Typographer Lara Captan reimagines Arabic calligraphy at Expo 2020 Dubai

The calligraphy-inspired benches are dotted around Expo 2020 Dubai. Supplied
Short Url
Updated 13 October 2021
Follow

Typographer Lara Captan reimagines Arabic calligraphy at Expo 2020 Dubai

DUBAI: The beauty and complexity of the Arabic language takes the physical form of benches at Expo 2020 Dubai. Visitors to the six-month convention are invited to sit and take in the event on a series of 46 calligraphy-inspired benches, the brainchild of London-based architect Asif Khan and Amsterdam-based typographer and Arabic type designer Lara Captan, who turned crowdsourced words into a functional art piece.

“As an Arabic type designer, I was invited to imagine what the Arabic letters would look like, and for what reason. Asif and his team then brought my digital drawings to the third dimension,” explained Captan to Arab News.




The benches are the brainchild of London-based architect Asif Khan and Amsterdam-based typographer and Arabic type designer Lara Captan. Supplied

“The Arabic word therefore became a sort of product design, where parts of letters or connections between letters were given different heights so that children, adults and people with difficult mobility could all sit on the benches comfortably. Asif’s team also had to find the right seating depth for the words to work as benches, this then dictated the level of thickness I could give to the letters,” she added.

Stretching 10 meters long, the benches are spread throughout the public walkways of the Expo and took about eight to nine months to complete.




Lara Captan’s sketches for the “Tawasol” bench. Supplied

The words for the benches were originally crowdsourced via Expo 2020’s social media users, who were asked to select words that best represent Expo, its themes (opportunity, mobility and sustainability) and the UAE. Those words were then refined with a group of 30 young Emirati professionals, who made the final selection and decided where the script-based benches should be located on site.

“This project has been unique in many ways,” said Captan. “When it comes to my share of the contribution, the challenge was to answer the question: How can the Arabic words be relevant to the Expo site, readable, enjoyable as art pieces and functional, all at the same time?”

The word choices have been considered to reflect the districts they will be placed in and even the material they are made from. For example, the word for “vision” is see-through, and the bench for the word “dream” is made up of a series of hammocks.

In addition to serving as a resting place for guests to sit and interact with each other, Captan hopes that the benches will create a sense of pride in Arabic-speaking visitors.




The word choices have been considered to reflect the districts they will be placed in and even the material they are made from. Supplied

“I would like people to feel pride in the Arabic writing system, because to me, it is one of the most important contributions of Arab culture,” muses Captan, adding: “I hope they can appreciate our attempt at making the script contemporary, respectful to heritage and alive within a space where the world’s innovations are being exhibited.”

The Lebanese native reveals that she first developed an interest in typography when she was studying graphic design at the American University of Beirut between 2002 and 2006. “I understood that we had a big lack of Arabic fonts, and that the existing ones back then were either not well drawn or heavily westernized. And so I made it my life’s mission to make Arabic typefaces that are authentic and contemporary at the same time,” she said.




Captan hopes that the benches will create a sense of pride in Arabic-speaking visitors. Supplied

Her start, which she describes as “a slow brew” or “a long incubation” came during her fight against the technologies used to make fonts because they do not allow for the optimal rendering of Arabic.

Captan gained international recognition once she started speaking at international type conferences. She went on to receive a subsidy from the Creative Industry Fund NL in the Netherlands that allowed for the conception of her experimental typecases Falak ACE and Falak OTL after five years of work.

Captan counts the inception of her typefaces as one of her proudest career moments alongside seeing her students’ work after the first Arabic type design program and workshop in Beirut, co-founded by her and Arabic type designer Kristyan Sarkis.

She says: “I hope to make many more fonts that push some form of boundary, and to write about everything I’ve learned throughout the years so that future generations of type designers can do a much better job than me.”


Review: Cannes title ‘Everybody Loves Touda’ is a sparkling example of Nabil Ayouch’s work

Updated 15 sec ago
Follow

Review: Cannes title ‘Everybody Loves Touda’ is a sparkling example of Nabil Ayouch’s work

CANNES: Directed by Morocco’s Nabil Ayouch, Cannes Film Festival title “Everybody Loves Touda” is a compelling look at a single mother, Touda (an excellent Nisrin Erradi), who lives by the age-old dictum “never say die.”

Living in a small town, she is a bundle of music and mirth and her dances seem to bring cheer to her audience, but she soon faces unwanted attention.

The Cannes screening ended with a standing ovation, and Ayouch’s fourth outing at the festival seemed to garner far more audience appreciation than in earlier years. In 2012, his critically acclaimed drama “Horses of God” played in the Un Certain Regard section, which is second in importance to the main competition and is widely seen as a platform for experimental cinema. But Ayouch has also played in the In Competition section for the coveted Palme d’Or — his 2021 feature “Casablanca Beats,” the first title from Morocco since 1962 to vie for this honor, proved a sensation.

 Maryam Touzani and Nabil Ayouch attend the "Everybody Loves Touda" Photocall at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival. (Getty Images)

Like his other movies, Ayouch approaches “Everybody Loves Touda” with fascinating realism that at times may appear a little too harsh. Having written the script with Mayam Touzani (“The Blue Caftan”), Ayouch may have given us formulaic fare, but he infuses Touda with a kind of determination that is awesome. Striving to relocate to Casablanca, where her deaf son would have better schooling and she herself could find greater opportunities, Touda begins to sing in village nightclubs, bearing with a grin the lecherous gaze of men drunk with delusion.

This is not the first time that Ayouch puts women in such precarious positions. His 2008 “Whatever Lola Wants” talks about the trials of a postal worker in New York who dreams of becoming an Egyptian belly dancer, and “Much Loved” (which played at in the Director's Fortnight section) created a storm with its exploration of prostitution in Morocco.

Peppered with lively music (by Flemming Nordkrog), Touda croons folkloric songs on liberation and other forms of women’s rights. The actress’s gripping performance causes the narrative to sparkle —Erradi has a remarkable on-screen presence that makes the movie a joy to watch.


Lebanese designer Georges Chakra puts on a show at the Cannes Film Festival

Updated 39 min 47 sec ago
Follow

Lebanese designer Georges Chakra puts on a show at the Cannes Film Festival

DUBAI: Lebanese designer Georges Chakra is making a splash at the ongoing 77th Cannes Film Festival and has so far dressed a number of stars on the red carpet.

Australian actress Claire Holt hit the red carpet before the premiere of Kevin Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga” in an all-white gown by the designer.

The Georges Chakra Couture look was created from white satin and chiffon and featured pleated detailing across the hips and a dramatic chiffon shoulder train. The look hailed from the designer’s Spring/Summer 2024 collection.

Meanwhile, Tunisian actress Dorra Zarrouk attended the “Women in Cinema” gala dinner hosted by Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival in a white satin bustier gown with a satin cape encrusted with hand painted gold feathers from the label’s Fall/Winter 2023-2024 line.

Dorra Zarrouk in Georges Chakra. (Getty Images)

Finally, Chinese actress and model Crystal Zhang chose a Georges Chakra Couture gold sequined gown with a draped veil from the Spring/Summer 2024 collection to attend the Marie Claire China event which took place on the sidelines of the festival.

Holt showed off her choice at the premiere of Costner’s latest film on Sunday. “Horizon: An American Saga” sees the director return to his favorite Western genre with a three-hour film that is just the first of four mooted chapters.

Costner put millions of dollars of his own fortune into the decades-long passion project.

“At a certain moment I just said OK, I'm going to do this myself. And so I mortgaged property, I raised the money,” he told AFP at the festival.

The early reviews were mixed, with The Hollywood Reporter deriding it as a “clumsy slog” while British newspaper The Telegraph said it was “earnest yet hopeful... (and) perhaps its full grandeur won't be fully realized until part two.”

Costner says he is unconcerned about risking his money.

“If they take it away from me, I still have my movie. I still have my integrity. I still listened to my heart,” he said.

 


US comedian Jerry Seinfeld heckled by Pro-Palestinian supporter at standup show in Virginia

Updated 20 May 2024
Follow

US comedian Jerry Seinfeld heckled by Pro-Palestinian supporter at standup show in Virginia

DUBAI: Pro-Palestine protests disrupted US comedian-actor Jerry Seinfeld’s Saturday night comedy set in Norfolk, Virginia, resulting in one protestor being escorted out of the venue.

Seinfeld has been vocal in his support for Israel following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack. The comedian also met with families of the hostages and visited a kibbutz during a trip to Israel in December.

In videos posted online, Seinfeld’s show can be seen being interrupted by a man who stood in the crowd and yelled toward the comedian that he was “a genocide supporter.”

Another video posted to Instagram shows the individual yelling, “Save the children of Gaza,” “No more American tax dollars for genocide” and “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Seinfeld responded to the heckler, later joking, “This is exciting. I like this.”

Last week, several students walked out of Duke University’s commencement ceremony to protest Seinfeld speaking at the event.


‘Goodbye Julia’ wins big at Critics Awards for Arab Films in Cannes

Updated 19 May 2024
Follow

‘Goodbye Julia’ wins big at Critics Awards for Arab Films in Cannes

DUBAI: Sudanese first-time director Mohamed Kordofani’s “Goodbye Julia” won the best feature film and best screenplay awards at the eighth Critics Awards for Arab Films that took place on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

French-Tunisian composer Amin Bouhafa, who worked on “Hajjan,” won the best music award for the Saudi Arabia-based film. 

Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s hybrid docudrama “Four Daughters,” which missed out on the Best Documentary win at this year’s Academy Awards, scored three prizes: Best director for Ben Hania, best documentary and best editing.

Amjad Al-Rasheed’s “Inshallah a Boy” picked up the best actress prize for Palestinian star Mouna Hawa and best cinematography for Kanamé Onoyama.

Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri nabbed the best actor prize for his role in “The Teacher” while Egyptian filmmaker Morad Mostafa’s “I Promise You Paradise” came out on top in the best short film category.

The awards ceremony is organized by the Cairo-based Arab Cinema Centre (ACC) and winners are voted on by 225 critics from more than 70 countries.  


Saudi Arabia’s RSIFF hosts ‘Women in Cinema’ gala in Cannes

Updated 19 May 2024
Follow

Saudi Arabia’s RSIFF hosts ‘Women in Cinema’ gala in Cannes

  • Rosie Huntington Whitley, Richard Gere, Minnie Driver, Alexa Chung, Uma Thurman and Eiza González attended the event, among other international celebrities

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) hosted the “Women in Cinema” Gala in partnership with Vanity Fair Europe in Cannes on Saturday, attracting celebrities from across the world.

Richard Gere poses with Mohammed Al-Turki. (Ammar Abd Rabbo)

The glitzy gala dinner took place after RSIFF presented the “Women in Cinema” panel discussion during the Variety Global Conversations event earlier in the day.

The panel featured Egyptian actress and model Salma Abu Deif, Indian actress Kiara Advani,  Thai actress, model and singer Sarocha Chankimha (also known as Freen), Saudi actress Adhwa Fahad, Saudi singer and actress Aseel Omran, and French-Senegalese director Ramata Toulaye-Sy. The talents spoke about their early beginnings, their career breakthroughs and their sources of inspiration during the panel talk.

Aseel Omran pictured at the event. (Ammar Abd Rabbo)

Those stars and many more attended the evening’s festivities at the iconic Hotel Du Cap.

“The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” actress Eiza González, model Ikram Abdi, supermodel Naomi Campbell and actress Dorra Zarrouk were among the star-studded guest list.

Rosie Huntington Whitley, Richard Gere, Minnie Driver, Raya Abirashed, Alexa Chung, Wallis Day, Lucas Bravo and Uma Thurman also attended the event. 

Yousra attended the event in Cannes. (Ammar Abd Rabbo)

“The Red Sea International Film Festival (#RedSeaIFF) and Vanity Fair Europe reunited to host the #WomenInCinema Gala, championing the achievements of rising female talent on both sides of the camera who are reshaping the film industry in Saudi Arabia, Africa, Asia and the Arab world,” the Red Sea Film Foundation posted on Instagram.

Saudi Arabia is playing a key role at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, having supported four projects that are screening at the event.

Eva Longoria and Eiza González snap a selfie. (Ammar Abd Rabbo)

“Norah,” “The Brink of Dreams,” “To A Land Unknown” and “Animale” will screen as part of the Un Certain Regard, Directors’ Fortnight and Critic’s Week programs at Cannes. The Red Sea Film Foundation supported the projects through the Red Sea Fund and the Red Sea Souk.

RSIFF CEO Mohammed Al-Turki has been spotted on multiple red carpets throughout the event so far and walked the opening night’s red carpet alongside Jomana Al-Rashid, CEO of the Saudi Research and Media Group.