review: Tahrir 2011: the Good, the Bad & the Politician

my review in Kalimat

Tahrir 2011: the Good, the Bad & the Politician: too soon or soon enough?

Almost one year on, the political and social shifts that have gone on in our region still stand as unprecedented.  While perhaps the euphoria of hope is starting to balance out into a dire and perplexing reality, for some countries the honeymoon is way over, the time to rebuild is starting to lag and ideological complexities are getting thicker.  For others, the fight marches on.  

read more

review: Goodbye (Arabic)

review of Iranian fim Goodbye (published in the pan-Arab daily AsharqAlAwsat)  

في الآونة الأخيرة بشكل خاص، تكررت عبارة «إيران سجن» في عدد من الأفلام، بدءا من فيلم «الموجة الخضراء» وحتى فيلم «هذا ليس فيلما» للمخرج جعفر بناهي. ولم يستخدم فيلم «إلى اللقاء» للمخرج محمد رسولوف هذه العبارة مباشرة وبشكل صريح، ولكنه استعاض عنها بالإشارة إلى التعقيدات السياسية والشخصية، والحياة السياسية الصارمة، وافتقار المواطن العادي إلى السلطة في نهاية 

المطاف.

read on

review: LFF 2011 MidEast films

BFI London Film Festival 2011 Round Up: World Cinema in Little White Lies

Three very different films from the Middle East highlighted the LFF's World Cinema strand this week.

With week two of the 55th London Film Festival almost done, it's time to reflect on the most talked about films from the World Cinema strand, the most intriguing and illuminating of which came from the Middle East.

read on...

Winds of Change: Cinema from Muslim societies

London’s Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), in collaboration with the academic publication “Third Text,” presented “Winds of Change: Cinema from Muslim Societies,” a series of talks and Islamic films.
The program took place between Sept. 21 - 25 at the ICA in London. It included two panel discussions and eight films pertaining to Islam in the context of social, national and regional politics. The event did not uphold any inherently Islamic themes, but rather connected the current political situation in the Arab world to questions regarding media definitions, colonial histories, post-colonial theory, gender and Islam’s own politics.
read on...

Modernist Islamic Architecture: Toward preserving a migrant past

MakeSpace Architects is a London-based firm whose work specializes in private and social housing, as well as community buildings.  Much of the community work focuses on the development of mosques and Islamic centers.  Besided designing and building the structures, MakeSpace aspire to develop a new architectural language based on what indigenous, British Islamic architecture, in their eyes, should be. 

read on...

Jameel Prize 2011

The Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, London has been home to a vast collection of Islamic art for more than 150 years.  Today, the Museum has taken a step beyond simply showcasing it, they have joined efforts with the Abdulatif Jameel Group's Community Initiative to highlight and encourage work inspired by the faith.  The Jameel Prize is a biennial award recognizing the use of Islamic design and art technique in contemporary work.

read on...

Bidoun Library: London edition

The Bidoun Library, a project by the nonprofit Middle Eastern culture magazine, Bidoun, is a travelling collection of books that has been installed in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Dubai, New York City, Cairo, Beirut, and now, London.  

read on...

In Conversation with Nawal El Saadawi

It was a great honour to be able to meet and speak with the writer and activist, Nawal El Saadawi. 

In her 50 years of writing and being vocal, Nawal El Saadawi has been referred to as a feminist, an activist, an educator, a traitor and a blaspheme, among many other things.  Yet this trail of references can only reflect the impact that her work, her fights and her outspoken opinions have had on people.

read on...