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Highlights from the Middle East Institute’s ‘Louder Than Hearts’ in Washington DC

Highlights from the Middle East Institute’s ‘Louder Than Hearts’ in Washington DC
Tasneem Al-Sultan, ‘Diversity Within Saudi Weddings.’ (Supplied) 
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Updated 10 May 2024
Arab News
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Highlights from the Middle East Institute’s ‘Louder Than Hearts’ in Washington DC

Highlights from the Middle East Institute’s ‘Louder Than Hearts’ in Washington DC
Updated 10 May 2024
Arab News
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DUBAI: The Middle East Institute in Washington DC is hosting works by female photographers from the Arab world. 

Tasneem Al-Sultan 

‘Diversity Within Saudi Weddings’ 

The acclaimed Lebanon-born Palestinian-American photographer Rania Matar has curated “Louder Than Hearts,” an exhibition of work by 10 female photographers, including herself, from the Arab world and Iran that runs at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC until October 4. Saudi Arabia is represented by Riyadh-based “visual storyteller and photographer” Tasneem Al-Sultan, specifically her “Saudi Tales of Love” series, which, the MEI says, is “informed by her personal journey through marriage and divorce.” 

In wedding images such as this one, Al-Sultan “depicts the constructs and expectations of marriage, including the elaborate ceremonies, as well as the various societal constraints the Saudi women she photographed faced and triumphed over” and “delves into the complexities of relationships and the interplay of tradition and individual choice.”  

The series has garnered global recognition for Al-Sultan, featuring in Time’s “Lightbox” photo series and the international photography fair Paris Photo. 

Rania Matar 

‘Farah (In Her Burnt Car)’ 

Matar’s photography, the MEI states, “captures intimate moments that transcend borders and cultures and explores themes of personal and collective identity through photos of women in the US and the Middle East.” 

The series to which this image belongs — “Where Do I Go? Fifty Years Later” — began after the devastating explosion in Beirut Port in August 2020, and the title alludes to the fact that 2025 will be the 50th anniversary of the beginning of Lebanon’s civil war. The wave of emigration that followed the 2020 explosion was “akin to that of 1984-85 when a wave of young people including herself left the war-stricken country. By photographing these women, Matar was relating to their experiences and their dilemma of immigration (decades) later.” 

Rehaf Al-Batniji  

‘Malak’ 

This image comes from Paris-based, Gaza-born photographer Al-Batniji’s series titled “(Shatt) The Beach & (Shatta) The Chili Pepper,” a project that explores “the social and cultural anthropology” of her hometown. Shatta is a major ingredient in Palestinian cuisine, and “emblematic of Gaza, where life’s challenges can sting like this fiery spice,” while shatt is “the serene beach where residents seek solace and escape their daily reality.”  

Al-Batniji’s work, the MEI states, “offers an intimate portrayal of the territory, reflecting the struggles and intensity of life under siege, as well as the resilience and vibrancy of its communities with refreshing hopefulness. Al-Batniji rejects the brutal imagery of conflict and instead uses color as a tool of resistance.” 

Carmen Yahchouchi 

‘Victoria’ 

Mali-born Lebanese photographer Yahchouchi has work from three of her series in the exhibition, all of which “capture the enduring impact of the Lebanese Civil War on women, highlighting their pivotal roles in the middle of chaos and devastation,” the MEI’s promotional material states. “Her work offers glimpses into their resilience, strength and sacrifice as they navigated through tumultuous periods of history emerging as heroines within their communities and families and assuming new roles in the public sphere.” This piece is from her series “My Mother’s Gun,” and demonstrates Yahchouchi’s talent for photographing “the intimate spaces of human experience, inviting viewers into her subjects' unique worlds.” 

Tanya Habjouqa  

‘Inner Resistance’ 

The Jordanian photographer and journalist, who lives and works in East Jerusalem, “melds a mordant sense of irony with an unyielding examination of the repercussions of geopolitical conflicts on people’s lives,” according to the MEI. This image comes from her “Occupied Pleasures” series, which, the institute says, “presents a multidimensional portrayal of humanity’s ability to find joy amid adversity in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza, utilizing a sharp sense of humor about the absurdities produced by a 47-year occupation.” 

Topics: Middle East Institute Louder Than Hearts

Saudi singer Fulana: ‘Music is my way to understand the world’ 

Saudi singer Fulana: ‘Music is my way to understand the world’ 
Updated 18 December 2024
Iain Akerman
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Saudi singer Fulana: ‘Music is my way to understand the world’ 

Saudi singer Fulana: ‘Music is my way to understand the world’ 
  • The Saudi singer-songwriter discusses her debut album
Updated 18 December 2024
Iain Akerman

DUBAI: “I’m a nervous wreck, but I’m very excited,” admits singer, songwriter, and producer Nadine Lingawi. “I mean, I know that I need to sound like I’m poised and I have everything together, but look, it’s my first. This is my first bulk of work. It’s definitely not something that’s super commercial and one always wonders whether or not it’s going to succeed. But I think in the very bottom of my emotional cortex, I have this very strange sense of calmness and almost a sense of being undoubtful that this will do really well, because I love it.” 

Lingawi, better known by her stage name Fulana, is discussing her debut album, the collaborative project “ground:from.” Created with the electronic music duo Input/Output, it is the first of the conceptual album’s two musical chapters, and is described, rather morbidly, as a ‘letter to death’.  

For the Vancouver-born, Jeddah-raised songstress, it’s a moment of truth, having spent the past three years pushing outs tracks such as “Minarets,” “Lore,” “Trouble,” and “Reprobate” through the indie label Wall of Sound. Singing primarily in English, she inhabits a world of self-reflection and existentialism, yet has performed at some of Saudi Arabia’s biggest musical events, including the inaugural Riyadh International Jazz Festival earlier this year and MDLBeast XP. 

“I don’t think I ever had that idea — or want — to perform on stage; it was treated as more of a hobby growing up,” says Lingawi, whose family hail from Jeddah’s historic Al-Balad. “Music was just something that I did to express certain feelings or emotions. I was never really good with words or confrontation, and around people my age I felt things a little more deeply, and I struggled to express that. So music is more of my safe haven, or my way to understand the world.” 

Initially, “ground:from” was little more than a collection of songs written by Lingawi, who asked Abdulmajeed Alwazna (one half of Input/Output) to produce a single track for a partially-written album. Alwazna then reached out to Husam Al-Sayed, the second half of Input/Output and a friend of Lingawi’s, and together the three of them reviewed everything while Lingawi outlined her vision for the album.  

“I think of it as quite a magical moment, because it’s one thing when people want to help you create something,” says Lingawi. “It’s another thing when people want to have a sense of ownership, because then they come in with their full hearts.” 

The three worked together for two-and-a-half months, with Lingawi moving from Jeddah to Riyadh for the recording sessions. Meeting two or three times a week, sometimes simply to discuss the album’s direction, they dissected every single sound she had brought to the studio, deciding what would stay and what would go.  

“We looked at the anatomy of songs, and we decided together: ‘This doesn’t work here, we should shift it.’ Or ‘This sound does not work here, let’s recreate another sound,’” recalls Lingawi. “We wrote together, we produced together, we experimented together, and so we gave birth to this project.”  

The result is an atmospheric, contemplative exploration of mortality. In essence, a dialogue with death, the first chapter takes listeners on a journey above ground, incorporating audio elements such as the sounds of crickets, birds, thunder, and other natural sonic occurrences. Together, these sounds contribute to a sense of the “beginning of decomposition,” with Lingawi “speaking to death herself” in her trademark introspective, lyrical style.  

“I’ve always enjoyed the dichotomy of life,” she admits. “I’ve always enjoyed creating sounds that sound really cheerful, but what I’m saying is quite dreadful, or vice versa. I think it creates that sense of balance that we try to achieve while we’re alive. I think from a very young age I was very fascinated by the idea of endings and beginnings. It’s always been a part of how I view the world, or the things that I tend to think a little too much about.  

“But death, in this album, is not just the idea of decay or our souls leaving us. It also translates into the death of causes, the death of humanity, the death of feelings, the death of chapters. It’s more about endings and romanticizing those endings. In a sense, it is a reflection of me because I tend to romanticize endings a lot more than I enjoy the good parts of things. So, in chapter one, it’s about that longing for tension, that longing for the one thing I can never reach. And in chapter two, we’re kind of taking a step back and realizing the aftermath of that. Of not enjoying a moment for what it is when it is alive.” 

Lingawi’s vocals, sometimes mesmerizing in their emotional clarity, fuse beautifully with the deep synths and ambient guitar of Input/Output, whose fondness for rhythmic structure and cinematic soundscapes help to create a sonic environment rooted in the intensity of its subject matter. In the first chapter, that largely relates to the melancholy of love, the fleeting nature of life, and the cycles of loss and rebirth. In the second — due early next year — the trio head below ground, where the conversation with death will be darker and far more honest.  

Lingawi’s musical journey began as a child, listening to the radio on car journeys with her mother. Around the age of 17, she began to put her own music online, having experimented with GarageBand and having nurtured a love of slam poetry since the age of 14. 

To retain her anonymity, she chose the name Fulana, which means ‘anonymous female’ in Arabic.  

“Fulana was just my very cheeky way of saying, ‘I’m going to put my music online, and no one’s going to tell that it’s me.’ And I wanted to stick with it because through the name I was able to, I wouldn’t say dissociate, but to have people focus more on what I’m saying and the stories I’m telling, rather than on me as a person. And that remains a big part of who I am as a musician. I don’t really want people to care about me as a person. I’m not that interested really,” she says. “It’s the music itself, so if we could just focus on that and not me as a person, that would be amazing.” 

Topics: Fulana Saudi Arabia

No quitting: Bollywood’s Aamir Khan wants to keep acting

No quitting: Bollywood’s Aamir Khan wants to keep acting
Updated 18 December 2024
AFP
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No quitting: Bollywood’s Aamir Khan wants to keep acting

No quitting: Bollywood’s Aamir Khan wants to keep acting
  • Khan has helped shape Indian cinema for years, becoming one of Bollywood’s most popular actors
  • During Covid-19 pandemic, the superstar and filmmaker considered quitting cinema for good
Updated 18 December 2024
AFP

LONDON: During the Covid-19 pandemic, Bollywood superstar and filmmaker Aamir Khan considered quitting cinema for good after dominating the Indian film industry for more than four decades.
“It was in the middle of Covid and I was... thinking of a lot of things, and I suddenly felt that I had spent all of my adult life in this magical world of cinema,” Khan told AFP in London, draped in a heavy purple shawl and sporting a handlebar moustache.
He is not wrong, having helped shape Indian cinematic culture for years, becoming one of Bollywood’s most popular actors.

Indian actor Aamir Khan poses for a portrait inside a hotel during an interview with AFP in London on December 3, 2024. (AFP)

He has amassed a formidable oeuvre of Hindi-language films, including “Lagaan,” nominated for best foreign language film at the Oscars in 2002, as well as movies such as “3 Idiots,” “Dangal” and “Taare Zameen Par” (Like Stars on Earth).
Starting as a child actor in the 1970s and synonymous with Bollywood ever since, Khan realized he had “not really given the kind of bandwidth to my personal life that I would have liked to.”
“The realization that I’ve lost all that time was something that I was finding difficult to come to terms with and I was going through a lot of guilt... My knee-jerk reaction to that was that I’ve had enough of film,” Khan said.
However, his family, including two children, eventually convinced him not to retire. “In my head, I quit. And then I didn’t,” said Khan.
Now, turning 60 in March, Khan, who lives in Mumbai, wants to “continue to act and produce for some time.”

Indian actor Aamir Khan speaks during an interview with AFP in London on December 3, 2024. (AFP)

He also wants to use his company Aamir Khan Productions “as a platform to encourage new talent... whose sensibility is close to mine. And (who) want to tell stories which affect me.”
One of those stories was “Lost Ladies,” a Hindi-language comedy about two young brides, which he co-produced with his ex-wife Kiran Rao and was recently promoting in London.
It was released this year, becoming India’s entry for the Oscars foreign film category.
Khan and Rao’s partnership on “Lost Ladies” began when Khan spotted its script at a screenwriting competition which he was judging, leading him to suggest that Rao direct the film.
“I like to react organically to material that comes my way. I feel that a film should begin with the writer, the thought,” Khan said.
“I like that the story should emerge from the writer and then, as a producer or as an actor, I come in at the right time, when I deserve to,” he added.
Many of his films touch on social issues in India, from women’s rights in rural areas and the sports industry, to the toxic culture in higher education and disability rights.
However, Khan has refused to be boxed into just one type of movie or role.

Indian actor Aamir Khan poses for a portrait inside a hotel during an interview with AFP in London on December 3, 2024. (AFP)

“I’m happy to jump genres and, experiment with different kinds of stories. I like to surprise myself and my audience.”
He is also not afraid to admit slip-ups, and has been vocal about his disappointment with his last performance in “Laal Singh Chaddha.”
The 2022 Indian adaptation of Tom Hanks’s “Forrest Gump” was a rare blip in the otherwise glowing critical reception of Khan’s work.
“I’m not really happy with my last performance, actually,” said Khan, adding that he thought he was too high-pitched in the role.
“I hope this one’s better,” he said of his upcoming film “Sitaare Zameen Par,” which he says is a “thematic” sequel to “Taare Zameen Par,” a drama about special needs education.
Despite winning dozens of Indian film awards as well as India’s third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, Khan still grounds his idea of success in the film itself.
“Filmmaking is very difficult... telling a story through so many art forms which come together to form cinema,” he said.
“So when I look at the film that we’ve made, and then I look at the script that we set out with, (I ask): has the film reached where we thought it would?“
“And if we’ve reached where we wanted to, and we’ve made the film that we set out to, then it’s a big relief.”

Topics: Aamir Khan Bollywood stars

Review: ‘Maria’ rests on the shoulders of the superb Angelina Jolie

Review: ‘Maria’ rests on the shoulders of the superb Angelina Jolie
Opera icon Maria Callas is played by Angelina Jolie. (Supplied)
Updated 18 December 2024
Gautaman Bhaskaran
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Review: ‘Maria’ rests on the shoulders of the superb Angelina Jolie

Review: ‘Maria’ rests on the shoulders of the superb Angelina Jolie
Updated 18 December 2024
Gautaman Bhaskaran

JEDDAH: One of the most fascinating movies I watched at the recent Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, “Maria” may not have inched up to reach its great height had it not been for lead star Angelina Jolie. Jolie superbly plays the legendary Maria Callas, a Greek soprano who made Paris her home. The audience is introduced to her a week before her death on Sept. 16, 1977. Frail and pacing up and down her living room, she collapses, and the movie is rewound seven days before her end.

Like so many celebrities, who came before and after her, Maria leads a wretched life of excesses and miserable loneliness. Director Pablo Larrain’s third biopic after “Jackie” (on Jacquline Kennedy) and “Spencer” (on Princess Diana), the film hardly takes us outside her palatial mansion in the French capital that soon begins to feel like a golden cage. Imprisoned of her own will, Maria’s life spirals towards an anticipated end.

We are told how she had travelled a torturous journey from the slums of Nazi-occupied Athens to the European and American concert halls in a narrative that is interspersed with an affair with the Greek magnate Aristotle Onassis. 

Though Larrain makes his film seem almost eventless — we follow along as Maria navigates her apartment or wanders through the bourgeoisie neighborhoods of Paris — we sense a storm gathering in a distance as she sinks into self-destruction.

The Chilean work may not have been so compelling had it not been for the exceptional portrayal of Maria by Jolie, who disappears into the character with ease and conviction. She is faultless as an epitome of tragedy and sorrow and this makes the movie eminently watchable.

Topics: Red Sea International Film Festival 2024

Bella Hadid praises ‘Yellowstone’ cast after cameo appearance

Bella Hadid praises ‘Yellowstone’ cast after cameo appearance
Updated 17 December 2024
Arab News
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Bella Hadid praises ‘Yellowstone’ cast after cameo appearance

Bella Hadid praises ‘Yellowstone’ cast after cameo appearance
Updated 17 December 2024
Arab News

DUBAI: US Palestinian Dutch supermodel Bella Hadid took to social media to thank the cast and crew of hit TV series “Yellowstone” after she made a cameo appearance on the Paramount show in December.

On Monday, Hadid posted a carousel of behind-the-scenes photos from her time on set and captioned the post: “Best crew, best cast, best horses, best brains. grateful to have been in the presence of — and learn a lifetime's worth of knowledge in a few days from — the most brilliant of people! I could have been cast as a fly on the wall and would have been just filled with gratitude to be on a set like this for the last season of a show I love so deeply!”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Bella (@bellahadid)

The show, which premiered in 2018, follows a family who own the largest ranch in America as they deal with their internal conflicts and fend off encroachers to protect their property.

The neo-Western show stars Kevin Coster — who won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of family patriarch John Dutton in 2023 — and Kelly Reilly, whom Hadid thanked in her social media post.

“Thank you, Kelly for being such an inspiring mentor for our few days together. Helpful, beautiful, kind, talented and caring. She really is that great and bad***, guys!”

Hadid plays Sadie, who is the girlfriend of Taylor Sheridan’s character, Travis Wheatley.

“Thank you, Taylor for everything, having faith in me and the opportunity,” Hadid noted in her Instagram post of Sheridan, who is also the show’s director.

Hadid is quickly cementing her status in the rodeo world and earlier this month she was named the National Cutting Horse Association’s 2024 Limited Age Event Rookie of the Year, an award that was celebrated by her partner Adan Banuelos, who is a celebrated cutting champion and horseman.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Bella (@bellahadid)

Cutting is an equestrian competition in which a horse and rider work to demonstrate the horse's athleticism and ability to handle cattle in front of a panel of judges.

Jay Winborn, executive director of the US’s National Cutting Horse Association, praised Hadid in a released statement. “Her hard work in and out of the show pen is evident,” he stated. “When she is not competing, she cheers enthusiastically for her fellow cutting competitors and avidly supports the sport of cutting. We look forward to seeing her talent and passion for the sport, as well as her bond with equine athletes, continue to grow and flourish.”

Topics: Bella Hadid Yellowstone

Sheikha Hala Bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa: ‘Colors awaken something in my soul’

Sheikha Hala Bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa: ‘Colors awaken something in my soul’
Updated 17 December 2024
Lama Al-Shethry
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Sheikha Hala Bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa: ‘Colors awaken something in my soul’

Sheikha Hala Bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa: ‘Colors awaken something in my soul’
  • The Bahraini artist and politician talks creativity, culture, and colors
Updated 17 December 2024
Lama Al-Shethry

RIYADH: “Art is a driver for creativity and beauty,” Bahraini artist Sheikha Hala Bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa, CEO of the Nuwah Foundation, said in an interview with the region’s leading Arabic lifestyle magazine for women, Sayidaty, for its December cover story to mark Bahrain’s National Day. 

Among other topics, including her own artistic process, the conversation covered the role that cultural institutions can play in boosting knowledge, raising awareness of history, and stimulating creativity — all ways of assisting the advancement of society. Aside from her work with the Nuwah Foundation — which, according to its website, “empowers changemakers that illuminate our collective future … (to build) a creative, healthy and prosperous society in the Middle East and North Africa” — Sheikha Hala has also developed a wide range of programs, including “Food is Culture,” as well as documentaries as part of the Oral History Project. She also contributed to preserving intangible heritage and took part in Bahrain’s Artist in a School initiative. 

Sheikha Hala spoke about the role that cultural institutions can play in boosting knowledge. (Courtesy: Sayidaty magazine/Ali Rifai)

Sheikha Hala stated that her passion for the arts was inherited from her mother, Sheikha Mai bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa — a prominent figure in the regional cultural scene and the daughter of a senior member of the Bahraini royal family — who, she said, taught her that history fuels perceptions of the present and that historians can feed museums’ contemporary insights and the way societies are presented through their artistic heritage. 

“I belonged to the world of art from a young age; it has always been my inspiration and an integral part of who I am,” Sheikha Hala said. “Fine art and colors have the greatest impact in my heart — they awaken something in my soul. And culture is part of the vibrant fabric of any society. Our heritage — its beauty and diversity — constitutes all parts of my identity. 

“I am truly grateful for my family’s support — it is one of the most important foundations for building self-confidence and motivating people to pursue their dreams,” she continued. “My parents are my biggest supporters, and because of them I was able to study art at university. For the record, none of them objected to me entering this field.” 

Sheikha Hala advises young artists to draw inspiration from culture, local identity, and personal experiences. (Courtesy: Sayidaty magazine/Ali Rifai)

Art has always been a vital part of self-expression for Sheikha Hala. “Art, for me, translates the psychological state surrounding me. In many instances, it’s anxiety that generates an important painting,” she said. She elaborates on this thought on her website, where she has written: “While painting I am in a turbulent state of tension — the making of art has never been a harmonious exercise for me.” 

Sometimes, she told Sayidaty, the driving force behind a piece is a specific message. “In many of my works, there are distinct messages, such as the subject of the gargoor — a traditional fishing tool — which repeatedly appeared in many pieces I worked on. There’s also the theme of war, displacement, and the use of boats to transport people from one place to another in search of a better and safer life,” she said. The latter is seen particularly in her series “Fate.”  

Sheikha Hala is one of many women from prominent Gulf families patronizing and promoting the arts through various initiatives. “Gulf women have made an obvious mark on our society. In the artistic and cultural arena, for example, there are women who, through their education and passion, have started a clear renaissance and we are proud of their creativity,” she told Sayidaty. “I see in (today’s women) the continuity of their grandmothers’ and family’s past. I think modern Gulf women took the most beautiful legacy, and worked on communicating their countries’ identities to the world.” 

Sheikha Hala has worked on developing a wide range of programs, including “Food is Culture,” as well as documentaries as part of the Oral History Project. (Courtesy: Sayidaty magazine/Ali Rifai)

Part of this communication, she stressed, is informing the public about the region’s artistic and cultural history. “I believe that the Arab identity is present in the mind of this generation’s artists,” she said. “However, I regret to say that we tend to resort to foreign languages when we speak and write as an easier path to expression, and we forget the depth and importance of maintaining our identity through our Arabic language. I really hope that the new generation of artists will go back to this rich language and take pride in it, so it can withstand the challenges of globalization.” She cited the words of the great Egyptian poet Ahmed Shawqi when he wrote about Arabic: “He who filled languages with charms, instilled beauty and its secret into the Arabic language.” 

Sheikha Hala also offered further advice to young creatives. “Always open the door to knowledge, listen to every new idea, and draw inspiration from their culture, local identity, and personal experiences,” she said. “This ensures that the work is genuine and carries a part of who you are. Every artist has their own language of expression, but when presenting an art piece, their message must be profound and carry something unique to them. 

“The challenge faced by any artist is to be true to their art — to present work that stirs emotions and creates a unique imprint,” she continued. “This is the biggest challenge.” 

This article is based on a Q&A first published in Arabic in Sayidaty magazine on Dec. 15, 2024.

Topics: Bahrain Sheikha Hala bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa

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