DHAHRAN: Saudi filmmakers of the future were given a masterclass in the latest animation techniques as part of the Saudi Film Festival this week.
The animation workshops were led by experts from the US as part of a collaboration between the festival and the American Chamber of Commerce and US Consulate in Dhahran.
The animation workshops were led by experts from the US as part of a collaboration between the festival and the American Chamber of Commerce and US Consulate in Dhahran. (Supplied)
Todd Albert Nims, one of the pioneers in shaping the Saudi film industry over the past decade, told Arab News that with a population of 36 million, many under 35, Saudi Arabia is ripe with potential in the film sector.
Nims, an American who was born and raised in Dhahran, is now head of the AmCham Arts, Culture and Entertainment Committee, and has been involved in all aspects of Saudi-centered films, from acting to producing.
“I went to the first Saudi Film Festival in 2008 and worked with them on bringing the Saudi Film Festival into Ithra … I was there with them, and I’ve been here within this journey for the last 16 years,” he said.
Nims said that many Saudis grew up watching Disney films, and began their filmmaking efforts creating short content on YouTube.
He said there is huge potential for the Saudi market to grow, adding that he wanted to offer young filmmakers the opportunity to “gain expertise right in their backyard.”
Travis Blaise, who has over three decades of experience in animation, and has worked on Disney classics such as “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King,” was on hand to conduct a five-day workshop.
“I was brought on to bring something new and unique to this Saudi Film Festival, which was bringing storytelling, or visual storytelling, to script,” he told Arab News.
Together with fellow American William Winkler, Blaise dedicated each day to bringing the overall picture to life, sketching ideas, developing the story structure, and even discuss the backstory of characters.
The goal was for each student to develop their own 30-second script. The workshop began with 11 students, but the figure soon ballooned to 20.
“Every single student was Saudi; most of them were women from several universities, while a couple were already professionals working in the industry,” Blaise said.
“I love the excitement and passion that they (the Saudi students) share because I have shared that same passion for the last 34 years, and the fact that I can bring something of my own experience to someone who is passionate and open-minded and willing to learn about film really is exciting,” he said.
The experts told Arab News that they are committed to building connections between the US and Saudi film industries, recognizing its potential to inspire, educate, and entertain audiences both domestically and internationally.
“Through filmmaking, we aim to strengthen ties between the US and Saudi Arabia by fostering mutual understanding and creative collaboration,” Alison Dilworth, the US deputy chief of mission, told Arab News.
French artist produces rich portrayals of Saudi history, culture
Joel Alessandra sheds light on his artistic adventures in the Kingdom
Updated 01 June 2024
Nada Hameed
JEDDAH: Joel Alessandra, the renowned French comic book artist, travelled through Saudi Arabia recently so that he could portray the nation’s rich culture and heritage.
Known for his innovative use of coffee and watercolors in his drawings, Alessandra’s visit was facilitated by the French Embassy and the Alliance Francaise Saudi Arabia.
Having visited Riyadh, Alkhobar and AlUla, Alessandra found himself captivated by the charm of Al-Balad, Jeddah’s old town.
“This part of the city of Jeddah is the one that inspired me the most. We feel the atmosphere of a time when pilgrims stopped here, we perceive this fervent activity, there is an atmosphere of a centuries-old tradition that is still palpable,” Alessandra told Arab News.
The ancient architecture was a rich source of inspiration for his sketches, including the patina-covered walls and the intricate doorways. Alessandra’s drawings during his days in Jeddah aimed to capture the essence of Al-Balad's vibrant past and present.
He also held a live performance in Jeddah, where he recreated scenes from Al-Balad, offering spectators a glimpse into his artistic process.
“The subject was an improvised walk in Al-Balad, based on my sketches from the afternoon, I reproduced them in watercolor on the screen. Scenes of life in the street, buildings from past centuries, mosque minarets from the neighborhoods you pass through,” he said.
For Alessandra, travel serves as a constant wellspring of inspiration. Drawing from his experiences across Africa, he said “it is the atmosphere and the people of a country that shape my way of drawing, my real inspiration is taken on the ground.”
Reflecting on his recent visit to the Kingdom, Alessandra said he was amazed by Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning cultural scene and the enthusiasm for artistic expression among its youth.
While Alessandra’s sketches convey a deep appreciation for Saudi Arabia’s cultural heritage, he shies away from conveying explicit messages.
“I just want to convey the emotion felt in front of all the incredible and immensely rich cultural, architectural, and historical heritage. I am lucky to know how to draw and show this emotion through my sketchbooks and my books ... I hope that my readers will also be sensitive to it,” he said.
He said AlUla left him in awe.
“It would be difficult to forget the fascination AlUla had on me. The Nabataean tombs, just imagining a vibrant life there, in the middle of the desert, at this ancient time is simply incredible.
“Also imagining that the Roman Empire pushed its armies so far from Italy is inconceivable.
“But also the old town with its shaded and covered streets. It is a paradise to inspire designers,” he said.
Joel Alessandra
Last year, he ventured out to sketch in the streets of AlUla with female students from the local art school.
“This moment is engraved in my memory as these students were attentive and wanted to produce and learn how to draw their environment. I’m not sure I’ve ever encountered such a desire among young people in other countries.”
His use of coffee as a medium adds depth and richness to his artwork, capturing the nuances of skin tones and desert landscapes.
During his stay in Jeddah, he conducted workshops focusing on the Francophonie, bringing together students from various schools to collaborate on a work of fiction through text and drawings.
Engaging French school students in a collaborative storybook project, Alessandra explored a fictionalized journey of Muslim traveler Ibn Battuta in modern-day Arabia. Through writing and drawing, students reimagined Ibn Battuta’s adventures, blending elements of history and fantasy.
“The quest for a key to access the door of time and allow Ibn Battuta to return to his century, it was very amusing to see how the young people translated this graphically,” Alessandra said.
On his growth as an artist, Alessandra said that constant practice was key, and to aspiring artists, he added: “Draw, draw, and draw some more.”
“Always have a drawing pad in your pocket and train your hand and mind every chance you get. While waiting for the bus, at the cafe, during TV commercials, take advantage of every free moment to scribble in this notebook, there are no issues, just a few lines for practice,” Alessandra added.
LAHORE: An Australian couple on a quest to drive from London to Melbourne in a 102-year-old car were forced to put the brakes on their journey because of an unlikely obstacle: Pakistan’s heat wave.
Langley Kidby, 77, and Beverley Kidby, 71, are veteran motor adventurists who have driven through over 80 countries and covered tens of thousands of miles on a journey that aims to emulate legendary Australian cyclist, adventurer and filmmaker Francis Birtles who became the first man in 1927 to drive from London to Melbourne.
The Kidbys were so committed to emulating Birtles they even bought the 1922 Bean car from a museum that the late Australian cyclist drove.
The husband-wife duo began their journey on April 1 and crossed Europe, driving from Turkiye to Iran from where they entered Pakistan through its southwestern Balochistan province. The plan was to drive all the way to Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore and then travel onwards to India through the Wagah border.
But the scorching temperature in Sukkur in the southern Sindh province threw a spanner in the works.
Temperatures have risen this month above 125.6 degrees Fahrenheit (52 degrees Celsius) in Sindh, the highest reading of the summer and close to the country’s record high amid an ongoing heat wave.
“When we crossed into Pakistan, we had a heatwave here and we had 55 degrees,” Langley told Arab News, explaining that the Bean did not have air conditioning. “And the car got very hot … So, it was a very, very grueling few days, all the way to Sukkur, and then on to Lahore.”
Beyond this point, the heat made it difficult to drive through Sibi city in Balochistan and Sukkur in Sindh and the couple decided to have the car towed from Sukkur to Lahore via a truck from where it will continue the journey onwards to India, Malaysia, Singapore and then finally back to Australia. ‘FANTASTIC PEOPLE’
Mohsin Ikram, the president of the30-year-old Vintage and Classic Car Club of Pakistan (VCCCP) that pays homage to “automobiles of a bygone era,” was the chief coordinator for the Australian couple’s car ride across Pakistan.
Speaking to Arab News, Ikram said his organization was affiliated with the Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens (FIVA), the worldwide federative association of historic automobile clubs.
“So FIVA got in touch with me and said this couple wants to do this journey and Pakistan is on their route,” Ikram told Arab News. “But they are a bit concerned about people advising them not to go.”
Ikram assured the couple they would remain safe on their journey through Pakistan and sure enough, the Kidbys leave Pakistan today, Friday, as happy customers.
“Oh, it’s fantastic, these are some of the friendliest people we’ve ever met,” Beverley said. “That to me is the best part of the trip, meeting the people and finding out how welcoming and lovely they are.”
She said the couple traveled with security and were escorted at different locations by the paramilitary Levies forces, army and police until they arrived in Lahore.
The couple were also all praise for Pakistani mechanics.
“In several countries, we found mechanics who can fix almost anything at all and because we can’t get spare parts for this car, so they make some spare parts for us,” Langley said. “And we found this in Iran, we found this in Pakistan, very, very smart mechanics.”
Sitting next to her husband as they drove off once again in Lahore, Beverley said she would take a positive message about Pakistan wherever she went in the future.
“I would like to recommend [to other foreigners] to come here and see for themselves what a wonderful country it is and the people, how friendly they are,” she said.
Ikram urged the government to review its policies on tourism.
“If [the government] can make things easier [and safer] for them,” he said, “we can raise motoring tourism by such a large amount, Pakistan can benefit a lot from this.”
New book shines light on life — and death — of Abdullah bin Saud Al-Saud
UK historian’s ‘The Imam, the Pasha and the Englishman’ reveals details of meeting between Al-Saud and the Ottoman governor of Egypt
Updated 31 May 2024
Iain Akerman
DUBAI: In April 1818, Ottoman forces under the leadership of Ibrahim Pasha — the eldest son of the Ottoman governor of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha — began to lay siege to Diriyah. The culmination of a seven-year campaign against the Saudis, the siege would result in the defeat of the First Saudi State.
Saudi forces resisted for six months before Abdullah bin Saud Al-Saud, the fourth and final ruler of the First Saudi State, sued for peace. In exchange for his surrender, he requested that Diriyah be spared. Instead the city was razed to the ground, and he was sent to Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), where he was executed.
En route, he passed through Cairo, where he met his triumphant foe, Muhammad Ali Pasha, for the first and only time. Their meeting was witnessed by an Englishman called John Bowes Wright, a well-connected, politically attuned traveler. It is Wright’s previously unpublished account of their meeting that the historian Michael Crawford has drawn on for his book “The Imam, the Pasha and the Englishman,” which was released by Arabian Publishing earlier this month.
Engraving of Abdullah bin Saud by Louis Haghe published in 1834. (Supplied)
“I’ve always been interested in the fate of Imam Abdullah because he seemed to have been written out of a lot of the history, despite having been a champion of his people, his religion, and his country,” says Crawford.
Bowes Wright’s account of the meeting takes the form of a letter to his oldest friend and regular correspondent, Joseph Lamb, a Newcastle coal merchant. “There was a slight melancholy in his countenance but mixed with a firmness and dignity suited to his situation beyond anything I had ever witnessed,” wrote Bowes Wright of Abdullah bin Saud. “His dark visage was rather long and careworn; he wore a red shawl wrapped round his head, and a loose brown and white camlet robe, and in every respect appeared, as he was, a perfect Chief of the Desert.”
Not only does the letter provide a first-hand account of Abdullah bin Saud’s courage and composure, it enables a comparison with the narrative provided by Abd Al-Rahman Al-Jabarti, a renowned Egyptian historian who also recorded the meeting between the two rivals. While Bowes Wright’s letter reveals an acceptance of the reasoning of his Ottoman hosts, Al-Jabarti was more sympathetic to Abdullah bin Saud.
Early 20th century photograph of the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah. (Supplied)
Why was Bowes Wright present at the meeting? Arguably as a publicity stunt, Crawford suggests.
“I think Muhammad Ali thought, ‘Well, this is my big moment. The enemy I’ve been fighting for seven years has been defeated. I’m going to have my meeting with him. I want this publicized in Europe.’ There weren’t any journalists in those days, so I think he just said to the British representative (in Cairo), ‘Bring anybody along — any senior travelers who you might have staying — and they can witness the meeting.”
Central to the meeting was the question of treasures taken from the Prophet Muhammad’s tomb in Madinah in 1807, prior to Abdullah bin Saud’s reign. The Ottomans, particularly Sultan Mahmud II, wanted to know where the missing treasure was. Some of it, including emeralds, other jewels, and volumes of the Holy Qur’an, were returned by Abdullah bin Saud. The location of the rest remains a mystery.
The ruins of Diriyah, the first Saudi capital, viewed from the track to Riyadh in the early 20th century. (Supplied)
“Of course, ‘theft’ depends on who you believe owned them,” says Crawford. “The Ottomans obviously felt that they owned most of them, and the Saudis believed that they were there to serve religion and, if jihad needed funding, or the people needed money to just survive, then they could draw on those. And the interesting thing is that Al-Jabarti actually agreed with them — which is pretty remarkable really.”
Crawford, who was partly brought up in the Middle East and served for the UK government in Saudi Arabia between 1986 and 1990, wrote the book to shed light on a lesser-known period of the Kingdom’s history. He also wanted to draw attention to Abdullah bin Saud himself, whose execution has always troubled him.
“He was basically a soldier,” says Crawford. “His father (Saud bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud) was much more of a politician — one of those great men of the Middle East renowned for their generosity and extravagance. Everybody loved him and admired him and so on, but he was an extremely tough and authoritarian figure. I think Abdullah was perhaps less well-rounded; more of a soldier, much less of a politician. He perhaps didn’t understand how to keep the tribes on side and I think his strategy was probably wrong. He withdrew too quickly back into Najd and I don’t think he had the same kind of hold over people that his father had. But he was brave and he absolutely did his best.”
Muhammad Ali Pasha by Auguste Couder. (Supplied)
Could the outcome have been different? Could the First Saudi State have survived?
“Given how extended Ottoman supply lines and logistics were, if he’d managed to keep the major tribes on side then I think he could have stalled the Ottomans at Qasim, or even before Qasim,” Crawford suggests. “But he didn’t manage to keep them on side and, of course, many of the tribes were rather flattered by Muhammad Ali’s attentions. They were given shawls and cloaks and swords and all the gifts that he needed to give. It’s all recorded in Egyptian documents. If (Abdullah bin Saud) had been a bigger personality, or more generous, or had a greater grip on people’s imaginations, as his father did, maybe the state would have survived for longer. But ultimately, the Egyptian machine had much bigger resources and Muhammad Ali and Ibrahim, as a combination, were fairly brutal.”
The Al-Saud Palace in Diriyah - photo taken in 1937. (Supplied)
Crawford’s interest in the Kingdom’s history began when studying at Oxford under the British-Lebanese historian Albert Hourani. “Nobody wrote about it,” he says. “Everybody wrote about the Levant. It was all about Cairo and Damascus and Baghdad and the great metropolises, and no one wrote about Saudi Arabia. Indeed, there was a rather sniffy attitude to the history of the Arabian Peninsula: ‘There’s not much there, there’s no material.’ And actually, that’s not true. There is a phenomenal amount of material, just no one had really focused on it apart from George Rentz and (Harry St John Bridger) Philby, whose books were completely unreadable.”
If nothing else, Crawford hopes his book will encourage a deeper understanding of the Kingdom’s history.
“I do think it’s important that people should have some sort of grasp of where the country has come from. I’ve been writing Saudi history since 1982 — somewhat specialized, I admit — but this was a chance to try and bring some of it alive.”
DUBAI: Here are five highlights from ‘Gracefulness of Daily Life’ at Ziddoun Bossuyt in Dubai.
Halla Bint Khalid
This non-selling group show, which runs until June 8, consists of work by artists coming out of Gharem Studio in Riyadh, a non-profit organization founded by one of the Kingdom’s most celebrated artists, Abdulnasser Gharem, and co-owned by Halla Bint Khalid, also an artist. According to the show brochure, Bint Khalid uses her work to “pose questions, encourage self-awareness and challenge limiting societal norms.” This drawing, “Domestication,” comes from her series “In the Fine Print,” which, the brochure states, “attempts to shine a light on daily issues that have been normalized by the patriarchal narrative (and that) ultimately dehumanize, oppress, and limit every member of the family.”
Sumayah Fallatah
The Alkhobar-born, Riyadh-based photographer uses her work to explore “themes such as race and its representation in the Arab world. She also delves into her cultural identity as a third-generation Saudi Arabian-Nigerian, examining her family’s migration history and the integration of Saudi culture with their Nigerian identity.” The series to which these images belong, “Say Mon Dawo II”(Till We Return II) “reconstructs a long history of Hausa migration to Saudi Arabia due to colonial impact and the desire to protect their Islamic identity” and “embodies characters from various phases of the migratory assimilation.”
Abdulnasser Gharem
As well as being the founder of his eponymous studio, Gharem is also co-founder of the seminal social enterprise Edge of Arabia. Much of his work is informed by his time as an army officer, and he often uses rubber stamps of the kind used for administrative paperwork around the world as a tool, as in this piece, “Caged Humanity,” created in 2022. In the press release for this show, Gharem expresses his hope that it will prove “studios are places through which you discover the intelligence of cities. Artists strive to rationalize the world of their daily lives, constantly looking towards the future through imaginative eyes.”
Aljan Gharem
Abdulnasser’s younger brother has also attracted international acclaim. The installation pictured here, “Paradise Has Many Gates,” won the Jameel Prize in 2021, and was exhibited at the Vancouver Biennale in 2018. It is a mosque made of steel tubes and chicken wires. As such, it “immediately provokes anxiety,” the brochure states, “as it (recalls) the architecture of border fences and detention centers.” It continues: “For Gharem it is a broader metaphor for Islamophobia and the prison of identity — hundreds of thousands of Muslims are imprisoned for their beliefs worldwide — and for the dangers of religious ideology.”
Haitham Alsharif
The Riyadh-born photographer’s work focuses on “documenting the social shift in Saudi Arabia and observing the new changes and conversations that are held in his community.” His series “The Social Shift,” from which this image — “Jawaher” — is taken, is “based on ethnographic observations and conversations with individuals and communities … telling stories about subjects changing in Saudi Arabia, including … self-representation and expression, lifestyle, occupation, and more.”
Ajinet Mariam is a peaceful bistro serving the best of Lebanese cuisine.
It has two branches in Saudi Arabia — in U-Walk Jeddah and Park Avenue Mall in Riyadh.
The bakery is well-known for its delicious pies made with a special fresh dough. They have beef pesto curry served with pita bread, bakhla salad, as well as sujuk sausage mix. They also offer kofta pie with cheese and batata mahrousa, or potato pie with mozzarella cheese.
They also serve refreshing juices such as orange and pomegranate.
Kale salad, mixed-cheese mashrouha, kashkaval cheese mashrouha, and Mariam Moutabal are other favourites.
They serve delicious hot mezze dishes such as manti, sujuk, and pesto ras asfour. There are plenty of vegan options at the restaurant.
They also have kashta bel kashta, a cream-based delicacy, and karabig fingers — pistachio shortbread fingers served with a light meringue dip and topped with fine crushed pistachios and scented rose-petal jam.
All of the branches are large, with both indoor and outdoor areas and a terrific Lebanese music vibe. Prices are reasonable.
The restaurants are open from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.
You can order from the restaurant online through the Chefz app: their Instagram is @ajinetmariam.
