We followed closely developments with regard to freedom of expression for Palestinian artists and attempts to censor them, and were very concerned at the handling of an event with Radio Al Hara which was scheduled as part of RESOLVE Collective’s them’s the breaks wider public programme at the Barbican on Thursday 15 June.
“I had to make it; I didn’t care if I didn’t have the funds for it, even if I had to make it by hand.”
The filmmaker’s bond of trust with her subjects allows the viewer to hear what feels like an internal monologue in which Heba and Aya, respectively, explore their relationships with their bodies.
Throughout the film festival, we’ll be bringing you bitesize, behind-the-scenes, blogs to read. Written by Ja’far ‘Abd al-Hamid, a writer-director, with a focus on Arab British stories. His latest feature film, Kal & Cambridge, is scheduled for release next year. Explore the full programme here, SAFAR Film Festival runs from 29 June to 9 July […]
Absurdly funny and loaded with visual metaphors, the film is part of an emerging Saudi national cinema arising from a place where film as a medium has long been neglected. For lovers of Saudi poetry and the oud, there are beautiful moments in the film’s soundtrack. It is most of all a film by and for Saudis, riddled with culturally specific jokes and references, unified by a satirical love story fit for any audience.
Mabrook, congratulations, to all six participants selected for this year's Arab Film Development Workshop from a record number of applications. You can read more about them here, so have a look at their work, and show them your support as they develop their next projects.
On Saturday 11th March, a small audience at Rich Mix saw a discussion where the jumping off point in situating discussions of Palestinian literature in the contemporaneous moment was breaking from pasts, to focus on presents. At AWAN festival: Palestinian Literature Now, to define the present for the panellists was not a question of what but exploring whose present, reframing the discourse of literature in an awareness of contemporary fiction and self-representation. They discussed how possible it is to do this, setting discussions apart from iconic Palestinian writers from the 60s-70s, apart from the Global North, apart from trauma. It felt important that all of the panellists came together from different representations of Palestinian identity to navigate this complex discussion in this open forum.
In collaboration with the SAFAR Film Festival, Palestinian filmmaker Saeed Taji Farouky will lead a free two-day project development workshop on 24 and 25 June 2023 for up to six early-career Arab filmmakers (or filmmakers working on projects connected to or inspired by the Arab world.) Applicants must apply with a film idea in mind, but it […]
Scottish/Egyptian instrumentalists and composers, The Ayoub Sisters rose to stardom after their debut album premiered at No.1 in the Official Classical Charts. The sisters are recognised internationally for their chemistry on stage, as well as their ability to unite different musical genres and cultures together through their unique compositional style. Recipients of the Arab Women […]
“So here I am—unlikely caretaker of an ancient parrot, accidental collector of fading traces—stuck in place.”