DUBAI: The Syrian director Feras Fayyad had his first encounter with the White Helmets just over four years ago. It was 2013, a barrel bomb had been dropped on the city of Aleppo and members of the search and rescue team were running in its direction with little regard for their own safety.
Shortly afterwards, in one of the worst explosions to hit the city, many of them lost their lives.
It was a moment that would shape Fayyad’s future. Amazed by their ability to turn such loss into the motivation to continue to search for life under the rubble, he began to contemplate the media’s portrayal of the civil war in Syria.
“At that time all the media were focusing on refugees, battles, wars and terrorism, but behind all of that there was a story of these men with their families who faced everything to stay,” Fayyad told Arab News. “They had a sense of responsibility toward their surroundings. They were running toward where they might lose their lives.
“In my mind, I wanted to catch how much this war destroyed the relationships inside families and how those families survived. What did they do, what made them keep saying and doing what they did, knowing that saving the lives of others might cause them to lose their own lives?”
The end result of that contemplation — “Last Men in Aleppo” — had its Middle East premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival, which wraps up on Dec. 16.
Shot in collaboration with Danish filmmaker Steen Johannessen, the documentary won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize in January and has been described by The Guardian as a “100-minute account of lives lived in hell.” Powerful, heartbreaking and immediate, it has won critical praise across the world.
Set in Aleppo after five years of war, it follows volunteers working for the White Helmets as they face a daily life-and-death struggle, scouring through rubble in search of bodies and signs of life.
Volunteers such as Khaled Omar Harrah, a father who will do anything to save his two daughters; Mahmoud, who feels guilty because his brother Ahmad already volunteers for the civil defense unit, so joins himself; and Abu Youssef and Nagieb, who will try everything to make sure their best friend Khaled survives.
“These kinds of relations between the characters drove me to another level, where I discovered how those people survive and what motivates them to keep doing what they do,” Fayyad said. “The cohesion of social relations was immeasurably strong, contrary to what I thought — that is, that society would disintegrate as a result of war and devastation. But I found that what made these people survive was to hold on to their relationships. It’s a story about fatherhood, brothers, friendship and love.”
Produced collaboratively by Larm Film in Copenhagen and the Aleppo Media Center (AMC), Last Men in Aleppo was shot between September 2015 and autumn 2016.
For years the AMC had filmed civilians being bombed — uploading the footage to CNN, Reuters and YouTube — and acted as reporters in front of the camera. It was a method that co-director Johannessen said they had grown tired of, mainly due to its ineffectiveness in raising international awareness. So they teamed up to try to tell their stories in a longer format.
Understandably, making a film in a city under aerial bombardment proved harrowing, while the co-directors also needed to assuage the fears of two of the main characters that the film was not about them seeking personal fame.
“It’s hard to explain how dangerous it was, but whoever watches the film will see the madness and irrationality that surrounded us,” said Fayyad, who was tortured and imprisoned by the Syrian regime during the early days of the war. “Where the city literally burned, the sounds of death (besieged) us at every moment. But what was impressive was the adherence of the citizens of Aleppo to life and resistance and survival.
“We were able to capture the most impressive moments of the meaning of love of life and strong adherence to human values, which was a compass for our characters and for the survival of the population.”
As the aerial bombardment intensified, filming was occasionally abandoned, while those filming would sometimes drop their cameras and become rescue workers themselves.
Filming was particularly difficult for Fayyad, who was born and raised in Syria, but was forced to flee the country in 2012, heading first to Jordan and then on to Turkey, before relocating to Copenhagen. He first started working on Last Men in Aleppo while in Turkey.
“Some ideas can cost you your life,” said Fayyad, who had to slip in and out of Aleppo during filming. “This is how difficult it was for my cinematographers and me to bring this idea to life. But during the shooting we would look at how our characters faced challenges bigger than their abilities as humans for the sake of one idea — to save the lives of people. The people of their homeland, the people who know them.
“This in itself was for me a great motivation to think more about what can be done through art and what my mission as an artist was in front of all these challenges. My observations of the difficulties of the characters’ internal conflicts, where they have to decide between their personal and their families’ safety and their humanitarian duty toward those who believe in it, turned into questions in the film. Questions about the value of art in wartime and what it can do or change (also arose), as well as how it can be a testimony to history (and) space for them to express their desires and internal conflicts.”
In his absence, the cinematographers would continue to film, with the footage smuggled out of the country electronically. “For sure, one of our heroes on this film is the IT guy who worked hard and long to protect my footage,” said Fayyad, who has received several threats since the release of the film. As a result, he never lets it be known where he is living or where he is going.
At the Dubai International Film Festival, Last Men in Aleppo was among 18 films selected for this year’s Muhr Feature competition. Others include Lucien Bourjeily’s “Heaven without People,” Kurdish director Sahim Omar Kalifa’s “Zagros,” Iraqi filmmaker Mohamed Jabrah Al-Daradji’s “The Journey,” and Annemarie Jacir’s “Wajib.”
“This experience changed me a lot as a moviemaker and as a human being,” Fayyad said. “We made this film as a testimony to the history of our region. A testimony to war crimes that may someday be used as criminal documents to bring war criminals to justice.”
‘Last Men in Aleppo’ director sheds light on making a movie in a war zone
‘Last Men in Aleppo’ director sheds light on making a movie in a war zone
Saudi Film ‘Hajjan’ wins 6 nominations at Critics Awards for Arab Films
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia-based film “Hajjan,” directed by Egyptian filmmaker Abu Bakr Shawky, is nominated for six categories at the eighth Critics Awards for Arab Films.
The movie is competing in the best feature film, best screenplay, best actor, best music, best cinematography and best editing categories.
“Hajjan” tells the story of Matar, a boy who embarks on a journey across the desert with his camel, Hofira.
The movie is a co-production between the Kingdom’s King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, or Ithra, and Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy’s Film Clinic.
The movie, which is written by Omar Shama from Egypt and the Kingdom’s Mufarrij Almajfel, stars Saudi actors Abdulmohsen Al-Nemer, Ibrahim Al-Hsawi, among others.
The awards ceremony, scheduled for May 18 on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival, is organized by the Arab Cinema Center in Cairo and assessed by a panel of 209 critics representing 72 countries.
Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s inaugural feature film, “Goodbye Julia,” and Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania’s Oscar-nominated documentary, “Four Daughters,” scored nominations in seven categories.
Jordanian filmmaker Amjad Al-Rasheed’s “Inshallah A Boy” and Palestinian-British director Farah Nabulsi’s “The Teacher” have six nominations.
REVIEW: Sofia Boutella’s heroic efforts can’t save ‘Rebel Moon — Part Two’
DUBAI: “Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire” drew scathing reviews (our writer described it as perhaps “the most discombobulating collection of mismatched sci-fi tropes ever committed to film”). “Part Two: The Scargiver” simply adds to that legacy.
The story: Former Imperium soldier Kora and the surviving band of ragtag warriors she’s recruited return to the moon of Veldt — home to simple farming folk in danger of being blown to bits by the mighty Imperium for failing to supply the unreasonable grain quota demanded of them. With just a few days before the deadline, Kora and her band must train the villagers to fight (and harvest the grain in just three days to provide a bargaining chip). What Kora doesn’t know is that Admiral Noble, the bad guy she ‘killed,’ is still alive. And bent on vengeance.
Before the enemy arrives, the warriors tell their life stories in a trust-building exercise — one of the clunkiest pieces of exposition ever written. There are slow-mo shots of the harvest gathering and a brief interlude to show that Kora and farmer Gunnar are very much in love.
Then, thankfully, we’re into the battle(s). Here, at least, director Zack Snyder doesn’t disappoint, even giving an original twist to the ‘spaceship plummeting from the sky’ trope by staging a showdown between Kora, Gunnar and Admiral Noble on a floor that becomes increasingly vertical. Below them, the villagers fight heroically against odds very much stacked against them, even with the help of Nemesis and her two flaming definitely-not-lightsabers.
The well-constructed battle scenes, though, aren’t enough. Not even with a cast fighting as heroically as the villagers to salvage something. Sofia Boutella, as Kora, emerges with most credit, proving herself a convincing action hero who deserves better than this material to work with (spoiler alert: perhaps even material that allows the heroine to kill the bad guy herself, without the intervention of her boyfriend).
Yes, no one’s sitting down to watch an “epic space opera” in the expectation of thought-provoking dialogue, but “Rebel Moon” is like the result of forcing a seven-year-old to watch all things “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” in random order, then asking them to write down what happened. The best thing to say about “The Scargiver” is that it finishes — but even that comfort is tainted by Snyder’s cynical setting up of a potential part three. Possibly because that seven-year-old fell asleep before writing an actual ending.
Saudi Arabian history on display at Abu Dhabi Book Fair
- Selections from London-based rare-book dealer Peter Harrington’s offering at the UAE fair
‘Ibn Saud press photograph’
According to notes from rare books specialists from Peter Harrington’s team, this image from archives of The Times newspaper was taken in what was then called Hejaz, following a “critical and secretive meeting between (founder of Saudi Arabia) Ibn Saud (center) and the British representative Sir Gilbert Clayton (left) — one of a pivotal series of negotiations which led to the Treaty of Jeddah in May 1927.” The two discussed “various outstanding questions affecting the relations of the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd with the neighboring states of Iraq and Transjordan” to help determine the northern borders of Saudi Arabia. “Discussions over the borders were protracted and complex, with the towns of Maʿan and Kaf the object of particularly intense debate,” the notes state.
‘Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Mecca’ by Richard F. Burton
In this three-volume first edition, complete with illustrations, of “one of the most extraordinary travel narratives of the 19th century,” the British explorer, writer and polyglot Richard Francis Burton recounts his Hajj journey, made “in complete disguise as a Muslim native of the Middle East” at a time when fewer than half-a-dozen Europeans had made the pilgrimage — forbidden to non-Muslims. “It surpassed all preceding Western accounts of the holy cities of Islam, made Burton famous, and became a classic of travel literature, described by T. E. Lawrence as ‘a most remarkable work of the highest value,’” the team from Peter Harrington note. In Makkah, Burton performed all the rites of the pilgrimage and his subterfuge remained undiscovered.
‘Map and Overview Presenting the Hejaz Railway Route’
This map from 1903 depicts the route of the ambitious Hejaz Railway project. It “depicts a very broad area, extending from just north of Hama, Syria, all the way south a little way past Makkah, in the Hejaz; it covers most of Syria, all of Palestine, the Sinai Peninsula, the Suez Canal, and all the north-western Arabian Peninsula,” Peter Harrington’s rare book experts write. “It clearly delineates those parts of the railway that are in place and those under construction … with each station labelled. Additionally, it depicts the two alternative routes proposed for extending the line to Makkah, employing broken lines, while another line traces the proposed (but unrealized) route of a rail line from Makkah to Jeddah. The map also labels important roads and caravan routes.”
Four years after this map was published, the book seller’s notes state, the railway reached AlUla, which is not marked on this map, although Mada’in Salah (now Hegra) is, which today is the site of one of two museums dedicated to the Hejaz Railway.
By 1908, the railway had reached Madinah, where, the notes state, “for various political reasons, it had to be terminated.” Nevertheless, they continue, “until the outbreak of the First World War, it allowed hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to make the Hajj in safety and with relative ease.”
‘Material from the library of Peter O’Toole by T.E. Lawrence’
Billed by Peter Harrington as an “insightful archive, spanning Lawrence’s transformation from man of the moment to unwilling celebrity, from the library of Peter O’Toole, whose breakthrough portrayal in David Lean’s 1962 biopic still shapes perceptions of the famous Arabist. Autograph material from Lawrence is always highly prized, but rarely is its provenance so apposite.”
The centerpiece of the material is a photograph and an unpublished letter written by Lawrence (who became known as Lawrence of Arabia following his journeys across the Middle East, including modern-day Saudi Arabia), framed as a piece and gifted to the English actor who played Lawrence in the aforementioned biopic by his wife, Sian, and a friend not long before the premiere of the movie. The letter makes clear Lawrence’s difficult relationship with his celebrity, and is cutting about his own book, “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom,” saying that he did not own a copy himself (“No man yet has ever wanted to read his own book”) but that his mother and “little brother” did, “and that is plenty for the family. Nobody reads it: it is worth too much money. ... It is a rotten book, you know.”
‘Oil Region in the Desert of Saudi Arabia’
This 1950 image, “after a painting by the German artist Michael Mathias Kiefer,” is one of a series of geographical pictures intended for use in the curriculum of German schools. “The painting juxtaposes Arab figures in traditional garb with images of drilling rigs, a lorry, and oil storage tanks, creating a strikingly orientalist image,” Peter Harrington’s notes state. “In the middle of the composition, a pipeline bisects the image, a forceful reminder of the centrality of oil to the modern Saudi Arabian economy. In the foreground, members of a group of travelers, possibly intended to be Bedouins, rest on a carpet and let their camels drink from a water tank. Away in the background, before a distant oasis, more travelers arrive at a campsite, their camels heavily laden. Their destination is the oil infrastructure that crowds the right of the image.”
An enduring bond: A Jordanian photographer has turned his focus on two of the Arab world’s most beloved creatures
- Tariq Dajani’s first photographic exhibition of the horse and falcon series is on display at Ahlam Gallery in Al-Olaya, Riyadh
- Arabian horses have been the subject of songs and poetry praising their individual and physical qualities down through the ages
RIYADH: The Arabian horse and hunting falcon are important historical and cultural symbols for the Arab world, both ancient and modern.
Now a Riyadh gallery is highlighting this enduring bond with a series of portrait studies of both creatures by Tariq Dajani, a Jordanian photographer and printmaker.
Arabian horses have been the subject of songs and poetry praising their individual and physical qualities down through the ages.
However, Dajani, an owner of Arabians, chose to reflect his love of these creatures through photography and artworks.
Over the years he spent many sessions photographing horses in his native Jordan, as well as the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Later, toward the end of the project, he added the hunting falcon, another symbol of cultural heritage and pride among Arabs.
Dajani’s first photographic exhibition of the horse and falcon series is on display at Ahlam Gallery in Al-Olaya, Riyadh.
Entitled “Drinkers of the Wind,” the exhibition is the result of 16 years’ work creating portraits of these magnificent creatures.
Dajani told Arab News that he is delighted to be able to display his work in Saudi Arabia, “a country that is deeply connected to the horse and the falcon.”
Ahlam Gallery is the perfect place to showcase these artworks, he added.
Dajani’s treatment of his subjects is not in the usual natural or romantic manner. Instead, and this is partly what sets his art apart, he uses a studio portrait approach, where he takes his studio to the stables or falcon sheds, and spends time carefully working on portrait studies of the creatures.
“My aim is to find a connection of sorts with the horse or the birds,” he said. “I am not interested in documenting the creature; I try to go deeper, to express something emotionally if I can.
“I was living in Sweden when I decided to photograph the Arabian horse. So I had to return to the Middle East, and I started with Jordan, my home country.
“The way I approach the work is to present the horse on a backdrop where all my focus — and thus the viewers of the final picture — will be on the animal itself and not on the environment that it is in.”
While photographing in Jordan, Dajani met Princess Alia Al-Hussein, eldest daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan. He presented some of his work to her, and received her enthusiastic approval.
Princess Alia gave him permission to photograph the horses of the Royal Jordanian Stud, and has continued to support his work over the years, opening his first two exhibitions in Jordan.
“I had access to some of the most beautiful horses in Jordan when I first started my project. My first exhibition solely of Jordanian Arabians was a great success,” Dajani said.
“Encouraged by the reception, and by now totally absorbed in this project, I went to Dubai, then Abu Dhabi, then Saudi Arabia, where I was presented with some of the most magnificent Arabian horses to photograph. Along the way, I introduced portrait studies of the hunting falcon. They, too, are strikingly beautiful and have a special place in Arab culture and heritage.
“I will always remain very grateful to Princess Alia for her initial support, and to many others for encouraging the work and opening doors for me along the way.”
One of his most striking photographs shows two mares bringing their heads together in a gentle greeting.
“This incredible and totally unanticipated greeting happened while I was photographing at the King Abdulaziz Arabian Horse Center in Dirab, south of Riyadh. The two mares were led out onto my backdrop studio space from opposite sides, and when they approached each other, they gently and courteously touched their heads as if to say hello,” he said.
“It was so special. No one had ever witnessed this before. We all held our breath as we watched in amazement. I frequently think that it would be nice if these sensitive, clever creatures could teach us humans a little bit of gentleness and respect.”
Dajani’s exhibition features high-quality photographic color prints, and a smaller collection of photogravure prints, produced by manually pulling an inked metal plate, engraved with the photographic image, through a traditional printing press — a slow and difficult process that produces prints with a special feel and texture.
Moroccan director Asmae El-Moudir joins Cannes’ Un Certain Regard jury
DUBAI: The Cannes Film Festival announced on Thursday that Moroccan director, screenwriter and producer Asmae El-Moudir will be part of the Un Certain Regard jury at the 77th edition of the event, set to take place from May 14-25.
She will be joined by French Senegalese screenwriter and director Maïmouna Doucouré, German Luxembourg actress Vicky Krieps and American film critic, director, and writer Todd McCarthy.
Xavier Dolan will be the president of the Un Certain Regard jury.
The team will oversee the awarding of prizes for the Un Certain Regard section, which highlights art and discovery films by emerging auteurs, from a selection of 18 works, including eight debut films.
El-Moudir is the director of the critically acclaimed film “The Mother of All Lies.”
The movie took the honors in the Un Certain Regard section, as well as winning the prestigious L’oeil d’Or prize for best documentary at the festival in 2023. The film explores El-Moudir’s personal journey, unraveling the mysteries of her family’s history against the backdrop of the 1981 bread riots in Casablanca.
El-Moudir is not the only Arab joining the Cannes team.
Moroccan Belgian actress Lubna Azabal this week was appointed the president of the Short Film and La Cinef Jury of the festival. The La Cinef prizes are the festival’s selection dedicated to film schools.
