Saudi animation on pandemic-era worship in Makkah draws praise in Cannes
Updated 27 May 2024
Afshan Aziz
JEDDAH: Saudi film “Wa Isjod Wa Iqtareb” (“Prostrate and Draw Near”) won the “Animation That Matters” award during the Animaze Animation Day event at Marché du Film, the industry networking section of the Cannes Film Festival.
Directed, produced, and written mother-daughter duo Suraya Al-Shehry and Nabila Abuljadayel, the film was created via production company Suraya Productions and explores the period of time during the COVID-19 pandemic when cleaning staff replaced the usual mix of international worshippers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
The film integrates traditional art and 2-D animation, but it is its subject matter that makes it unique, according to Al-Shehry.
“In the history of cinema, there has been a noticeable lack of films focusing on Makkah and the Holy Mosque, particularly in the realm of animation. Collaborating with my daughter … on our short animated film has brought me immense joy and a profound sense of fulfilment,” she said.
She added that the film portrays a significant moment in global and Islamic history by showcasing the Grand Mosque devoid of pilgrims, with the exception of the cleaning and maintenance staff who had the unique opportunity to pray there during the pandemic when no one else could.
Abuljadayel reflected on the nearly two-year project, saying: “For me, the best reward was the chance to collaborate with my mother, an experience that transcends any accolade.”
She emphasized that receiving the award aligned with the film’s core message of celebrating shared humanity.
“I firmly believe that what comes from the heart resonates with others, whether expressed through animation or my artwork, and the greatest testimony of that is the success of this film,” she said.
The creative duo seem to be keen to continue their success, with another project scheduled for completion next year.
QUETTA: Come summer season, Hajji Baz Khan is a busy man. Eager to beat the heat and satiate their parched throats, hundreds of customers throng his shop daily for a tall glass of sugarcane juice. Khan repeatedly directs the servers at his shop to take customers’ orders, as the sound of a machine crushing the sugarcane for juice fills the air.
This is usually the scene at “Quetta Juice” shop on Jinnah Road, a busy place during summers in Pakistan’s southwestern city of Quetta. Pakistan has been in the grip of severe heat since May, with temperatures in the southern parts of the country soaring as high as 52 degrees Celsius. In Quetta, the temperature frequently crossed 40 degrees Celsius over the past few weeks.
And as the temperature rises, so does the number of customers at Quetta Juice to quench their thirst.
“Sometimes we face a shortage of glasses due to the large number of customers in the summer peak days,” Khan, 58, told Arab News. “Because people consider sugarcane juice as the source to beat the [high] temperature.”
Customers take sip of fresh juices at a local shop in Quetta on July 6, 2024. (AN Photo)
Sugarcane juice is a popular drink in Pakistan during the summer season. The juice is extracted on the spot by feeding sugarcane stalks into a machine, which is freshly squeezed out and served with ice cubes.
Pakistan’s macroeconomic crisis and double-digit inflation have made life for businesses difficult. Khan, who has been running the famous sugarcane juice shop since 1985, said he has to buy 40kg of sugarcane for Rs2500 ($9). And to make matters worse, the government has approved a surge in power tariffs.
“But yet my business is doing well, we are selling a single glass of sugarcane juice for 90 rupees ($0.32),” Khan said. “During the summer season, we use more than 100kg of sugar cane regularly for the traditional drink.”
Iftikhar Parvez, who traveled from Pakistan’s eastern city of Faisalabad to meet relatives in Quetta, couldn’t help but stop for sugarcane juice after visiting the nearby bazaar.
“In the summer season, the throat remains dry hence people prefer to drink sugarcane juice,” he said.
Wakeel Ahmed, a 44-year-old resident of Balochistan’s Sibi city who was visiting Quetta, said he had stopped for a sugarcane juice drink as he was suffering from low blood sugar.
The drink, he said, refreshed his mind and soul.
“Medically, sugarcane juice is very healthy for the human body and doctors always suggest it for hepatitis B and C patients,” Ahmed said. ‘KUSHTA’
While yogurt-based lassi, lemon sodas, milkshakes and fresh juices are popular in summer, another drink “kushta,” prepared with dried apricots and a mixture of salt and sugar, is also a much-relished beverage in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
Ikram Ullah, 21, has been selling the drink for the last five years every summer.
“The residents love to drink apricot juice which gives me an earning of Rs3000 ($10.80) a single day,” he told Arab News.
An Apricot juice seller, Ikram Ullah, mixes his poplar juice in Quetta on July 6, 2024. (AN Photo)
“When there is any public activity in the city, I sell two 35-liter jars of apricot juice. But normally, I sell one.”
Taj Muhammad, a resident of the city’s Sariab Road, said he was roaming through the bazaar when he came across a pushcart selling kushta. That was enough of a temptation for him to stop and drink a glass of fresh apricot juice.
“There are dozens of pushcarts in Quetta from the main city center to the end of Sariab Road selling this traditional drink because the demand for this beverage increases in the summer season.”
A vendor fills glasses with traditional sugar cane juice in Quetta on July 6, 2024. (AN Photo)
Rihanna flaunts jewelry by Qatari label in new Fenty Beauty campaign
Updated 07 July 2024
Arab News
DUBAI: Fenty Beauty founder Rihanna unveiled the cosmetics brand’s latest campaign this week — and several of the snaps see the Barbadian superstar sporting rings by Qatari label Noudar Jewels.
Rihanna promoted the release of several new lip products in a sultry new campaign in which she sports a faux fur headpiece in a fiery shade of red. The pop superstar also shows off Noudar Jewels’ Henna Rings in the images.
Founded by Noor Ali Hussain Alfardan, the label seeks to “combine influences from the timeless treasures of Arabian civilization with a modernist take on luxury jewelery,” according to the brand’s website.
Noudar Jewels is known for its incorporation of Omani patterns reminiscent of mosaic work and henna-style designs. The label has been flaunted by the likes of Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez, Kendall Jenner and more.
In June, Rihanna turned to the Asian subcontinent for her jewelry look as she showed off pieces by two celebrity-loved Indian fashion designers to launch her Fenty Hair line. The beauty mogul combined jewellery by Manish Malhotra and Sabyasachi Mukherjee in one look, which she showcased on the red carpet in Los Angeles.
She wore a large choker with custom-cut rubies from Malhotra's High Jewellery collection and a three-stone pendant featuring rubellite stones from Sabyasachi's line.
The singer is known for sporting international designers and is a particular fan of one part-Arab footwear maven.
In January, Rihanna attended Dior’s couture show at Paris’s Musee Rodin while wearing shoes by her favored footwear designer, Romanian Jordanian Amina Muaddi. Rihanna showed off the Kim pumps from Muaddi’s eponymous brand. They are crafted in Italy from white patent-leather and have slim ankle straps punctuated with silver-tone buckles.
Barbados-born Rihanna is one of Muaddi’s most loyal fans.
She has championed her creations to lavish red-carpet events, fundraising galas, taking an off-duty stroll or stepping out to dinner.
In 2020, Muaddi helped design the shoes for Rihanna’s Fenty collection. The collaboration was so successful that it received the Collaborator of the Year award at the 34th edition of the FN Achievement Awards.
How a Saudi couple’s passion for F1 made for a ‘spectacular’ wedding entrance
Khashogji told Arab News that the decision to hold the wedding reception at the Jeddah F1 circuit “was a mutual decision” driven by the couple’s “love for unique experiences and cars in general”
Updated 06 July 2024
Lama Alhamawi
RIYADH: Saudi newlyweds Abdulaziz Khashogji and Amirah Al-Bassam tied the knot in style as the first-ever couple to have their “zaffa,” or wedding entrance, on Jeddah’s F1 circuit.
“Both of us have unconventional ideas when it comes to our lifestyles,” the 32-year-old groom told Arab News.
“The shoot and the location were both iconic and really special; we’re both so grateful we made our night as special as our relationship,” 26-year-old bride added.
The Saudi newlyweds recently made their first entrance as husband and wife on a red 2024 Ferrari Roma Spider waving to their guests and driving across the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. (Supplied)
Last week, the newlyweds made their first entrance as husband and wife on a red 2024 Ferrari Roma Spider waving to their guests and driving across the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, famed as the fastest and longest street circuit in F1 at 6.175 km.
When approaching the planning of their reception and entrance, the couple’s vision was simple, with a slogan of “less is more.”
“I proposed the venue and Amirah thought it would be cool to just have a simple wedding dinner that was iconic. Adding the Ferrari for our entrance was the touch that made it extra special,” Khashogji said.
HIGHLIGHT
Photos and videos of the unique wedding reception has been circulating on social media, with many commenters showing interest and excitement over the extraordinary Saudi wedding entrance.
Photos and videos of the unique wedding reception circulated on social media over the weekend, with many commenters showing interest and excitement over the extraordinary Saudi wedding entrance.
When asked how the idea of the F1 wedding photo shoot came about, Al-Bassam said: “Given that the wedding reception was at the circuit, and my husband is a car and motorsport fanatic, it would have been rude not to,” she said.
“His lifelong passion is Formula 1 and his favorite manufacturer is Ferrari, so we had to do the shoot in a Ferrari at the F1 track,” she added.
A new benchmark for wedding venues has been set, and it’ll be a tough one to follow.
Zaid Khashogji, Relative
Khashogji told Arab News that the decision to hold the wedding reception at the Jeddah F1 circuit “was a mutual decision” driven by the couple’s “love for unique experiences and cars in general.”
The groom works in Saudi Motorsport and manages the circuit, hosting the F1 race along with the other events that take place at the track all year round.
“I’ve been with Saudi Motorsport since the first F1 race in 2021 as part of the hospitality team running premium hospitality. Since that day I knew I wanted to have my wedding in this venue, and when I met Amirah and fell in love with her, we both knew that it would be the perfect place for both of us,” he said.
There was some initial skepticism when the couple first told family and guests about the location they had in mind, Al-Bassam said.
“But everyone was blown away as soon as they showed up. The guests loved the venue, the idea, and everyone had an amazing time, which felt very rewarding to share our joy with everyone,” she added.
Rema Al-Yahya, a close friend of the bride, shared her experience of the unique ceremony. “I’ve never seen a wedding entrance like this before. It was really unexpected and everyone loved it. It was a truly memorable experience that perfectly captured the couple’s personality,” she said.
The groom’s brother, Zaid Khashogji said that the entrance was a “spectacle.”
He added: “For my brother it was a dream come true. Growing up, Aziz used to always say ‘Hawaii? Como? When I get married, it’ll be on an F1 track!
“Subhan Allah, he manifested it from a young age … back when the idea of having a Formula 1 track in Saudi Arabia was nothing more than wishful thinking! And it was amazing to see it happen in our hometown, no less.
“A new benchmark for wedding venues has been set, and it’ll be a tough one to follow!”
Lionel Boyce talks ‘The Bear’ season 3 and his emotional eulogy scene
Updated 06 July 2024
Shyama Krishna Kumar
DUBAI: US actor, writer and singer Lionel Boyce found fame as the mild-mannered pastry chef Marcus Brooks in FX on Hulu’s “The Bear,” streaming in the Middle East on Disney Plus.
In a show that can often be chaotic and anxiety-inducing, Boyce’s character is an island of calm.
Season three picks up with Marcus grieving the recent loss of his ailing mother, and his eulogy provides the season’s most touching scene.
In an interview with Arab News, Boyce joked that he felt terrified he first read the script for the episode.
“I just started reading the script and there was just a lot of words. But, no, I think the first thing I felt was … you just feel for him and it pierces your heart a bit,” he said.
“I think it was cool that you’ve learned about Marcus’ mom in season two in real time, just where she’s at, but you’d never learned who she was and who she was to him before that. Because in season two, you just see how he’s her caretaker. And this eulogy shows how she was the caretaker for him and protected him. And, so, I thought that was really special.”
Boyce avoided reading other famous monologues to prepare for the heart-wrenching scene, but he did remember thinking about a scene in the 2021 film “Judas and the Black Messiah,” featuring Daniel Kaluuya.
“Daniel Kaluuya is on a podium giving a speech. He starts with an emotion and he quickly covers it. I was watching it specifically because it has this arc to it, where he starts with fear and, by the end, he’s absolved of his fear. He’s releasing it. So, I just thought that was cool,” said Boyce.
“I think he reminded me that, in these scenarios, people are just trying to get through the words, you know. They’re trying to do hard stuff, push and suppress these feelings, you don’t want to end up crying. And it’s a hard thing.”
Asked to highlight some fun moments on set, Boyce said: “One of them was just the final scene of season three where they’re at a party at an apartment. That was a lot of fun. Because it was just like, you’re faking a party, but faking a party still means you have a real party. So, everyone is like listening to music, dancing and just like having fun. Even sitting around and hanging out felt very loose, free and fun.
“And then another one was purely because they had some king crab on set. And I love king crab. So, I gotta do some of that. And that was a highlight of my life.”
Saudi artist Ahmed Mater on his solo show at Christie’s London
‘Chronicles’ runs July 17 to August 22 and features a selection of work from the Nineties to the present day
Updated 06 July 2024
Rawaa Talass
DUBAI: On July 17, Christie’s London will inaugurate a mid-career retrospective of one of Saudi Arabia’s most significant conceptual artists, Ahmed Mater. Showcasing photography, works on paper, and installation art, the “Chronicles” exhibition will feature a selection of Mater’s creations dating back to the Nineties, when he first started experimenting with painting.
“Art is a time machine that everyone is looking for. Art can take us to the past and imagine the future, which is a powerful thing,” Mater tells Arab News.
Mater was born in 1979 and worked as a doctor before rising to prominence in the art world with his X-Ray and magnet artworks, providing social commentary on changes happening within the Kingdom.
Saudi Arabian contemporary artist Ahmed Mater. (Supplied)
“I always admired the work of Dr. Ahmed, who is from my generation and my age,” says the exhibition’s curator, Dr. Ridha Moumni, who is the chairman of Middle East and North Africa at Christie’s. “He’s an introspective artist that works on ideas, rather than mediums.
“He’s an artist who can speak very well about his work, but, for me, he’s an artist who produces work that speaks to everyone in a different language,” Moumni continues. “His process of maturation can be seen on many layers — be it social, cultural, religious or political — that are present in his country and, by extension, in the Arab world.”
Here, Mater discusses five pieces from his show, which runs until August 22.
‘The Book of Magnetism’
This is a new artwork that I wanted to introduce in this exhibition. It is a continuation of an earlier magnet artwork I made, on a small scale, of the Ka’aba in Makkah. For me, “The Book of Magnetism” is important because it tells the story of knowledge and how it shapes our life and culture. The oldest invention known to mankind is the book. I presented this book in a way that emanates the holiness of religious books.
‘Desert of Pharan’
This is one of the pieces in my “Desert of Pharan” series, a project related to Makkah, where I put hundreds of found objects, photographs and video art about the city into a single room. This photograph is called “Nature Morte.” The project as a whole tells the story of Islamic Makkah, one of the most visited cities on Earth, as well as showing a study of urban planning in the city. I’m showing how new urban phenomena has changed the city, and how Makkah will influence the future of Islamic cities around the world. (Image courtesy of the Dalloul Art Foundation.)
‘Ashab Al-Lal’
This project is based on the idea of the mirage. It’s a project I’m creating for Wadi AlFann in AlUla. In the London exhibition, I’m showing this sculptural maquette of this upcoming artwork. It’s a form of public art. It’s a very environmental piece, connected to the land. I usually work with the ideas of exposure, the body and photography. This piece, using mirrors, reflects our bodies to the sky, like a real mirage. The idea is that you go inside a place in the desert, and when you are in the middle of this artwork, our bodies will reflect for other people to see. There is something theatrical about it too. (Image courtesy of the Royal Commission for AlUla.)
‘Lightning Land’
“Lightning Land” is a photograph that has a very nice landscape with lightning happening in the middle. I took this photograph on the way to Dammam in Saudi Arabia. I was actually just taking a picture of the oil refinery and tent that you see in the image. On that afternoon, it was stormy and dusty, and I wanted to this take a picture for a dramatic effect. I didn’t edit anything. I kept it as it was. When the lightning happened, it felt like a good gift. It’s an image that says a lot. The image is poetic evidence of the transformation that is happening in Saudi Arabia.
‘Our Mother House’
This is an old, patterned artwork that the curator Dr. Ridha found in my studio and decided to show in the exhibition. It’s not my painting, but my mother’s. She is a mural painter of ‘Al-qatt al-Asiri’ — painting on the walls of homes, which women do in the southern part of the Kingdom. It’s very symbolic and decorative. Each mural elegantly tells the story of a family and its social background.
