London, UK (4 Jan): Global media company Alpha1Media International on January 4 launched its inaugural annual list of the top films from around the world which cinema audiences can look forward to watching in 2012.
The A1Film Preview List for 2012 highlights films from Hollywood, Bollywood, the Middle East and Far East which audiences can look forward to in the coming year, Alpha1Media said.
“The inaugural A1Film List aims to give any visitor to the cinema the quintessential list of films they should watch this year – and what everyone else will be talking about,” said Mr Malik Al-Alawi, Chairman of Alpha1Media International.
“It is unique in preview lists as it has films which represent the best of every cinema industry in the world.”
This is the first list released by Alpha1Media, the global media company established since 2003 which creates and advises on media content creation, production, financing and advisory services relating to the Middle East, North Africa and South-Asia (MENASA) region.
In the Blockbusters category, the five films selected in order of release are ‘The Avengers’, ‘The Amazing Spider-man’, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, ‘The Expendables 2’ and ‘Skyfall’, all to be released between May and October.
In The Cross Cultural category, the five films selected in order of release are ‘47 Ronin’, ‘UBL (International Untitled Thriller)’, ‘The Life of Pi’, ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘The Man with the Iron Fists’, all to be released between November and December.
In The Franchise category, the five films selected in order of release are ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’, ‘Prometheus’, ‘The Bourne Legacy’, ‘Total Recall’ and ‘Men in Black III’, all to be released between February and May.
In the A1-Cinema Vehicle category, where the films are primarily a vehicle for a major actor, the five films selected in order of release are ‘Bullet to the Head’, ‘Gravity’, ‘Rock of Ages’, ‘Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father’ and ‘Red Lights’, all to be released between April and June.
In the Global Cinema category, where the films are primarily non-English language films from around the world, the five films selected in order of release are ‘The Path of Fire’ / ‘Agneepath’, ‘The Conqueror of 1453’/ ‘Fetih 1453’, ‘Search’/ ‘Talaash’, ‘Spirit’ / ‘Djinn’ and ‘Da nao tian gong’ / ‘The Monkey King’, all to be released between January and June.
Alpha1Media came to global prominence in 2004 with its treatment of ‘Holy War’, an action film suggesting a crossover of talent and production between Hollywood and Bollywood, at a time when the Bollywood industry had yet to be globalised as it is now.
“Alpha1Media was the pioneer of the concept of the Hollywood-Bollywood crossover, which had already started to happen with Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysian and Chinese cinema with the debuts of John Woo, Ang Lee, Michelle Yeoh, Jackie Chan and Jet Li in Hollywood,” said Mr. Malik Al-Alawi.
“We are delighted that Indian superstar Amitabh Bachchan, originally featured in a critical role in the ‘Holy War’ treatment in 2004, will in 2012 make his Hollywood debut in ‘The Great Gatsby’ opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. This strengthens a very recent trend which has seen Anil Kapoor appearing in ‘Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ and Irrfan Khan appearing in our A1Film list twice with his roles in ‘The Amazing Spider-man’ and ‘Life of Pi.’”
2011 was a milestone year for Alpha1Media with presence at the MENASA region’s top film festivals, including the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, the Doha Tribeca Film Festival and the Dubai International Film Festival.
Alpha1Media has attended the world premieres of ‘Black Gold’ in Doha, Qatar, attended by actors Antonio Banderas, Tahar Rahim, Frieda Pinto and Mark Strong, the regional premiere of ‘The Lady’ with Michelle Yeoh and attended by Her Highness Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, Consort to the Emir of Qatar, the world premiere of ‘Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl’ in Dubai, UAE, attended by actors Anushka Sharma and Ranveer Singh and the world premiere of ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ in Dubai, UAE in 2011, attended by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Majid bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Tom Cruise, Anil Kapoor, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Brad Bird and David Elison.
In the course of its work in the media sector, Alpha1Media has met His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, Hollywood icon Robert De Niro, Oscar-winning music composer A.R. Rahman, legendary Hollywood producers Jake Eberts and Tarek Ben Ammar, celebrated German filmmaker Werner Herzog, the team behind ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’, Oscar-nominated documentary maker Morgan Spurlock and award-winning Lebanese director Nadine Labaki.
Alpha1Media™ is a global diversified media company based in the United Kingdom and the Middle East. Alpha1Media™ both produces and advises on media creation using 10×10 types of media including phone, print, TV, radio, billboard, computer, cinema and futuristic media based on scale, motion and holograms.
In the motion picture sector, Alpha1Media™ focuses on concept, treatment and script creation, film production, financing and cultural advisory services relating to the Middle East, North Africa and South-East Asia (MENASA) region.
Contact: Maria Felce: M.Felce@Alpha1Media.com