'Lazhar' preem, party start Abu Dhabi Fest

ABU DHABI -- The 5th Abu Dhabi Film Festival bowed Thursday with "Monsieur Lazhar," Canada's entry for foreign-language Oscar consideration. While you will find some changes towards the event -- the emirate's Circle Conference confab, which often draws a slew of worldwide industryites, continues to be nixed -- that did not stop the fest from starting in an instant. "Lazhar," starring Mohamed Fellag, Emilien Neron and Sophie Nelisse, was tested in a new outside venue at the rear of the Fairmont Hotel, marking the very first time the outlet-evening film has unspooled outdoors. Regardless of the Gulf warmth, the big event came a significant crowd and auds later made the short walk towards the trendy after-party in the hotel. "I had been nervous to determine the way the audience would sit by using it being outdoors," stated Abu Dhabi Film Fest professional director Peter Scarlet. "But everybody appeared to savor it." "Monsieur Lazhar," directed by Philippe Falardeau, follows an Algerian immigrant in Montreal hired like a alternative teacher. A notable change only at that year's opening may be the heavy presence of Arab and Gulf industryites and also the slightly reduced quantity of bizzers using their company corners from the globe -- an expression, possibly, from the fest's intention to place more concentrate on creating a regional film infrastructure. A slew of Arab thesps attended the after-party, including Egyptian actor Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Egyptian actress-singer Bushra and Syrian thesp Faris Alhilo. Egyptian thesp Laila Elouis, Iranian thesp Fatemeh Simin Motamed-Ayra and French actress Marianne Denicourt -- all jury people -- also mingled. The 2010 fest includes world preems of Mike Neave's "Almost for each other,Inch Amr Salama's "Asma'a," Michael Brandt's "The Double," Safinez Bousbia's "El Gusto" and Nawaf Al-Janahi's "Ocean Shadow," the very first Abu Dhabi production in the emirate's $1 billion production arm Image Nation. Fest shuts March. 22. Contact Diana Lodderhose at diana.lodderhose@variety.com