The sparkle and glamour of Hollywood in Abu Dhabi

Sarah Wolff

• Last Updated: February 25. 2009 9:30AM UAE / February 25. 2009 5:30AM GMT

The event billed as the “first ever Oscars screening party in Abu Dhabi” made for a singular night indeed, complete with enough sequin dresses to make a stadium-sized disco ball. Then there were free cigars and David Hasselhoff.

To start, the crowd of more than 200 was driven in a fleet of Jaguar sedans from the Intercontinental Hotel’s main entrance to the lower-floor ballroom. Upon arrival, the glamorous crowd, dressed in their Oscar-worthy finery, were ushered down a red carpet into the ballroom past the flashing lights of the “paparazzi” hired for the evening to snap the party.

The popping flashbulbs became a veritable strobe light, however, when the former Baywatch star David Hasselhoff made a surprise appearance at the party. In town to speak to the students at the New York Film Academy and to negotiate with film financiers, “the Hoff” (as he is known to fans) graciously posed for photographs with partygoers.

Once inside, the crowd mingled with filmmakers from the New York Film Academy in Abu Dhabi while waiters circulated with hors d’oeuvres, beverages and cigars.

The organiser Aleksandra Sycz, deputy president of Kenzi Marketing Solutions, says she wanted to host an event that would give people an appreciation of how much effort is expended while making movies.

“The objective is to offer a new and different experience in Abu Dhabi,” says Sycz, who grew up in a movie and theatre-loving family. “The Oscars have an extraordinary reach internationally and I want to bring the event closer to home – that’s why I am showing the student films, which are planting the seeds for future films to be made in the this area.”

Before the Oscar ceremony was rebroadcast, a short film by the young Emirati director Sabeeka Haji al Hameli was shown on two giant screens to the enthusiastic revellers.

Entitled I am Emirati, the film was a love letter to the UAE that followed three young men as they learnt about their heritage by visiting a wind tower, drinking coffee in a Bedouin-style tent and admiring a rather handsome camel – all set to an Arabic music soundtrack.

Al Hameli, who just finished a 12-week intensive course in filmmaking at the New York Film Academy in Abu Dhabi, said she was encouraged when she heard her film had been chosen for the party’s screening.

In true Oscars form, she sent a special thank you to her friends and family for their support. “Film is my dream and it is in my blood,” she says. “I hope I will continue to make more films.”

But it was Hasselhoff’s unexpected presence that truly made it a night to remember. “I came to the school to spread some goodwill and talk to the students,” he said. “I was in Dubai before but I didn’t make it to Abu Dhabi, so I wanted to come over here and see what all the hoopla is about – the fact that they have a school here for filmmaking is really impressive.”