learning
disabilities, problems with
speech, vision, hearing and
motor function, and for some, a
shortened life span.
Were these researchers going to
accomplish anything?
A local health worker agreed
to bring the team to Alcantara’s
house to see if she might be
persuaded. The health worker
guided the group’s small Fiat down
narrow, cobblestone streets to a
cream-coloured house behind a
forbidding metal gate.
Marcia de Andrade, one of the
nurses on the team, banged on the
gate while the others stayed in the
car. The gate opened a crack, and
De Andrade disappeared inside.
She was gone nearly an hour.
Finally, the gate opened again, and
De Andrade motioned for the rest
of the team to come inside.
There is now strong scientific
consensus that Zika, which
for decades was thought to be
relatively harmless and often has no
symptoms, can cause microcephaly
and other serious neurological
damage. But there is much that
scientists still don’t know.
Why are only some babies whose
mothers were infected during
pregnancy affected, while others
are not?
How high is the risk? Is exposure
more dangerous in certain
trimesters? Are there other factors
that increase the chances that Zika
will cause birth defects?
The US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention in
February dispatched researchers to
Brazil, which has seen an increase
in microcephaly cases unparalleled
elsewhere in the world, to help
unravel the mystery.
Over the next month, the team
in the Fiat and seven others like it
fanned out across the northeastern
state of Paraiba, logging thousands
of miles down undulating country
roads and narrow alleyways.
Zika has now reached 60
countries and territories, including
large swaths of the Americas where
there is an abundance of the Aedes
aegypti mosquito that spread the
virus — and almost no-one has the
immunity that has developed in
parts of Africa and Asia.
In the United States and its
territories, 279 pregnant women
have tested positive for likely
exposure, federal health officials
recently announced.
As of May 25, Brazilian health
authorities had confirmed
1,434 births since October with
malformations that may be Zikarelated and were investigating
thousands of others.
Zika is believed to have arrived
in Brazil in 2014, most likely
brought in by a traveller from the
Pacific Islands.
The increase in microcephaly
cases began in August in the state
of Pernambuco, just south of
Paraiba. Genetic disorders, certain
viruses and other known causes of
Monday, June 13, 2016
GULF TIMES
5
COMMUNITY
COVER STORY
There is much that scientists
still don’t know. Why are only
some babies whose mothers
were infected during pregnancy
affected, while others are not? How
high is the risk? Is exposure more
dangerous in certain trimesters?
Are there other factors that
increase the chances that Zika will
cause birth defects?
REPORT CARD: After taking the measurement of a child’s head who has microcephaly, Dr Megumi Itoh, an epidemic
intelligence officer with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), centre, shows mother Sabrina
Mateus, 17, where her baby’s head measurement of 34.2 cm falls on a growth chart — well below the 1/3 percentile of
babies that age. Sabrina Mateus and her baby took part in the CDC and Brazil’s Ministry of Health case-control study
investigating the association between women having the Zika virus when they are pregnant, and the effects they are
seeing of microcephaly in babies.
microcephaly did not seem to be an
issue in these cases.
Something else was going on,
and Alcantara’s pregnancy became
a key piece of the puzzle.
Her obstetrician had noticed
during an ultrasound that the
fetus’s head was not developing
normally, and then heard of the
cases of microcephaly in nearby
Pernambuco.
Those cases, doctors were
beginning to suspect, might be
linked to Zika. Many of the women
had experienced a rash typical of
the virus early in their pregnancies
— did Alcantara remember having
a rash?
She did.
Her doctor found a lab that
could test for Zika in her amniotic
fluid, and it was positive. The
finding was a breakthrough
— some of the first biological
evidence connecting the virus to
microcephaly.
“Never before in history has
there been a situation where a bite
from a mosquito could result in a
devastating malformation,” said Dr
Thomas Frieden, the CDC director.
Over the coming months,
the evidence favouring a Zika
connection mounted. Other
countries with outbreaks started
reporting cases of microcephaly.
Brain tissue collected from still
births tested positive for the virus,
as did spinal fluid from babies with
microcephaly.
In Paraiba, the detectives started
with a list of more than 800
reported cases of microcephaly in
the region, which they winnowed
to a sample of 190. They focused
on severe cases, based on the
head’s circumference at birth —
32 centimetres for boys and 31.5
centimetres for girls — as well as
its size relative to body length. Just
3 percent of newborns have heads
that small.
For each mother who agreed
to take part, the researchers
wanted to enrol, as a control, three
others whose babies were born at
around the same time and in the
same place but who did not have
microcephaly.
Dr Megumi Itoh, the San
Francisco paediatrician who was on
the team with De Andrade, worried
how families would respond to
strangers showing up at their
homes, asking intimate questions
and taking blood samples.
The researchers had a bigger
challenge first: finding them. The
mothers were spread across nearly
22,000 square miles, from the
densely populated coast to the
hinterlands of the interior.
The teams set out in the state
capital, Joao Pessoa, often with
little more than a name and a
neighbourhood. They went from
clinic to clinic searching for more
information.
“We would literally go in and
say, ‘Do you know this mom?’”
Itoh said.
When the teams located an
address, the mother might not be
home. “We were going in circles.”
They needed a better strategy.
In Sao Vicente do Serido, an
elderly shopkeeper pointed the
researchers toward the municipal
health secretariat on a cobblestone
street of houses painted pastel
yellow, blue and green.
The town recently had its
first case of microcephaly, and
expectant mothers were desperate
to know if their babies might also
be at risk.
“It is so good to have you,” said
Constanca Goncalves, a primary
care co-ordinator, as she led the
team into an office.
The researchers sorted through
reams of paperwork and used a
pink pillow to turn a cabinet into
an examination table.
STUDY: Marcilia Souza, left, with the Center de Patologia e Analises
Clincicas (CEPAC) in Campina Grande, works with Veronica Dantas, right, a
lab technician who is part of the team of workers with the CDC and Brazil’s
Ministry of Health conducting a study on the effects of the Zika virus in
Campina Grande, Brazil.
Two mothers were waiting to see
them, while another hadn’t shown
up yet. All had healthy babies and
were there to serve as control cases.
A shy mother in shorts and a
tank top entered the room cradling
a sleeping baby girl. But there was
a problem. The mother, Maria
Girdielly, was 17. They needed a
parent’s consent to enrol the pair in
the study.
Goncalves pulled up a number on
her cellphone and dialled the girl’s
mother. She was busy making lunch
for her employer.
“Can you just come sign the
paperwork?” Goncalves pleaded.
“We will come in a car to get you and
bring you right back.”
The Fiat was dispatched, and 10
minutes later Maria’s mother, Creusa
dos Santos, walked into the room.
She looked nervous.
“You have a chance to help a lot of
other mothers,” De Andrade said.
The woman signed the forms.
In the afternoon, they visited a
clinic in Juazeirinho, the town where
they would meet Alcantara the next
day.
Waiting for them was Sabrina
Mateus, her mother and her
2-month-old son, who was born
with microcephaly.
After measuring the infant’s head,
Itoh took photographs to document
its shape and proportions.
De Andrade assured the 17-yearold mother that they would not be
shared on social media networks — a
worry in a country where curiosity
about the condition has meant that
its victims are sometimes treated
like characters in a national freak
show. The baby screamed as another
team member drew a sample of his
blood, then one from his mother.
An antibody test would indicate
whether they had been exposed to
the virus.
Did she experience any rashes
during her pregnancy, De Andrade
asked the mother.
Any fever? Headaches? Joint pain?
Red eyes? She shook her head no.
Had she had any other infections?
Was she exposed to pesticides? Did
she drink? No.
De Andrade wrote down each
answer on a standardised form. The
questions continued for half an hour.
Many Brazilians remain doubtful
that the surge in microcephaly can
be traced to Zika.
Various other theories have
gained popular currency. Some
want to blame the epidemic on
expired vaccines; others on a British
biotech firm that has been releasing
genetically modified mosquitoes to
combat dengue fever, or a larvicide
used by the government to prevent
mosquitoes from breeding in
standing water.
Government officials hope the
study will provide a definitive
answer.
In the end, 600 mothers agreed to
participate in the research.
A preliminary analysis was not
surprising: Mothers whose babies
have microcephaly were more
likely than other women to have
experienced symptoms during
pregnancy that could be caused by
Zika. There were no other obvious
explanations for the epidemic. —Los
Angeles Times/TNS
NOTES: A notebook belonging to Meg Itoh, an epidemic intelligence officer
with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), used for
tracking patients they have seen and are going to see, as part of the CDC
and Brazil’s case-control study investigating if there is an association between
women having the Zika virus when they are pregnant, and the effects they
are seeing of microcephaly in their babies.
6
GULF TIMES Monday, June 13, 2016
COMMUNITY
Gymnastics and construction
... it’s all in the balance
By Jon Sanderson and Matthew Schofield of Quantum Global Solutions Qatar
Like gymnastics, a construction project needs strong foundations. It may not get scores out of 10 for performance but
the contractor still requires to have great safety records, meet quality standards and ensure that all the stakeholders
are engaged. Photos by Nigel Downes
I
n April we discussed
whether we were ‘Hunters or
Jumpers?’ Describing how a
fantastic sport of equestrian
can be compared to
construction projects and aligning
ourselves with the equestrian
term ‘Jumpers’ in which obstacles
are put in front of us, whether on
the project or on the course; and
although at the outset we may not
know what these are, we formulate
risk strategies and plans, to deal
with, and progress through them
in an pre-determined timescale,
trying not to clip a hurdle or deviate
from the contract.
Recently Qatar hosted the 9th
Artistic Gymnastics World Cup
Series at the Aspire Dome; this
world event precedes the Olympic
Games 2016 in Brazil and more than
100 gymnasts from 33 countries
showcased their unbelievable
skills in a fantastic competition.
I imagine you are now scratching
your heads and thinking, come on
… how can … in what way … really
… gymnastics and construction
… what do they have in common
…? After aligning equestrian and
construction, surely gymnastics
and construction will struggle.
Well a construction project
needs strong foundations, a
contract, leaders and managers
with a strong team built around a
detailed organisation chart, and of
course a strong belief the project
I imagine you are now scratching
your heads and thinking, come on
... how can ... in what way ... really
... gymnastics and construction ...
what do they have in common ...?
will succeed. So too gymnastics
— if you ever watch the different
disciplines, whether it be on the
floor or the apparatus, all gymnasts
have a strong, solid foundation
to start their routine. The actual
start of any routine requires a base
to leap or propel into the air or to
ensure there run up is in proportion
and at the right speed and velocity
to provide the correct execution.
The same for the project — that
base going forward will always
determine the right or wrong
behaviours for the project.
Gymnastics is a sport involving
the performance of exercises
requiring strength, flexibility,
balance and control and as with
most sports, there are judges,
umpires and referees and for
gymnastics the rules and scoring
are as rigorous as ever. Whether it is
an arm out of place, a step back on
dismount or a fall from the pommel
horse, scoring can be detrimental if
the rules and performance are not
perfect.
A construction project may not
get scores out of 10 for performance
or lose points through the project,
but the contractor still requires to
have great safety records such as no
injuries and no Lost Time Injuries
(LTI’s), maintain quality control
whether it is material ordering or
completing correct welds, which
means the contractor has to be
flexible, have a good understanding
of the balance required to deal with
their workers, the sequence of work
and making sure all stakeholders
are engaged with.
One of the main areas for a
construction project is control
and this has to be the area that
most construction projects fail
on, not that Jon and I are bias in
regards to this area, but because
many project teams and client are
dismayed by the term ‘control’, as
they mistakenly equate it with the
concept of authority and the spies
are watching us.
Gymnasts feel the same, the way
a gymnast holds his position on the
still rings or how she throws their
ball or ring into the air, with control
and grace before completing the
move, shows that control is not
about telling people what to do, or
dictating actions or thoughts or
even trying to force them to behave
in a certain way, the term ‘control’
is comparable in certain respects
to steering a ship. It is about how
a course may be adjusted without
losing sight of the main objective.
This is the same if the gymnast
falls off the balance beam, the
routine needs to be adjusted but the
objective remains.
Hopefully the gymnast
completes the routine without
falling or having a bad dismount
and the same can be said for
the project — procurement is
delayed, approvals take longer
than expected, but hopefully the
project will be on time and on cost
and above all provide the quality
the contractor wants to deliver and
what the client expects to have. But
above all the objectives and goals
remain the same and if the ship has
to change direction, controls are in
place so adjustments can be made
to get back on the right path.
Monday, June 13, 2016
GULF TIMES
7
COMMUNITY
NU-Q Dean and CEO Everette E Dennis says the university “considers skills to be an important part of its students’ academic education.”
Two NU-Q students to research
on British-Pakistani identity
T
wo students from
Northwestern University
in Qatar will have the
opportunity this summer
to further their research
thanks to grants provided by the
university.
Northwestern’s Office for
Undergraduate Research and the
Buffet Institute have provided
Basmah Azmi and Meher Matab
financial support to fund their
research project on Pakistani
identity, which will be conducted in
London.
Mehtab and Azmi, students in
NU-Q’s journalism programme,
plan to use the grants to research
the cultural assimilation of
Pakistani migrants in the United
Shantiniketan Indian
School marks World
Environment Day
The Shantiniketan Indian School celebrated
the World Environment Day recently.
Students of Class VII in the International
Stream and SIS Eco Club members actively
participated in the programme. Principal Dr
Subhash B Nair, Vice-Principal (Academics)
Shihabudeen Pullath, Vice Principal (CBSE-i)
Dudley O’Connor, Science Department
Head Tono Fernandez, teachers and the
students planted sapling at the school
campus. A drawing competition was also
organised. Lamiya and Fatima emerged
as winners.
Kingdom and its implications on
identity.
“Northwestern considers
research skills to be an important
part of its students’ academic
education,” said Everette E Dennis,
dean and CEO, “To support these
initiatives we are committed to
assisting students in connecting
them to the resources necessary to
follow their research interests.”
The grants will allow Mehtab
and Azmi to travel to Great Britain
to conduct qualitative-research on
generations of British-Pakistanis
who have lived in the UK since the
country’s separation from India in
1945.
Research opportunities that
are available to Northwestern
students in Evanston are also
offered to NU-Q students,
which was revealed to the two
students following a meeting with
the director of undergraduate
research who visited Doha earlier
this year.
“We realised at that meeting
that all the opportunities that
are available to the students in
Evanston are available to us,”
Mehtab said. Their research
process started with the simple
idea of identity and its fluid nature.
The students say that they were
fascinated by the very concept of
how strong cultural identity can be
for diaspora.
“We found that Pakistanis who
migrated right after the IndiaPakistan partition and had no real
sense about Pakistan as a country,
would clearly identify themselves
as British-Pakistanis,” Mehtab said.
“We wanted to understand what it
meant to be British-Pakistani,” she
said.
Mehtab and Azmi say that
their curiosity about cultural
assimilation stems from the current
European migrant crisis. “We are
curious about what it means to hold
on to two cultural identities at the
same time,” Azmi said.
The students competed with
322 applications for the grant from
the undergraduate research office
and attributed their success to
the guidance they received from
NU-Q faculty Ibrahim Abusharif
and Christopher Sparshott. “They
asked us questions that helped
us think deeply about how our
experiences and knowledge could
give us an edge in the competition,”
Azmi said.
Meher and Azmi are Pakistani
and speak Urdu, which will allow
them to conduct the oral-history
project in the local language,
which they consider to be most
comfortable for their subjects.
“Cultural assimilation can’t be
based on or statistics or facts you
find in a book, it’s an experience —
and we want to study and present it
as that,” Mehtab said.
Mehtab and Azmi will spend
two-months conducting interviews
and capturing the everyday
experiences of British-Pakistanis;
their findings will be presented on
an interactive website when they
complete their research.
8
GULF TIMES Monday, June 13, 2016
COMMUNITY
Anti Smoking Society Qatar marks World Environment Day
The Anti Smoking Society Qatar launched a campaign aimed at educating various aspects of
environmental protection to mark the World Environment Day recently. The celebrations got
off to a flying start at the Ideal Indian School, with hundreds of students and parents joining the
environmental parade.
Mohammed Unni Olakara, global chairman of the society, administered the environmental pledge,
while Dr M P Hassan Kunhi, the chairman, inaugurated the campaign. Hundreds of students
representing various schools joined the parade along with their parents and teachers.
Amanulla Vadakkangara, CEO of Mediaplus, conducted the event. In his speech, he highlighted
the concerns of Qatar government in protecting the environment and exhorted the audience to
make it a personal obligation. He underlined the most serious environmental issues such as global
warming, climate change, carbon emissions, sustainable development, and alternative sources of
energy.
This was followed by an interschool painting competition where children expressed their feelings.
The junior students were given the topic “My Environment: Don’t Pollute It”, while the seniors were
asked to paint on the theme “My Dream About A Clean And Safe Environment.”
Seen here are the Anti Smoking Society officials and students at the environment parade.
AMU Alumni Association Qatar holds its annual Iftar Party
More than 160 people attended AMU Alumni Association Qatar’s (AMUAAQ) annual Iftar Party at the Moti Mahal Restaurant in Doha recently. Jawed Ahmad, the VP of AMUAAQ, presented the welcome
speech and introduced the special guests: Hassan Kunhi (corporate leader), Azim Abbas (MD Sulaiman Jewelry & Watches), Shadab Khan (MD RedDot Films). M Faizan Khan, co-ordinator of the
association, talked about the importance and benefits of Ramadan. Ahsan Masood and Habibun Nabi Zama, senior alumni, were also facilitated on the occasion.
Monday, June 13, 2016
GULF TIMES
9
COMMUNITY
Arabian Porter launches new mobile app
A
rabian Porter launched their new
mobile app at W hotel recently.
Arabian Porter is an online
fashion retailer for woman,
providing glamorous high-end
fashion.
It is focused firmly on the future of Arabian
fashion with many “dedicated, passionate and
well-known designers.”
The online retailer promises customers the
best online shopping experience — a place
where customers can come and discover the
latest fashion trends, with a smart easy to use
website that has secure payment methods,
and fast delivery.
The launch event took place at the W hotel.
Designers, digital media, social media experts,
and bloggers attended the evening.
Arabian Porter launched their new app,
explaining how it would facilitate shopping
online for women in the GCC. The new app
is the first of its kind to streamline the online
shopping experience in Qatar, relying solely
on visual prompts to help users purchase
authentic and unique fashion and accessories.
Its main purpose is to save people time
and effort, providing a one-stop shopping
destination that has many varieties in Qatar
and GCC.
Arabian Porter is based in Qatar and
launched in November 2015. The company
says: “Within a short span we have
experienced 10,000+ new users and 41,000+
page views on our website last month. We
now serve customers all over GCC, and we are
thrilled to be a part of your world. We hope
you enjoy our products as much as we enjoy
offering them to you.”
Models at the launch event.
H.B.H Al Mulla & Sons, Mosafer Group participate in Victorinox training seminar
H.B.H Al Mulla & Sons and Mosafer Group participated in Victorinox Training Seminar 2016 recently. Seen here are the staff members of the two groups at the training session.
10 GULF TIMES Monday, June 13, 2016
COMMUNITY
Dress like Ronaldo
All the Sacoor Brothers’ shoes are made in Portugal with genuine leather.
Photo by Umer Nangiana
By Umer Nangiana
C
VARIETY: The 7 suits, reflecting the Portuguese football superstar’s jersey
number, in the collection illustrate the best of haute couture.
arefully designed, allying
the wealth of detail
visible in the cut, the
personalised buttons,
the welt, the tiepin, the
personalised label and the carefully
selected materials, they have an
entire line of collection in his name,
the Cristiano Ronaldo & Sacoor
Brothers.
Only available at nine boutiques
around the world with five of them
in the UAE, this special collection
of items is inspired by Cristiano
Ronaldo, the official global
ambassador of Sacoor Brothers.
The 7 suits, reflecting the
Portuguese football superstar’s
jersey number, in the collection
illustrate the best of haute couture;
reinvented classics that combine
shapes, colours and textures to
create proposals that combine the
city look of some of the main fashion
capitals where Sacoor Brothers
is present from Lisbon to Kuala
Lumpur, London, Dubai, Madrid,
Singapore, Brussels, and Doha.
“Thank God, I am able to choose
practically whatever it is I like.
Sacoor is a label I have always liked
and I can relate to it. That is why we
are in partnership and I am quite
pleased about that,” says Ronaldo,
while speaking about the brand in
his interview with local Portuguese
media earlier this year.
“I really like the fashion world. It
is not by chance that I have shirts,
my own boxers, my own fragrance,
my own headphones. And more
things will be coming soon,” adds
the world-renowned football star.
Present in Doha in Ezdan Mall,
Sacoor Brothers is a well-known
international label, based in
Portugal. It is the result of the
dream of four brothers committed to
adding elegance, quality and style to
the fashion world.
In existence for 25 years, Sacoor
Brothers been a favourite with
celebrities and has dressed wellknown personalities from the world
of fashion, sports, cinema and
television like the famous Hollywood
actors Rob Lowe, William Baldwin,
Patrick Dempsey and Irina Shayk.
In their Cristiano Ronaldo &
Sacoor Brothers collection, they
have a whole line of suits, Bold Suit,
for Doha.
“The timeless pattern of this
suit could well make it an icon of
modernity, keeping up with the pace
of a fast and unstoppable city like
Doha. It is ideal for the man who
wants to make a bold statement, but
is a classic nonetheless,” says Sacoor
Brothers.
Coming to Doha in 2013, the
brand plans to expand to five outlets
by the end of this year. Offering
collections for men, women and
children, the label does it in grand
style. You step into their store and
you get the feeling of entering an
American penthouse, with a grand
piano sitting in one corner opposite
a personal small Sacoor Café.
Monday, June 13, 2016
GULF TIMES
11
COMMUNITY
EXPANSION: Mireille Sarkis, the Marketing & PR Manager of Sacoor Brothers, says they are expanding to five outlets in
Qatar by the end of this year.
Photo by Umer Nangiana
If you are wearing eye-glasses,
they will make sure the glasses are
clean so you look sharp. The inhouse tailor would make sure you
favourite apparel looks fit on you, no
matter what size you pick.
“The store itself offers a very
unique ambiance. It is a US
Penthouse atmosphere. You feel
like you are a couple living in
uptown Manhattan with a grand
piano and Sukoor Café and the
in-house tailor,” Mireille Sarkis, the
Marketing & PR Manager of Sacoor
Brothers tells Community in a chat
recently at the store in Ezdan Mall.
“It is a very grand feeling that we
offer to our customers as well as the
professional staff that we have. You
will notice that our staff gives you
one-on-one personal attention. You
are not just another customer,” says
Sarkis.
They offer everything that you
expect in men’s formal as well as
causal collection such as polos,
chinos, jeans and the formal
collection such as suits and ties and
dress shirts and cuff links.
In women’s collection they offer
a more casual look. A lot of items in
their children’s collection have the
same look as the adults’ collection.
You will find adorable father-son
and mother-daughter looks.
“We have our in-house design
team in Portugal and our designs
have a very Portuguese influence to
them. We have a very slim tailored
fit to most of our items so it would
always give you a very flattering
silhouette,” says Sarkis.
They do everything in-house
including marketing and graphic
design. The collection of Sacoor
Brothers shoes is all made in
Portugal with genuine leather, with
both formal and casual look for both
men and women.
The inspiration behind the designs
is mostly western. Their in-house
design team, based in Portugal does
travel around the world and attend
all the fashion fairs to see what is
coming up in the trends.
The label has been received in
Doha very well, says the store’s
Marketing Manager. “We are only
Sacoor Brothers’ sample of men’s collection.
visible in only one mall, which is
a bit challenging but a lot of our
customers have heard about us
from other countries such as Dubai,
Bahrain and others. So once they
know that we are available in Doha,
they are very loyal to the brand,”
says Sarkis.
“Our global ambassador,
Christiano Ronaldo has brought
a lot of attention to the brand
and of course the people who are
loyal to him are loyal to whatever
he promotes so that is also a big
advantage for us,” she adds.
Sarkis says the label is doing “very
well in Doha compared to other
countries that we have presence
around the world.”
“People here want to look
classical but very elegant at the
same time. There are a lot of
professional men here who want to
wear suits on a daily basis,” says the
manager.
By the end of this year or
beginning next year, they are
opening four more stores in the
upcoming Mall of Qatar and the
Photo by Umer Nangiana
COMBO: Many of the collections for children have mother-daughter and
son-father looks.
Photo by Umer Nangiana
Doha Festival City. There will be two
stores in each mall — one Sacoor
Brothers and other Sacoor Kids,
which is a beach-house concept.
The label’s target audience with
its designs, Sarkis says, is mostly a
bit mature audience from the mid20s to the late 40s.
“We offer more of a classical
elegant look; youngsters tend to like
more edgy type of things. We are
from mid to high price range. We are
not too expensive and we try to keep
it affordable,” says the manager.
And there are always enticing
The designs for all collections are western.
offers on a regular basis besides a
strong loyalty programme, with
three different brackets Silver,
Gold and Platinum. Each bracket is
entitled to additional discounts on
top of the on-going store discounts.
You also receive birthday gifts
from the store if you are a Platinum
customer.
Since the early 1990s, Sacoor
Brothers has continued to expand
with boutiques in the United
Kingdom, Belgium, Malaysia, the
United Arab Emirates, Kuwait,
Qatar, Bahrain and Singapore.
Photo by Umer Nangiana
12 GULF TIMES Monday, June 13, 2016
COMMUNITY
INFOGRAPHIC
Monday, June 13, 2016
GULF TIMES
13
COMMUNITY
LIFESTYLE/HOROSCOPE
Gym-free fitness ideas anyone can do
V
presents the opportunity for fitness. For
example, walk or run the parking lot while
kids are taking dance or music classes rather
than passing the time on your smartphone.
isiting a gym to lift weights or
take a class is great for your
health. However, busy schedules,
tight budgets and simply not
feeling like the gym environment
is for you are reasons that frequently cause
people to stop going. Fortunately, being fit
doesn›t require the gym!
Nutrients
A healthy balance of nutrients keeps
blood sugar levels from crashing and gives
you a steady source of energy. Piattoly
especially recommends taking a Nordic
Naturals supplement daily to get the
omega-3s you need for optimal health.
Extensive research has documented the
health benefits of the two main omega-3s
(EPA and DHA), which include not only
support for a healthy heart, but also brain
and cognitive function, joint mobility, eye
health, pregnancy and lactation, healthy
skin and hair, and a normally functioning
immune response.
Inside the home
Stuck inside? No problem. Try some squats
or, if mobility is an issue, squat to a chair.
Push-ups are another classic, highly effective
option. If regular push-ups aren›t an option,
do them from your knees or against the wall.
Other amazing exercises: lunges around the
house, shoulder presses with dumbbells,
jumping rope, jumping jacks, running in
place, planks and sit-ups.
Outside in nature
Being out in the fresh air is a great escape
that offers loads of fitness possibilities. Try
hiking, paddle boarding, kayaking, skiing,
fishing, mountain biking or whatever else
peaks your curiosity. Simply taking a walk
around the yard or block is beneficial, too.
At the office
Overcome the sedentary office lifestyle by
making time for fitness. Try taking the stairs
every day and park far away so you walk to the
door. Then, use a 5-minute break every hour
to do something active such as chair squats
or seated leg raises. Set an automated alert so
you don›t forget.
Group fitness
Fitness can be more fun when you do it
with friends or family. Play tag, organise relay
ARIES
March 21 — April 19
Mercury the communicator moves into Gemini today joining up
with the Sun and Venus in your third house of communication and
chitchat. Be careful what you say, to whom you say it and what tone
of voice you use for the next few weeks Aries.
CANCER
June 21 — July 22
Don’t say “no” to something outright without really listening to what
it being offered today. You may hear a word or name that you don’t
like and instantly tune out.
LIBRA
September 23 — October 22
Your fellow air sign and ninth house of spirituality is ruled by
Gemini, the birthday sign. Right now, the Sun, Mercury and Venus
are all lined up in Gemini. If you’ve been thinking of furthering your
education, travelling or both, this is the time to really put some
thought into it.
CAPRICORN
December 22 — January 19
Don’t let one bad apple spoil the lot today Capricorns. If you have
a silly tiff with a co-worker, leave it at that. It doesn’t mean that
everyone you work with is going to take sides or even get involved.
races or create an obstacle course outside.
Other enjoyable group fitness activities
include hiking, swimming, basketball, soccer,
Frisbee and bike rides.
When out and about
A busy schedule packed with errands still
TAURUS
April 20 — May 20
Talking about money, bills, debt and all other things financial is not
easy. It’s one of those things most people avoid talking about, like
politics or religion. However, if you need some financial advice today,
Mercury’s move into your second house of cash flow makes it a
great time/week/month to set time aside.
LEO
©Brandpoint
GEMINI
May 21 — June 20
You welcome your ruler Mercury back into the fold today Gemini’s
— he moves into your sign today where he stays (through June 30).
With the Sun and Venus in your sign as well for the majority of the
week, the world is your cosmic oyster!
VIRGO
July 23 — August 22
August 23 — September 22
Mercury the planet of chitchat joins hands with the Sun and Venus
the lover in Gemini today, your eleventh house of hopes, wishes and
friendship. If you’ve had a silly falling out with someone — someone
you love and care about — you’ve got great stars to fix it.
SCOR
Balanced meals
To support fitness efforts, it›s important
to eat well and regularly. The best foods
for sustained energy are balanced meals of
complex fibre carbohydrates, healthy fats and
lean protein. Piattoly suggests eating every
three to four hours. Some ideas to include
in balanced meals: whole grain breads and
crackers, chicken breast, legumes and fresh
fruit and vegetables.
PIO
October 23 — November 21
Don’t let someone blindside you today and have you scrambling to
fix things or put things back the way they were Scorpios. Be wary of
people offering to help you with something — particularly at work
today.
AQUARIUS
January 20 — February 18
In your fifth house of romance, creativity and fun, Mercury joins up
with the Sun and Venus today and for the next few weeks. Singles
and couples are in for a very sexy, romantic time. Get out your best
lingerie and clothing!
Your ruler Mercury, the planet of clear and concise planning and
communication moves into Gemini today, the other sign he rules. In
your tenth house of career for the next 3 weeks, you will definitely
find your voice when it comes to asking for what you want.
SAGITTARIUS
November 22 — December 21
It really is all about ‘who you know versus what you know’ today
Sags. With communicator Mercury taking his place in Gemini along
with the Sun and Venus the lover today — your relationship zone
— the people in your life are really showing their true colours right
now.
PISCES
February 19 — March 20
In your fourth house of home and family, the 2 personal planets,
Venus and Mercury along with the Sun align and give you a
wonderful opportunity to talk over anything and everything on your
mind that is family related.
14 GULF TIMES Monday, June 13, 2016
COMMUNITY
Wordsearch
Adam
Pooch Cafe
Combat
ACTION
ARGUMENT
BATTLE
BOUT
CLASH
CONFLICT
CONTEST
DISPUTE
DUEL
ENCOUNTER
FEUD
FIGHT
FRACAS
FRAY
JOUST
MELEE
ROW
SCRAP
SCUFFLE
SKIRMISH
STRUGGLE
TUSSLE
WAR
Codeword
Puzzles courtesy: Puzzlechoice.com
Every letter of the alphabet is used at least once.
Squares with the same number in have the same letter
in. Work out which number represents which letter.
Garfield
Sudoku
Bound And Gagged
Sudoku is a puzzle based
on a 9x9 grid. The grid is
also divided into nine (3x3)
boxes. You are given a
selection of values and to
complete the puzzle, you
must fill the grid so that
every column, every anone
is repeated.
PUZZLES/CARTOONS
Monday, June 13, 2016
COMMUNITY
PUZZLES
Quick Clues
ACROSS
1. Incredible (12)
7. Jargon (5)
8. Crustacean (5)
9. Hint (3)
10. Total (9)
11. Tiny (6)
12. Redress (6)
15. Stretched (9)
17. Tune (3)
18. Additional (5)
19. Cleanse (5)
21. Unkind (12)
GULF TIMES
Colouring
DOWN
1. Unburdened (12)
2. Meadow (3)
3. Occupy (6)
4. Arrest (9)
5. Animal (5)
6. Meddling (12)
7. Grim (5)
10. Signature (9)
13. Silly (5)
14. Coma (6)
16. Frequently (5)
20. Decay (3)
Cryptic Clues
Answers
Wordsearch
ACROSS
1. Approves of human faces (12)
7. Looks like a well used part of a mine (5)
8. Company about to broadcast in Egypt
(5)
9. Sue changes employment (3)
10. Look-out, it may have a high tar
content (5,4)
11. Drive to a meeting place? (6)
12. Polish, or polish off (6)
15. When it is, the creditor may not allow
it (4,2,3)
17. A novel female subject (3)
18. Not appropriate, being excessive (5)
19. Rodent that is about to become angry
(5)
21. A blinking sham (5,7)
DOWN
1. Round trip? (8,4)
2. A brew the French accentuate (3)
3. It’s possibly not in a race (6)
4. Need no luxury (9)
5. Type which is the very best (5)
6. Was dirt-cheap? Hardly! (4,3,5)
7. What could be finer than a riddle? (5)
10. Be not as important as many (9)
13. Susie’s spoilt children (5)
14. Sailor’s way to make ends meet (6)
16. Aimed to provide means (5)
20. One who is not an R.C. (3)
Codeword
Yesterday’s Solutions
QUICK
Across: 4 Jittery; 8 Loathe; 9 Islamic; 10
Manger; 11 Gained; 12 Guardian; 18 Bracelet;
20 Scrape; 21 Lawyer; 22 Worship; 23 Insult; 24
Slander.
Down: 1 Plumage; 2 Gainsay; 3 Thread; 5
Insignia; 6 Tragic; 7 Raider; 13 Imbecile; 14
Playful; 15 Iterate; 16 School; 17 Parson; 19
Cranny.
CRYPTIC
Across: 4 Balance; 8 Roused; 9 Florist; 10
Indian; 11 Icicle; 12 Lowering; 18 Optional; 20
Drivel; 21 Parade; 22 Radiate; 23 Teller; 24
Leisure.
Down: 1 Article; 2 Run down; 3 Repair;
5 All right; 6 Adroit; 7 Castle; 13 Idolater; 14
Entails; 15 Allegro; 16 Ornate; 17 Avoids; 19
Images.
15
16 GULF TIMES Monday, June 13, 2016
COMMUNITY
BOLLYWOOD
Trouble with the
censors again
J
ust as everyone thought
that Anurag Kashyap
might have finally learnt
the politics of how to deal
with the Censor Board, he
has decided to go to war with them.
But in his defence, he had a just
cause. The spat was over Udta
Punjab, starring Shahid Kapoor
and Alia Bhatt, which he has coproduced. The movie talks about
the narcotics menace in Punjab
where a large number of youths are
drug addicts.
It was slated for release on
June 17 but the Censor Board
has stonewalled them at the
certification process. Usually the
Board has to give a list of changes
they want for the movie to get
certified and the filmmaker has
the option to go through different
stages of appeal.
In Udta Punjab’s case, after one
stage, they refused to tell the film’s
producers what their decision
was. Kashyap was understandably
furious because without the letter
asking for changes in the movie
they couldn’t go into appeal and
that meant they wouldn’t be able to
make the release date.
Also, he read newspaper reports
that claimed that just under 90
changes had been sought and
even ‘Punjab’ had to be dropped
from the title. Kashyap went on a
media blitzkrieg and spoke in detail
about how dictatorial the Board’s
chairman, Pahlaj Nihalani was.
Filmmakers, he alleged, had to go
and personally sit before Nihalani
and get a lecture on filmmaking
before their movies would get
passed. The reason Nihalani was
so keen to see so many changes in
this movie is because Punjab goes
to election next year and the state
is ruled by the political party that
appointed him Board chairman.
Showing the drug problem might
reflect badly on the party and so
Nihalani was just looking after
the interests of his ‘masters’, it is
alleged.
Meanwhile Nihalani went on a
counter offensive and in interviews
accused Kashyap of taking money
from a rival party to make this
movie and he said that it showed
Punjab in a bad light. The catch is
of course that even if it did, it was
not the Board’s business to correct
it.
After all, everyone agrees that the
Board should only certify whether
a movie is suitable only for adults
or for universal viewing, instead
of changing it. Later Kashyap did
get an official intimation from the
Board asking for 13 cuts, insisting
on the dropping of Punjab from the
title and also to remove names of
the state’s cities from the movie.
The producers have gone to court
now and the movie’s fate hangs in
balance until the controversy is
resolved.
POLITICS: Anurag Kashyap is again in a spat with the Censor Board over his
latest production.
Just another rumour
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: Kareena
Kapoor has come out and denied the reports of
her being pregnant.
The latest rumour of a new relationship doing
the rounds of is between Ranbir Kapoor and
Kangana Ranaut. Gossip websites have been
writing about how they are regularly in touch
and were also seen together at an event.
It does not necessarily insinuate that there is
a love affair and in all probability, even if true,
that is something no one will know for a long
time. But it is a connection that people are eager
to make, given that Ranbir has recently broken
up with Katrina Kaif and Kangana is also in
the news because of her very public spat with
Hrithik Roshan over whether they were lovers
or not.
Also, while her relationships are always little
bit of a mystery, she is not linked to anyone at
the moment. Meanwhile, Ranbir is said to be not
taking too kindly to these rumours of him and
Kangana and might even be rethinking his policy
Rumours are abound of Ranbir Kapoor and Kangna Ranaut being together.
of not reacting to baseless rumours.
Not pregnant
South calling
Recently it was reported that Kareena Kapoor
was pregnant. The leading newspaper of India
quoted a leading gossip website to even give an
exact period — three and a half months — for
which she had been pregnant. Others were more
speculative.
When she went for an event in a loose fitting
dress and kept her hand locked together in
front, it was said that she was hiding her baby
bump and that she had also been careful to not
bend down too much. They also pointed to how
she had not signed on any movie after the soonto-be-released Udta Punjab.
Alas, they are all wrong apparently. Because
Kareena herself came out in public to say that
she was not pregnant. When a newspaper
contacted her, she said that as a woman she
hoped to become pregnant sometime but the
latest flurry of rumours were misleading. And
that when she did become pregnant there would
be no secrecy around it since she had always
been open about her life.
RELAUNCH: Parineeti Chopra is going to do a movie that will
be shot in both Tamil and Telugu.
There are two times when
Bollywood actresses test their luck
in south Indian movies. One is when
they want to break into the Hindi
film industry and so doing a few
initial movies down south gets them
a launching pad. Both Aishwarya Rai
and Deepika Padukone’s first forays
were in South Indian films.
The other time when an actress
does this is in somewhat different
circumstances, when after being
established in Bollywood, they have
a string of flops and offers dry up.
Then it might help to get a big budget
south Indian movie that becomes a
blockbuster.
Is that the path that Parineeti
Chopra is following? Because word
is in that she is now going to do
a movie that will be shot in both
Tamil and Telugu. For sure, it is
a huge project, with the director
being AR Murugadoss, who is the
top southern director and has also
made a Bollywood blockbuster,
Ghajini. Parineeti is reportedly being
paid a huge amount and the hero
cast opposite her is also a reigning
regional superstar.
So the movie is safe undertaking to
be a superhit and that is something
Parineeti needs. Her last Hindi
movie, Kill Dil, was in 2014 and it
was a flop. So she does need to do
something to get back in the game.
Recently, she also had an image
makeover and from a chubby person
became very lean and toned up. She
is trying to reinvent herself and time
will tell how successful it will be.
Send your feedback to
bollywood.eye@gmail.com
Monday, June 13, 2016
GULF TIMES
17
COMMUNITY
BOLLYWOOD
Rs100-crore club has poisoned
filmmaking sensibilities: Shah
By Kishori Sud
A
spiring to cross the
glorified figure of Rs
100 crore at the box
office is proving to
be a “poison” for the
Indian film industry, says acclaimed
veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah,
who believes making contentbased movies more economically
will be a step in the right direction.
Just last month, Naseeruddin
featured in two films — The
Blueberry Hunt and Waiting. The
Blueberry Hunt just came and went,
but Waiting — a story on a special
bond established by two people
from different walks of life, who
befriend each other in a hospital
while nursing their respective
comatose spouses — found many
takers.
“This Rs 100-crore club
has poisoned our filmmaking
sensibility. It is as if we are finally
admitting the real reason why we
make movies ... It is important that
content-based movies must be
made economically,” Naseeruddin
told IANS.
His reason: “You cannot expect a
guy who plies a rickshaw or works
on the road all day to go and see
films like Waiting. He will not. He
will go and see a Bajrangi Bhaijaan
or a Happy New Year because he
needs that.
“You cannot expect him to see a
film about his own life ... It’s unfair
STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART: Naseeruddin Shah
to even expect it,” said the 66-yearold, who in his four decade-old
career, has featured in a mix of
commercially entertaining as well
as niche movies.
He doubts if niche movies
would ever appeal to labourers and
factory workers. “These films will
always be a niche activity. So, if
these movies start aspiring to enter
the Rs 100-crore club, then the
quality of such films will suffer,”
the Padma Bhushan awardee
added.
The actor says a lot of filmmakers
succumb to the “temptation of
bigger budgets” very quickly.
“When a small film succeeds, in
the next film they want Amitabh
Bachchan in it. So it’s a dismal
scenario. I would agree that there
are a lot of films coming which
stimulate your thinking, but at
the same time I would say they are
still less ratio-wise as compared
to the 1970s,” said the actor, who
impressed viewers with his work in
films like Sparsh, Aakrosh, Masoom
and Mandi.
Drawing parallels between the
1970s and present times, he said
that if earlier there were two or
three content-based films, now
Nawazuddin flooded with work, but loving it
COMPLIMENTS: Irrfan Khan, left, and Deepika Padukone.
Deepika Padukone is the
biggest star: Irrfan Khan
Actor Irrfan Khan, who shared
the screen with Deepika Padukone
in Piku, says Deepika is the biggest
star and he is glad Amitabh
Bachchan thinks the same.
Recently, Amitabh Bachchan
said that people watched Piku only
because of Deepika Padukone.
Irrfan, asked for his reaction on
the same, said: “I don’t want to
react on that. If he is saying so
then there is some truth to it.
Deepika is the biggest star and
she was the diamond in the whole
montage of actors and I am glad he
acknowledged Deepika’s work.”
Meanwhile, Irrfan is busy
promoting his film Madaari and he
says the definition of commercial
cinema should be broadened.
He says, “We are trying to
redefine commercial cinema and
commercial cinema’s definition
should be broadened.”
Miraj Entertainment and
Bharat Shah in association with
EaseMyTrip.com are presenting
Madaari, a Paramhans Creations
production. The film is directed by
Nishikant Kamat and is all set to
release on July 15. — IANS
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is one busy man with films
like Raman Raghav 2.0, Raees and Mom, and also brand
commitments in his kitty, but he is not complaining. The
actor says for him it seems like “an endless marathon”.
After his visit to the 69th Cannes Film Festival with
Raman Raghav 2.0 earlier this year, Nawazuddin has been
caught up with the shoot for his film Mom with Sridevi
and his project with actor and filmmaker Sohail Khan —
Ali.
Nawazuddin finished a brand commitment early in the
morning and directly ran to the airport to catch a flight to
Lucknow where he is shooting for his next Babumoshai
Bandookbaaz directed by Kushan Nandy.
“The last few months have been extremely hectic
for me — juggling my film shoots, promotions, film
festivals and my brand commitments. It feels like an
endless marathon but it’s one I’m really happy about,”
Nawazuddin said in a statement.
He added: “The quality and the diversity of work I’m
involved in ensures that I’m always on my toes, aiming to
constantly give my best.”
The acclaimed actor will also bring the life of Pakistan’s
short story writer Sadat Hassan Manto alive on the silver
screen through actress and filmmaker Nandita Das’s
project titled Manto. Meanwhile, his latest film to
release is TE3N, in which he has starred with megastar
Amitabh Bachchan. – IANS
HANDS FULL: Nawazuddin Siddiqui
there were 20 or 30. “But the
number of rubbish movies have
also proportionately increased. The
percentage of people making newage cinema is still very small. And I
am afraid they will always be small.
That is something experimental
cinema-making people will have to
live with... They will never have it
easy,” he added.
He, however, has high hopes
from the regional film market. “It
is important that regional cinema
develops. It is certainly happening
in Marathi (cinema). In Kannada,
the alternative cinema has always
been there and also in Malayalam.
The signs are good, but trouble is
that everybody is looking at Rs100
crore,” Naseeruddin said.
He feels the revival of Marathi
and Punjabi cinema is great.
“Marathi cinema went through a
very bad phase because of the low
comedy that was being made. It has
been recently revived. And Punjabi
cinema has revived too as they
make more popular kind of stuff,”
he said, praising his A Wednesday
co-actor Jimmy Sheirgill for his
contribution to reviving Punjabi
cinema.
Asserting that regional cinema
must flourish because “today there
is no longer such a thing called a
pan-Indian movie”, Naseeruddin
said: “The days of 50-week run
are gone forever. Sholay ran in
the same theatre for two years in
Mumbai ... That era is gone. Now
every movie is a niche movie.” –
IANS
18 GULF TIMES Monday, June 13, 2016
COMMUNITY
HOLLYWOOD
FINALLY: Finding Dory opens June 17 with lofty expectations at the box office.
Finding Dory
after 13 years
By Rebecca Keegan
F
or years, a standing bit
on Ellen DeGeneres’ talk
show was her irritation
at the lack of a Finding
Nemo sequel. The
comedian, who voiced the cheerful,
amnesiac sidekick Dory in the
aquatic 2003 Pixar film, greeted the
announcement of other sequels from
the animation studio with a dramatic
flash of side-eye.
Fans protested too, wondering in
online comment sections why Cars
2 and Toy Story 3 got made, while
Nemo, which was a global box office
hit (making $937mn worldwide),
an Oscar winner and the highestselling DVD of all time, still had no
follow-up.
Thirteen years later, it does —
Finding Dory opens June 17 with
DeGeneres’ character as the lead fish
and with lofty expectations at the box
office. The reason for the long delay
was Andrew Stanton.
Stanton, 50, who wrote and
directed Finding Nemo and its sequel,
is one of Pixar’s longest-standing
and most respected employees,
having joined the studio as its second
animator in 1990 and established
himself as a creative executive whose
clear-eyed sense of story and nononsense attitude help ground the
filmmakers around him. Colleagues
refer to him as the John Lennon
to Pixar chief creative officer John
Lasseter’s Paul McCartney, with
Stanton bringing the grit that leavens
Lasseter’s optimism.
Dory is a return home for Stanton,
who also directed Wall-E, and has
writing credits on all three Toy Story
films but stepped away from Pixar to
make his live-action debut with John
Carter, a big-budget adaptation of
an Edgar Rice Burroughs book that
became a costly and high-profile
misfire for Disney in 2012.
In returning to Pixar, Stanton has
returned to a filmmaking culture he
helped shape, one where failure is
considered a painful but necessary
step in the creative process. One
morning in May, as his colleagues
gathered at the Skywalker Ranch
in Marin County for what is
traditionally a panic-inducing
event for filmmakers, a final notes
screening of Finding Dory for the
studio’s creative executives, Stanton
projected an assurance.
“One of the things I took from
‘John Carter’ was, I’m not sweating
this,” Stanton said as executives
Lasseter, Ed Catmull and Jim Morris,
fellow directors Pete Docter and Lee
Unkrich, producer Lindsey Collins
and the film’s department heads filed
into a screening room with notebooks
in hand.
In the new film, which is codirected by Angus MacLane, Dory
is trying to find her parents, a
quest that takes her to “the jewel
of Morro Bay, California,” a marine
life institute, and pairs her with a
cantankerous octopus named Hank,
voiced by Ed O’Neill. Finding Dory
unfolds as a kind of mystery, as the
lead character’s memory loss keeps
her past a secret from her and the
audience.
“I had always seen Dory as a tragic
character,” Stanton said. “I had
always assumed she had spent most
of her life wandering the ocean being
ditched or accidentally ditching other
people, and had this compounding
sense of abandonment. I figured she
had developed this superpower of
being the most optimistic, nice, fun
person to be around so maybe the
next person — or fish — she meets
won’t leave her.”
Stanton had resisted the notion
of a Nemo sequel for years. In the
late ’90s he had worked to retool the
story on Pixar’s first sequel, Toy Story
2, a pressure-plagued production
that saw its beleaguered crew racing
to meet a release date despite an
unfinished script. “We always said
after that, ‘We’ll only make a sequel if
the idea is that good,’” Stanton said.
(Some might disagree that Pixar has
been quite so picky about its sequel
choices — Cars 2 was a rare misfire
with critics, and the studio now has
Cars 3 due in 2017 and Toy Story 4 set
for 2018).
In 2016 — a year that has so far
delivered several underwhelming
sequels to the box office, including
Alice Through the Looking Glass,
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out
of the Shadows and The Huntsman:
Winter’s War — Stanton’s sequelaverse policy seems like a sensible
one. But over the years it looked as if
the studio was leaving money on the
table with Nemo. So when Stanton
came up with the idea of a movie
focused on Dory while he was still in
production on John Carter, a studio
green light quickly followed.
A scene from Finding Dory.
“We sort of didn’t think there
was ever going to be a Nemo sequel,”
Morris said. “It’s easy to understand
why studios make sequels. Audiences
like them. They’re easier to market.
But it had been a long time.
And Disney was great about not
pressuring us. When Andrew got
excited about it, that’s all it took.”
Coming off of John Carter, the
failure of which had knocked Stanton
on his heels, the director expected
that returning to the familiar world of
Nemo and safety of his home studio
would be easier. Instead he found the
Dory story confoundingly hard to nail
down — even for the studio’s resident
story guru.
“It was a bear,” Stanton said.
“You don’t realise until you make a
character with short-term memory
loss that self-reflection is the only
way you can chart that somebody is
progressing in a film. We had many
smart people banging their heads
against the table for a year or two to
figure out, how do you get that same
progression you get from any other
character?”
The solution came with
the introduction of Hank as
Dory’s sidekick, and the use
of flashbacks, another conceit
Stanton had initially resisted.
Along the way, Stanton and his
crew spent time at the Monterey
Bay Aquarium and the Marine
Mammal Institute in Oregon,
observing how the environments
looked from the animals’
perspectives. The Finding Dory
filmmakers also watched the 2013
documentary Blackfish, about the
controversy over captive killer
whales at Sea World.
The animals’ experiences vary
— Hank enjoys life in captivity and
harbours a dream of ending up in a
Cleveland aquarium. But a sequence
in an educational touch tank is played
like a battle scene in a war movie,
with animals dodging the creepy,
invasive hands of curious children.
Stanton said he isn’t pushing any
particular view of marine animals
living in captivity. “On ‘Wall-E’
people kept wondering what my
environmental message was,”
Stanton said. “I’m a very selfish
storyteller. I just want whatever
works to help tell the character’s
story. I don’t have a secret agenda.”
Stanton has multiple post-Dory
projects in mind, including a couple
of live-action scripts. Returning to
Pixar after “John Carter” reinforced
an idea that governs his writing:
being open.
“If your ego can take it and
if you’re in a healthy enough
atmosphere and if you’re not worried
about winning the argument, you can
make a movie better,” he said. — Los
Angeles Times/TNS
Monday, June 13, 2016
GULF TIMES 19
COMMUNITY
HOLLYWOOD
Priyanka Chopra, JLo lipsync
to Enrique Iglesias’ number
B
ollywood actress Priyanka Chopra,
who is throwing surprises one
after another in her international
journey, has now featured in a
video with the likes of Jennifer
Lopez and Cristiano Ronaldo. What’s more,
the song is by Enrique Iglesias.
The song, titled Don’t you need somebody,
has been primarily sung by Hero singer
Iglesias, with bits of it crooned by R City,
Serayah and Shaggy.
Priyanka, a former Miss World title holder,
is pleasantly not in a a blink-and-youmiss appearance. Instead, she features in a
number of frames as she is seen grooving to
and lipsyncing to the number. The video also
features international celebrities like Akon,
Mila Jovovich, Ryan Seacrest, Mesut Özil,
Lopez and Ronaldo among others.
Released on YouTube on last week, the
video has Priyanka in a hair updo and a
beige-hued jumpsuit. Her wine coloured
lipstick stands out. Priyanka’s journey on
foreign shores first began when she released
her English single In my city. She launched
two more tracks before landing a lead role in
American TV show Quantico, and now she
has even shot for the Baywatch movie with
Dwayne Johnson. — IANS
Depp’s lawyer’s request to
depose Amber Heard denied
Actor Johnny Depp’s lawyer’s request
to depose Amber Heard and neighbour
Raquel Pennington was denied.
Depp’s lawyer, Laura Wasser, filed a
request to compel Heard’s deposition
immediately. But according to sources
and court documents, the judge denied
the motion, reasoning that the original
notice of deposition failed to give Heard
the required 10-day notice, reports
people.com.
On June 17, a court hearing is
scheduled to determine whether to
PITCHING IN: Jennifer Lopez, left, and Priyanka Chopra.
Justin Bieber gets into brawl after NBA game
extend a temporary restraining order
issued against Depp.
“Respondent’s request to take
deposition of Heard is denied, as
the request was untimely noticed,”
the judge stated. Wasser also asked
for the actress to provide all of her
communications (writing, documents,
texts) from December 15 to present,
including with her friend iO Tillet
Wright.
“Amber has not been given sufficient
time to locate the requested documents.
The request requires Amber to
review over six months of personal
communications with potentially
every person she has spoken with,
to search for any passing reference
to the incidents in question. This is
unduly burdensome,” Heard’s attorney
Samantha Spector stated.
The 52-year-old actor is locked in an
ongoing legal drama with estranged wife
Amber Heard. Depp has been ordered to
stay away from Heard after she claimed
he hit her in the face with a cellphone,
pulled her hair, struck her and screamed
at her during a fight. Last month, Heard
was granted a temporary restraining
order against Depp until June 17. – IANS
Singer Justin Bieber got into a physical fight with a man
in Cleveland after a National Basketball Association (NBA)
game.
The 22-year-old star was there to watch the Cleveland
Cavaliers facing off the Golden State Warriors at the Quicken
Loans Arena during the game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Bieber was caught on camera throwing punches at a
man, but his much-bigger opponent easily retaliated with
his own fist and sent the star to the ground. The incident
reportedly happened outside his hotel, reports aceshowbiz.
com.
Earlier in the day, Bieber was reportedly booed by the home
team’s fans. He was joined by his homie Lewis Hamilton at
the Quicken Loans Arena, but it’s unclear if the F1 racer was
present during the brawl. – IANS
Actor Liam Hemsworth once
hurled knife at brother Chris
Jolie might star in Murder on the
Orient Express
Actor Liam Hemsworth has revealed
he once hurled a kitchen knife at his older
brother Chris Hemsworth. The Hunger
Games star has admitted that the sibling
rivalry between himself and Chris, 32,
became so “vicious” on occasions, that
he would turn to using weapons to defend
himself, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
Making an appearance on The Graham
Norton Show, the 26-year-old star — who
also has another older brother named Luke,
35 — shared: “Our childhood rivalry was a
bit vicious — a bit like The Hunger Games,
actually.”
Liam admitted that on some occasions,
their bickering became completely out
of hand. “We had a few incidents with
weapons. I never had any problems with
Luke because he was so much older and
I didn’t mess with him. But with Chris,
we were very like-minded, very stubborn
and would often get into arguments and
because I was so much younger and smaller
I had to use weapons to fight,” he said.
Actress Angelina Jolie is in talks to star in
Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express.
The shooting is expected to begin in November
in London and then move to Malta, reports
hollywoodreporter.com.
Jolie would play Mrs Harriet Hubbard, a role
once played by actress Lauren Bacall in the 1974
version. The Fox film, based on Agatha Christie’s
classic mystery, has been in the works for years.
The story is on special detective Hercule Poirot,
who boards the train from Istanbul to London
only to have a murder committed in the car next
to his during a snowstorm. Poirot tries to discover
the murderer or murderers before there’s another
victim. Director Sidney Lumet had made the first
adaptation in 1974 for Paramount. Albert Finney
starred in that version as Poirot, while actors
Ingrid Bergman, Bacall and Sean Connery were
among the passengers or the suspects.
Branagh is producing the project alongside
Ridley Scott, Simon Kinberg and Mark Gordon.
Aditya Sood and Michael Schaefer are executive
producing the film, slated to release on November
22, 2017. — IANS
SIBLING RIVALS: Chris, left, and Liam Hemsworth
Liam revealed he came perilously close to
seriously injuring his older brother, who is
best known for playing the Marvel superhero
Thor. “So, one day when I was about five,
we had a fight in the kitchen about using
the toaster, or something, and I picked up a
kitchen knife and threw it at his head and the
handle hit him in the forehead,” he said. Liam
jokingly added that despite the near-miss, he
was always in control of the situation. – IANS
20 GULF TIMES Monday, June 13, 2016
COMMUNITY
LONG RUN: Gonnie van de Merwe, the Dutch owner, inside the Capitol, a venerable cinema in Germany. The picture theatre has operated in Bernburg, eastern Germany since 1927.
Now showing in
the digital format
Art Deco cinema in eastern Germany keeps
its plush while updating for the modern age
By Sabrina Gorges
D
ouble-leaf doors, golden
handrails, red seats,
the smell of popcorn in
the air. The enormous
screen, which appears
to be on an actual wooden stage, is
surrounded by polished wood and
delicate plasterwork. “This used to
be the orchestra pit,” says Gonnie
van de Merwe, the owner of the
Capitol cinema in Bernburg, eastern
Germany, as she points at the stage
floor.
There are also balcony seats
and a bar in the cinema, which is
celebrating its 90th birthday next
year. “It’s the last Art Deco cinema
in the country,” says Van de Merwe
proudly.
When the cinema was first
opened, Adolf Hitler was just a
minor politician and Germany was
in its liberal though economically
shaky Weimar Republic phase.
At its launch on November 14,
1927, 560 people saw the silent
movie Der Meister von Nuernberg
(roughly based on the opera The
Master-Singers of Nuremberg), with
the music provided by the house
orchestra in the pit.
“There was also stage room
to the left and the right and
different coloured curtains,” says
Dutch-born Van der Merwe. She
has been director of the Capitol
since 2010. The original cinema
built in imitation of a proper
theatre, elegant and sumptuous,
bringing some capital-city verve
to Bernburg, a quiet town with a
population of 33,000 that survived
the bombing of World War II intact.
The sound of a gong has always
signalled the curtain going up on a
film. In its 90 years of existence, the
cinema has been remodelled several
times. In the 1960s, for example,
the orchestra pit disappeared. But
the cinema has still retained much
of its Art Deco style. Today there
are only five employees. Pre-1989,
when East Germany was a separate
country, there were 35 including a
boilerman and ushers.
“In 2009 I came to the cinema
with my daughter to relax,” says
Van de Merwe, 62. The family had
recently moved house and needed
a change from the stress. On the
door was a notice: “Cinema for
sale.” “I talked to my husband about
it because I was so enthusiastic
about its atmosphere,” she says.
Such a place had to be preserved,
she told him. So the couple bought
the cinema, though she won’t say
how much they paid, and began
renovating it.
“Roof, toilets, windows and
digitalisation came in 2012. It
cost a lot of money,” says Van de
Merwe. They now sell 33,000
tickets a year. What they like best,
Manager and projectionist Maik Erdmann.
according to Van de Merwe, is that
the cinema is so small – aside from
the main cinema, which has 340
seats, there’s a smaller room for 45
people.
“A good show is when half of the
tickets for the main cinema have
been sold,” says Maik Erdmann,
the 45-year-old who has run the
cinema since 2003.
Last year was a record year for
Germany’s 1,650 cinemas, with
29.9mn people over the age of 10
going to the cinema at least once,
according to the German Film
Board (FFA). That’s 2.9mn more
than in 2014. With 40,000 cinemagoers, the Capitol also received
more visits than usual.
That’s because there were good
films showing, says Erdmann.
Nevertheless, 200 cinemas have
closed in Germany since 2002.
The Capitol’s programme usually
sticks to current releases, but
when there’s space, says Erdmann,
they like to show something more
niche. “We try to combine demand
and trend,” says Erdmann, who
chooses the films and negotiates
with distributors together with an
external planner.
“And they (the distributors)
insist the showing takes place
even if no one’s turned up,” says
Erdmann. He climbs up a narrow
staircase to the top floor. What
used to be home to rolls of film and
projectors is now a haven of digital
cinema gear.
After the gong sounds, Erdmann
starts the film on a laptop – a
click of the mouse, nothing more.
The picture from the projector is
beamed through one of the four
narrow windows onto the screen
below and the sound system
hums. Without digitalisation, says
Erdmann, the Capitol could no
longer exist. – DPA