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.”
Review by Taya Elzayadi I had the pleasure of attending Bassem Youssef’s UK Tour at the Royal Festival Hall, London, and I have to say, it was one of the best comedy performances I have ever seen. Bassem Youssef is a world-renowned comedian and satirist, who made a name for himself during the 2011 Egyptian […]
Samah Mustafa is a Palestinian singer, musician, vocal and music therapist. In addition to her voice, Samah’s talent lies in her dexterity managing different musical equipment alone on stage to create loop music in front of a live audience.
The Arab British Centre Presents… is our new playlist series inviting our friends most likely to be found with their head buried in a record box to take over our Spotify account and put together a themed selection of music from the Arab world.
Where to flee for a better life? What makes it a better life? The Second World War, like most, forced deeply affected populations such as the Arab ones to look for opportunities in a safe country, like England.