When the Abu Dhabi Film Festival launched its Child Protection Award last year, it set an important precedent. Major General Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, the chairman of the higher committee for child protection, stated at the time: “[The government is determined] to maintain the UAE’s position as a haven for civilisation and a role model in the region for its efforts to promote the protection and security of children through preventive and precautionary measures.”
This year’s second round of the awards sees 13 films in competition, and children have taken centre stage in many of the films on show. Here are some of the child actors we’ve enjoyed watching at the festival this year – many of whom were also in attendance on the red carpet for their film’s screening.
Milad Eghbali – The Street Urchin in A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Milad Eghbali was born in Paris, France, on July 1, 2004, the son of the Iranian pop singer Dariush and now lives with his family in California.
Milad is an accomplished musician who sings, plays the piano, guitar and drums. He's fluent in Farsi, French and English, and thanks to his father's fame, has travelled extensively for someone so young. Milad had already appeared in several commercials before he landed the A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night role, and says his philosophy is to have fun when he works.
Milad and his father are advocates for living and teaching the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Even at his young age, he realises the importance of this and encourages others to eat healthy, get enough sleep, stay active and avoid doing anything bad to your body.
Milad’s message to everyone: “Don’t be scared because then you won’t be able to accomplish your dream."
Dakota Goyo – Luke in Midnight Sun
Dakota Goyo, 15, hails from Toronto, Canada, and is best known for playing Max Kenton, Hugh Jackman's estranged son, in the 2011 film Real Steel and Jesse Barrett in Dark Skies (2013). He also voices Jamie in the DreamWorks animation Rise of the Guardians (2012).
Goyo is the son of Debra, a former model and singer who manages his career, and David Goyo. He has two brothers, Devon and Dallas, and a dog named Jade, and enjoys golf and playing chess.
Goyo appeared in his first commercial as an infant, after which he landed various roles in television. His first featured television work was Disney's JoJo's Circus in 2005, and further big-screen moments have included playing Susan Sarandon's grandson in 2007's Emotional Arithmetic and the young Thor in 2011's eponymous Marvel hit.
The cast of As One: The Autism Project
Not content with featuring one child star, the team behind As One: The Autism Project have turned no fewer than 10 children from across the UAE into bona fide young celebrities. The autism documentary features children from all around the world – the United Kingdom, Philippines, United States, Ethiopia, Jordan, Palestine and the UAE – who call the Emirates their home, as they embark on a three-month musical-theatre programme culminating in a gala performance that raised the audience of the movie's ADFF preview to their feet in appreciation.
The children were presented on stage to a rapturous audience following the screening, and as a number of them have carried on with their singing and acting since the shoot wrapped, maybe it won't be too long before we see one of them in a new movie.
Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat – Theeb
The young star of Theeb has had a meteoric rise to fame on the back of the film's success, following its Best Film award at the Venice Film Festival, which saw the movie given a red-carpet gala screening at ADFF.
Before the movie's release, Al-Hwietat was a fairly typical young Bedouin who had never been out of Jordan, and definitely never thought of himself as a movie star. He loved the experience though, he told The National through a translator, and is hoping to carry on his burgeoning career as a movie star, possibly even in a follow-up to Theeb – which may well be on the cards, hinted its Variety Arab Filmmaker of the Year-winning director Naji Abu Nowar when we spoke to him.
Niyar Saikia – Lakshmi in Sold
If you thought child actors were all about hilarious capers in locked museums and wholesome Disney comedies, you’d think again after seeing Sold, executive produced by Emma Thompson and starring Gillian Anderson.
The film, based on Patricia McCormick’s hard-hitting international bestselling novel, follows the ordeal of Lakshmi, a 13-year old Nepali girl who is sold into sex slavery in India.
The director Jeffrey D Brown told The National: "The key to making the film was always going to be the casting of the girl who would play Lakshmi. We spent six months travelling through Nepal and India and auditioned more than 1,000 girls before we found Niyar Saikia in Assam. Niyar has a 10-year scholarship from the Indian government to study acting and has already been identified as a talent. Her mum is a music composer and her dad is a singer."
Safia and Sarah Al Mansouri – various
The Emirati sisters Safia and Sarah Al Mansouri are nothing if not prolific. Both girls appeared in Nayla Al Khaja's The Neighbor, while Safia also stars in Shahad Al Shehhi's Arab Film Studio finalist Kalelis, and features heavily in Hana Mire's Beyond Fear.
Sarah had originally been due to feature in a second documentary at this year’s festival as well, but unfortunately her acting scenes didn’t make the final cut.
She's also due to work on a biography with the award-winning Emirati director Aisha Abdullah later in the year, and recently finished shooting an interactive film with Al Khaja that will be used in the redeveloped Heart of Sharjah historical district.
cnewbould@thenational.ae
Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
MATCH INFO
Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')
Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Abu Dhabi Awards explained:
What are the awards? They honour anyone who has made a contribution to life in Abu Dhabi.
Are they open to only Emiratis? The awards are open to anyone, regardless of age or nationality, living anywhere in the world.
When do nominations close? The process concludes on December 31.
How do I nominate someone? Through the website.
When is the ceremony? The awards event will take place early next year.
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England v West Indies
England squad for the first Test Cook, Stoneman, Westley, Root (captain), Malan, Stokes, Bairstow, Moeen, Roland-Jones, Broad, Anderson, Woakes, Crane
Fixtures
1st Test Aug 17-21, Edgbaston
2nd Test Aug 25-29, Headingley
3rd Test Sep 7-11, Lord's
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic
Power: 375bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh332,800
On sale: now
