Emirati director Nawaf Al Janahi’s much talked about movie, The Circle, is back on the big screen, this time in Abu Dhabi.

On September 5, the film will be screened at the New York University here, along with Layers, a seven-minute documentary by Manal Wicki, exploring the abaya through inter-generational dialogue that uncovers the dress’ multiple representations.

“I’m so happy to have this opportunity to see The Circle. I heard so much about it and always wanted to see it, but it never came to the cinema,” said Laura Fieldman, a local resident. “I have seen Janahi’s Sea Shadow in the Abu Dhabi Film Festival last year and I loved it, so I’ve been searching for his other movies. I know the only other long feature he did was The Circle, but it was not available anywhere, so I’m really pleased there is now a chance to see it,” added Stephen Morley, who describes himself a big fan of Arab movies.

The Circle was premiered in April 2009 at the second edition of the Gulf Film Festival in Dubai and later it was also screened at the Dubai International Film Festival. As Emirati director Nawaf Al Janahi previously explained for Khaleej Times, the film’s rights were bought by MBC, but the corporation failed to find a distributor for the big screens or to show it on its TV channels.

Until 2011, the movie was screened on various international film festivals, gaining great critical reviews all the way from Algeria and Iraq to Italy and Australia. It was considered by many to be the door opener for Emirati movies. Al Janahi wrote the script back in 2001, but he had to wait for several years before he could bring his story to life. The 82-minute film is about the relationship between death and destiny.

Ibrahim, a poet and a journalist, discovers that he is dying soon from a fatal disease. He confronts his crook partner, Bader, and demands his share to make sure that his wife has a better life after he’s gone. Shihab, a professional thief, forced by his boss to do jobs for him in order to pay off a huge debt, plans to quit the crime world to take care of his younger sister. They both meet accidentally just as they begin seeing the world from different perspectives.

Both films are opened to the public and each one will be introduced by its director, with a question and answer session following the programme.