Transit Dubai

Directed by Ineke Smits

In the heart of the Middle East, a metropolis is mushrooming. In Dubai, the city where anything seems possible, one after the other skyscraper shoots up. To realise the property developers' plans, workers are called in from India, Pakistan and Nepal, who earn a mere pittance. Just like the nannies and cleaning women of well-to-do expats. Eighty percent of the inhabitants of Dubai come from other parts of the world, so who calls this city home? The original inhabitants saw the city change and now contend with religious and social taboos, something that completely passes by the average expat. In a photography class, students of various origins show how they experience the city. Apparently, original residents, expats and workers live mostly separate lives in a class society where the labourer is driven into the ground and the rich housewife thinks everyone in the city is happy.