OFFSCREEN EXPEDITIONS: JOURNEY TO SAUDI ARABIA Film 02: Development vs. Tradition Contemplating the backstreets and alleys of the Balad, the old town in Jeddah, Marouan examines the contrasts of life and if there is a struggle between tradition and modernity. Arabia Offscreen, an international creative competition attracted more than 500 entries from talented young artists, […]
By Mohammad Mirbashiri Last year a dull and chilly autumn evening became the setting for a premiere screening as part of the BFI's 54th Londo...
TRAILER: The Shatila THEATRE Project The Shatila Project was established in 2008 when writer Peter Mortimer spent two months living on the Shatila Refugee Camp in Lebanon. Peter worked alongside children from the camp to produce a play, ‘Croak, the King and a Change in the Weather’. The children then visited the UK to perform […]
By Mohammad Mirbashiri A pillow case is lifted to the reveal the face of a bearded man who sits kneeling, hands and feet bound, in a dimly li...
There is a saying in Arabic that translates as “I see the stars at noon.” We use it when everything in life is turned upside-down, when things are not as they should be. I first heard it in the tiny Moroccan village of Sebt Jahjouh, travelling with a man named Abdelfattah, a man whose world […]
Sura A Film by Yasser Alwan Photographer Yasser Alwan pairs his compelling portraits of Cairo’s working poor with speeches by Gamal AbdelNasser and popular song. The 11-minute film is about Egyptian Revolutions past and present. Director: Yasser Alwan | Genre: Documentary | Produced In: 2011 Image: Al Hussein bus stop after Friday prayers, 2001. […]
By Syma Mohammed I first heard about Leighton House two years ago at Lure of the East, a British-Orientalist art exhibition. I discovered t...
The C130 lumbered into the dawn sky above Jeddah, heading northwards to Mada’in Saleh. I had waited 20 years for this visit, my every request being met with an ‘Inshallah’, and suddenly it was happening. A Nabatean city like Petra, Meda’in Saleh stands in the desert as Petra used to – unknown by the masses […]
By Syma Mohammed Remi Kanazi, Palestinian-American poet and activist, gave a rousing performance at South Bank’s annual Poetry International ...
The following article was written by Susannah Tarbush and published in the Saudi Gazette. Arab British Centre raises its cultural profil...