Review: Compelling documentary ‘Diaries from Lebanon’ captures hope and despair on screen
Updated 14 March 2024
Gautaman Bhaskaran
CHENNAI: A trio including two women and one man are the protagonists of Myriam El-Hajj’s documentary, “Diaries from Lebanon,” which received a fantastic reception at the recent Berlin International Film Festival. Over the span of four years, El-Hajj documents the trials and tribulations of their lives, and she spins their stories into a film of 110 minutes. Tightly knit and passionately narrated, it is a fascinating watch.
Produced by Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar and France, El-Hajj’s work begins in 2018 when a fiery feminist author and poet, Joumana Haddad, turns into a no-nonsense activist. Of course, she takes the most democratic path in the beginning and stands for election to the Lebanese Parliament, but just 24 hours later, she is thrown out in a horribly fraudulent manner. Her supporters are furious, and some months later the people’s rage snowballs into a revolution with hundreds of thousands joining in.
One among the masses is Perla Joe Maalouli. She is young and livid about the way her freedom of expression is being stifled. The camera — handled by El-Hajj, Mohamed Siam and Jihad Saad — captures her angst and her pain. In fact, she becomes the symbol of the revolution, demonstrating the frustration of the country’s youth.
The third protagonist is George, who often thinks about the past, one incident in particular. At the start of the civil war, he shoots down a bus and keeps bragging about how he could have managed the struggle much better than the current crop of protestors.
When El-Hajj explores the life and times of George, her documentary runs like an investigative reportage, which is quite interesting. This layer enriches the narrative, following the twists and turns of the political mess in Lebanon. El-Hajj's voiceover fills in and talks about her own political and private feelings. Woven into all this is the deadly 2020 explosion in Beirut’s port that destroys part of the city and also changes the lives of Haddad, Maalouli and George.
“Diaries From Lebanon” is a powerfully told story about a country in turmoil, which, as we are told, swings between hope and disappointment, passion and despair. El-Hajj captures the emotions of the everyday man in a compelling way in this must-watch.
Celebrity-loved jeweler Azza Fahmy has ‘a strong connection’ with Saudi Arabia
The CEO and head of design at the Egyptian jewelry house their mother founded discuss their new flagship store in Riyadh
‘Every time she goes, she has a strong connection there,’ the head of design said of Azza Fahmy’s trips to Saudi Arabia
Updated 2 min 25 sec ago
Hams Saleh
DUBAI: Egyptian entrepreneur and jewelry designer Azza Fahmy is celebrated for crafting pieces that weave cultural stories into wearable art, resonating with those who appreciate depth and meaning in every design.
Fahmy’s signature gold-and-silver pieces have long been embraced by Egypt’s top entertainers, including the late actress and singer Soad Hosny and celebrated actress Yousra.
Her jewelry has also garnered an impressive international following, including A-list stars like actors Julia Roberts, Shailene Woodley, Naomi Watts, and Vanessa Hudgens, and singers Joss Stone and Rihanna.
Inside Azza Fahmy's recently opened flagship store in Riyadh. (Supplied)
The brand has also forged a particularly strong connection with Saudi customers, who value the blend of tradition and modernity it offers. It recently expanded its reach with the opening of a flagship store in Riyadh, catering to a growing Saudi clientele.
Fahmy’s daughters — CEO Fatma Ghaly and head of design Amina Ghaly — say the new outlet is the result of years spent cultivating relationships with Saudi clients.
“The opening of our flagship store in Riyadh marks a significant milestone for Azza Fahmy,” Fatma tells Arab News. “Throughout the years, we’ve had the privilege of cultivating meaningful relationships with our Saudi clientele, connecting through online platforms, exhibitions, and pop-ups, all while experiencing a growing demand for our jewelry.”
Inside Azza Fahmy's recently opened flagship store in Riyadh. (Supplied)
For Amina, the store is a continuation of her mother’s decades-long connection to Saudi Arabia, where she has often been inspired by the culture, architecture and landscapes.
“Every time she goes, she has a strong connection there,” Amina says. “There is the architectural aspect that we have drawn inspiration from, (but also the culture): for our collection ‘Ahla Ma Ghanaho Al-Arab,’ we were inspired by (Saudi singer and composer) Abdul Majeed Abdullah, so it’s really varied over the years.
“We draw inspiration not from one thing or the other. It is a question of how the inspiration serves the collection, and I feel like, with Saudi Arabia, the more we keep going there, the more we will continue to be inspired,” she adds.
Crescent Filigree Earrings. (Supplied)
Fatma explains that this made opening a permanent store in Saudi Arabia feel like the right move, especially as the Kingdom’s luxury market shows a growing interest in heritage-inspired brands.
“Our new store is a testament to our commitment to the Saudi market, offering a space that showcases our craftsmanship and invites visitors to explore the beauty and stories behind our pieces,” she says.
According to Fatma, Saudi Arabia’s luxury market has transformed in recent years. Clients increasingly seek brands that emphasize authenticity, cultural stories and craftsmanship.
“The Saudi consumer has long been sophisticated and well-traveled, but in recent years Saudi Arabia’s luxury market has experienced remarkable growth and evolution, especially for heritage-driven brands like Azza Fahmy. There has been a significant shift towards valuing craftsmanship, cultural narratives, and authenticity in luxury goods,” she explains.
(Supplied)
For many Saudi clients, jewelry that reflects their identity and holds personal meaning is highly sought after, making Azza Fahmy’s storytelling-focused designs especially appealing.
Fatma and Amina are both enthusiastic about connecting with Saudi’s younger generation, who are attracted to brands that combine tradition with innovation.
“Our designs resonate with this dynamic audience by blending contemporary aesthetics with traditional motifs,” Fatma says. “We embrace innovation in our processes and materials, ensuring that our jewelry appeals to a modern sensibility while remaining rooted in cultural heritage.
Inside Azza Fahmy's workshop. (Getty)
“This approach not only attracts younger consumers but also fosters a deeper connection to their identity, allowing them to wear pieces that are both stylish and meaningful,” she continues.
Amina says that today’s luxury market is increasingly global, shaped more by shared interests than regional preferences. “As brands, we should not segment by region but rather by character,” she says. “The internet and social media has made the world a very small place. So, you find women in Saudi who, for instance, are very interested in travel and seek brands they can connect with on a personal level. Someone in London, someone in Japan, someone in Brazil could have the same interest. These are character traits, more than regional traits.”
However, Amina notes that there is a unique regional connection when it comes to Arabic calligraphy and poetry.
Amina Ghali is the head designer. (Supplied)
“I feel that women from the Arab region are very drawn towards the Arabic language, because rather than me translating it for them and trying to give them the gist of what it means, they can read and recognize it and connect with it themselves,” she says.
Beyond the Middle East, Azza Fahmy’s collections with Arabic calligraphy have found success in places including the UK, where clients often appreciate the aesthetic and personal significance of the script.
“When we were approaching the British market, we were under the false impression — from whatever market survey that we did at the time — of ‘They do not understand it, and they will not understand it, so they will not be able to connect.’ We were very happily surprised to learn that our number one-performing collection, in our Burlington Arcade boutique in London, is the calligraphy collection,” Amina says. “It’s because they are carrying it as their own little secret. The client comes and picks up something like, for instance, the eternity ring inspired by Umm Kalthoum, and she takes it as ‘I’m the only one that understands what it says.’”
The Riyadh store stocks many of the brand’s high jewelry pieces. Among Amina’s personal favorites, she says, is the “Scripts of Love” bangle, adorned with emeralds and calligraphy.
“The combination of stones, poetry, and calligraphy creates a piece that captures attention without overshadowing any element,” she says.
She also highlighted the delicate “Crescent Filigree” earrings with tanzanite — a design that showcases the brand’s expertise in filigree craftsmanship.
Azza Fahmy’s commitment to the empowerment of women is also in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which encourages increased female participation in the workforce and leadership roles.
Fatma explains that the brand’s jewelry aims to reflect individuality and heritage — resonating with modern Saudi women who appreciate both cultural pride and self-expression.
“As a company led by women — with women in key roles across all levels of management — empowering women is simply part of our DNA,” she says. “It is not something we ‘strive for.’ It comes naturally to us.”
From struggles to innovation: How Saudi calligrapher Abdulaziz Al-Rashedi revolutionized Arabic script
‘I feel there is a holy light within the letters,’ says Abdulaziz Al-Rashedi
Updated 22 November 2024
Rawaa Talass
DUBAI: Saudi calligrapher and arts instructor Abdulaziz Al-Rashedi’s first love was the pen. His fascination with writing began in elementary school in the Eighties in his hometown of Madinah.
Al-Rashedi talks about holding a pen in the same way a musician might discuss holding their instrument. In the eyes of the calligrapher, writing is an artistic act, like a dance, that has its own kind of magic.
“What I loved about the pen was the way the ink was flowing out of it,” he tells Arab News. “The pen led me to my love of writing Arabic calligraphy.”
Al-Rashedi talks about holding a pen in the same way a musician might discuss holding their instrument. (Supplied)
But there were challenges imposed by the conservative social environment of the Kingdom in the Eighties and Nineties.
“People didn’t regard art as something important. During that time, people thought that art couldn’t generate money. For them, it was a waste of time,” he says. “In such a depressing environment, I was suffering from people’s lack of interest. They were saying that the writing would distract me from my studies. But actually, it encouraged me to study.”
Not everyone disregarded his interest in pursuing calligraphy, however. Al-Rashedi’s late father was always a supporter.
3punt 2. (Supplied)
“He was a believer in writing, and conserving it,” Al-Rashedi says. “He thought I was doing something important with my life, even though others thought it wasn’t important. They likened it to making scribbles. I was literally making art on my own. None of my friends shared this interest with me and there were no calligraphy institutes to encourage this talent. The situation was very difficult.”
But in 1993, Al-Rashedi learned there was, in fact, a master Saudi calligrapher living in Madinah: Ahmad Dia. He kindly agreed to teach Al-Rashedi the basics of Arabic calligraphy. And, perhaps just as importantly, to do so in his home, which Al-Rashedi compares to a school and a museum, as well as a meeting place for calligraphers.
“I was young, but he treated me like a man,” the artist recalls. “For us calligraphers, he was like a spiritual father figure, who planted a seed of determination in us. He always encouraged us and never told us off if our writing wasn’t on point.”
3punt 4. (Supplied)
Al-Rashedi remained in contact with his tutor until Dia’s death in 2022 during the COVID pandemic. “When he died, it felt as if the light went off,” Al-Rashedi says.
Al-Rashedi also trained himself by copying the work of another important figure: Hashem Al-Baghdadi, the influential Iraqi calligrapher and educator who published books on the rules of Arabic calligraphy. Al-Rashedi describes the pre-social media era as a “truly dark period” when there were no opportunities to host exhibitions or share his work with others.
“People weren’t communicating with each other. It was a period that lacked (opportunity) and even good materials, such as pens and paper,” he recalls.
But with the advent of social media, most notably Facebook, and the opening of a few art galleries, including Jeddah’s Athr Gallery in 2009, things improved drastically. Today, Al-Rashedi is able to share his work on Instagram and other platforms, displaying the skills he has honed over three decades of practice.
His fascination with writing began in elementary school in the Eighties in his hometown of Madinah. (Supplied)
Arabic calligraphy is an internationally respected art form that has existed for thousands of years, exercised in Islamic texts and found on monuments around the world. So, what is its long-lasting secret?
“I often ask myself why the curves of Arabic calligraphy have bewitched people for so long, and I believe it inevitably has something to do with its holiness,” he says. “Allah has been an inspiration for calligraphers and their innovation of writing. I feel there is a holy light within the letters of Arabic calligraphy.”
But Al-Rashedi also believes that, for many years, calligraphy has been stuck in a rut, untouched by modern innovation or creativity.
3punt 6. (Supplied)
“Many calligraphers have literally said that Arabic calligraphy has reached its end and no one could add anything new to it,” he says. “Such an idea is incorrect.”
Indeed, Al-Rashedi has invented his own form of Arabic calligraphy, which he calls “3punt.” (He says the name refers to the size of the letters, which are written using three different pens.)
“It depends on the idea of lessening the thickness of the letter. Usually, one pen is used in Arabic calligraphy. But I discovered that the original bulkiness of Arabic scripture and the usage of just one pen prevents Arabic calligraphy from having new forms of writing being added to its system.”
Based on a strict set of rules, Al-Rashedi’s 3punt calligraphy contains 55 “subtypes of writing,” he says. It has its own lightness and elegance, with carefully choreographed flowing lines of slender Arabic script.
Ultimately, Al-Rashedi believes that Arabic calligraphy is about connections.
“If we look at Latin or Chinese scripture, on letters like ‘n,’ ‘e,’ or ‘r,’ they are based on separate components. But with Arabic calligraphy, you can connect six or seven letters in one go,” he says. “Without a doubt, Arabic writing — as an art form — is superior to other types of writing.”
US contemporary artist Brendan Murphy discusses his first show in Riyadh
Updated 22 November 2024
Sulafa Alkhunaizi
RIYADH: The American contemporary artist Brendan Murphy brought his solo exhibition “Complete Control” to Ahlam Gallery in Riyadh on Nov. 7. The Riyadh show is the conclusion of a global tour that Murphy began in June 2024 at Fineart Oslo.
The show features a number of Murphy’s iconic “Spaceman” sculptures, with a particular focus on his limited-edition collectible series titled “Magication.”
In an interview with Arab News, Murphy said the main goal of his show is to bring people “into the moment.” He also stressed that he felt a “creative cultural resonance” with the Kingdom, where he believes people have shown “an appetite for creative works.”
The Riyadh show is the conclusion of a global tour that Murphy began in June 2024 at Fineart Oslo. (Supplied)
He said: “I have a lot of stuff I’m working on, but I’m focused on building a foundation in Riyadh right now. This show is not a one-shot deal, I want to be a part of this renaissance (that’s happening in Saudi Arabia) for the next five to 10 years, at least. I want to be a part of it — I want to lead it if I can.”
Murphy’s body of work includes colorful abstract paintings and sculptures of his signature Spacemen, which explore themes of beauty, power, and the human experience.
As a kid, watching astronauts and space shuttle launches played a major role in Murphy’s life and eventually became one of his main artistic inspirations.
Brendan Murphy's 'Frozen With Desire.' (Supplied)
“My spacemen have little to do with space travel,” he explained. “They epitomize embracing the unknown — taking that step — more than somebody that literally is flying into darkness.”
Murphy’s Spacemen come in various sizes and forms, including small collectibles and large-scale installations. This versatility allows them to fit into diverse settings, from private collections to public art displays. The sculptures can be found across the world, including a 13-foot Spaceman in Houston’s Minute Maid Park baseball stadium and a 22-foot Spaceman in Oslo.
Murphy hasn’t always been an artist. He was once a professional basketball player in Europe, and then became a Wall Street trader. “I did not make a full pivot into accepting that I was a creative person until I was maybe 29,” he said. Today, he is one of most financially successful contemporary artists in the world.
In 2021, Brendan created his “Boonji Project” — a collection of his artwork as non-fungible tokens — and launched it on the Ethereum blockchain (which uses the cryptocurrency Ether). It became the largest primary NFT sale in history, producing $15.5 million dollars.
Brendan Murphy's 2023 work '9 Intentions.' (Supplied)
His work has proven popular with both serious collectors and celebrities, including the tennis players Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, as well as US business mogul Warren Buffett.
Inspired by artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jackson Pollock — famed for their use of color — Murphy’s art aims to encourage the viewer to tune into their emotions and discover the unknown.
“I love color as a means of communicating a feeling,” Murphy said. “When I make something and I get it right, my work creates energy and that’s pretty cool. Color is the easiest way of creating energy; different colors connect with different feelings.”
Murphy said his practice, by choice, demands that he step out of his comfort zone. He utilizes non-traditional methods and rare materials including chrome and diamonds to create conceptual pieces. He has become famous for his extravagant works of art, including “Frozen with Desire,” a sculpture of an astronaut encrusted with 6,200 diamonds, priced at $25 million.
“As an artist, you have to be uncomfortable all the time,” he said. “Find comfort in what you can control, then break it and go where you have no idea what you’re doing.”
Mark Strong plays ‘interesting version’ of all-powerful ruler in ‘Dune: Prophecy’
Updated 22 November 2024
Shyama Krishna Kumar
JEDDAH: The latest big-budget sci-fi series takes fans back to the familiar universe of Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” but 10,000 years before the events of the recent movies starring Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet.
The HBO Max show “Dune: Prophecy” — streaming in the Middle East on OSN+ — follows the rise of the shadowy Bene Gesserit sisterhood. British actor Mark Strong takes on the role of Emperor Javicco Corrino, a man who has become ruler of the galaxy at a tumultuous time.
No stranger to playing characters in powerful positions — most recently, he portrayed the ruthless mob boss Carmine Falcone in another HBO series, “Penguin” — Strong claims that his Emperor Corrino is a little different to the usual screen versions of such men.
“I’m playing a very interesting version of the guy in charge,” Strong tells Arab News. “So, he is the emperor of the universe, which is a great part to play as an actor, obviously, but what’s fascinating about him is his vulnerability — the fact that he is managing a fragile peace.
“So, the guy isn’t what I normally am asked to play, which is people with power who know what they’re doing. He’s very unsure of himself. He doesn’t feel like he’s inherited the ability of his father, he feels a bit of an imposter. He’s trying to deal with a world that he’s not in control of. And I love that juxtaposition of a man that’s supposed to be in charge and supposed to know what he’s doing, and actually he’s very unsure of himself.”
For Strong, the success of the current “Dune” movie and TV franchise is down to the source material.
“The base of the whole thing is these amazing novels that people adore. They are incredibly complicated — really rich. A lot of what we know as modern science fiction, whether it’s ‘Star Trek’ or ‘Star Wars’ or whatever, they come from those books,” he said.
“It’s a world that you want to try and have a go at, because nobody’s done it before. The series, obviously, is set before the movies and in a very different world. And it’s great to have a go at something that that is as fresh as this.”
The exhibition, at the National Museum of Saudi Arabia until April 2, explores the legacy of the fashion designer and his successors through a specially curated narrative
Updated 21 November 2024
Arab News
RIYADH: An exhibition celebrating the life and work of fashion designer Christian Dior is now open at the National Museum of Saudi Arabia as part of this year’s Riyadh Season.
“Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams,” a retrospective covering more than 75 years of his creativity and design and the work he inspired, is a collaboration between the French fashion house and Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.
“Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” is a collaboration between the French fashion house and GEA. (Supplied)
The event, which runs until April 2, explores the legacy of Dior and his successors through a fresh narrative specially curated for the show by art historian Florence Muller and scenographer Nathalie Criniere.
The exhibition covers more than 75 years of creativity and design and the work Dior inspired. (Supplied)
Highlights include tributes to some of Dior’s classic designs, such as Miss Dior and J’adore, and an homage to the Lady Dior bag in the form of the Dior Lady Art project.
Faisal Bafarat, the CEO of the General Entertainment Authority, officially opened the exhibition on Wednesday. Tickets are available from the WeBook platform.
