Indie band Juniper’s Club find their rhythm in Saudi Arabia

Debbi Francisco and Sean Fernandes of Juniper's Club. (Yousif Al-Sahhaf)
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Updated 13 June 2024
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Indie band Juniper’s Club find their rhythm in Saudi Arabia

  • The Bahrain-based indie outfit have built a fanbase in the Kingdom over the past two years and make their Riyadh debut later this month

ALKHOBAR: “It’s just across the border, but it’s a whole different world, right?” Debbi Francisco, the Filipino frontwoman of Bahrain-based band Juniper’s Club, told Arab News ahead of her group’s show at Alkhobar’s Bohemia Cafe & Records in early June.  

“The Saudi energy is different. While playing, I have the habit of always looking down. And then I look up and I’m like, ‘Wow, they’re actually staring at me.’ The Saudi fans really focus on you,” Francisco’s Indian bandmate, guitarist Sean Fernandes, added with a smile. 

Since the pair formed Juniper’s Club two years ago, they have performed many live shows in Saudi, all in Alkhobar. They love their mini tradition of driving across the King Fahd Causeway to perform. For their gigs, they are joined by John Goodwin on drums and Ryan James on bass.  

Francisco and Fernandes, both in their 20s, met in 2019, when they were both music instructors. “We realized we had a lot of things in common, musically,” Francisco said. “And we actually started a bunch of projects together, but, eventually, we were, like, ‘Yo. Why don’t we just do something with just the two of us?’” 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Their music seamlessly transitions from cutesy indie-pop to full-on rage-rock — but remains danceable, relatable, and sonically cohesive. Fernandes cites Coldplay as a major influence on his guitar playing and mentions Blink 182 and The Beatles as early favorites.  

“I actually started playing music very late. I didn’t play anything until I was 18,” he said. “My brother left his guitars behind when he went to college to pursue sound engineering. I had no siblings around, so I had a lot of free time. I picked up the guitar, and here I am.” 

Francisco, meanwhile, was brought up on gospel music. “That was my main reason for going to church as a kid, I would just watch musicians play,” she said. “I learned by watching people play live. I was also big on the Jonas Brothers — then I grew out of that and into Paramore. I started playing drums because of Paramore. I wanted to learn all their songs.” 

Growing up in Bahrain, neither of them ever ventured into Saudi Arabia. 

“Saudi was like a neighbor you’ve been wanting to say hi to for a long time, but you were a bit shy and they were a bit shy. And then one day they invite you to dinner,” Francisco said. “Now, we’re breaking bread and rocking out! Honestly, it’s such an honor to play in Saudi. Less than 10 years ago that wasn’t in the picture at all. It was almost impossible.” 

They’re now building a solid following in the Kingdom with their mix of indie-pop and alternative rock, featuring haunting, sometimes angsty, lyrics with melodic hooks. Live, their music is considerably heavier than on recordings.  

“We always try to make our shows as energetic and fun as possible,” Francisco said. “We want the crowd to have as much fun as we are. At its core, Juniper’s Club is just me and Sean, but it’s evolved into something else live; it becomes a Juniper’s Club club.” 

On June 28, Juniper’s Club will make their Riyadh debut at The Warehouse in the JAX District. 

“We also have an EP coming out, hopefully by the end of June,” Francisco said. “We’re going to introduce some of those new songs live. We’ve really revamped our setlist, so it might get a bit crazier than usual. It’s going to get loud.” 


Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival announces 2025 dates

Updated 17 February 2025
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Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival announces 2025 dates

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival has announced the dates for its fifth edition, with international celebrities set to touch down in Jeddah for the festival that will run from Dec. 4-13.

The event will take place at the film festival’s headquarters in Al-Balad, Jeddah.

Last year’s theme, “The New Home of Film,” celebrated the festival’s new headquarters Al-Balad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 2024 festival played host to more than 40,000 attendees and nearly 7,000 accredited guests, showcasing 122 films from 85 countries, including 61 premieres. A total of 302 screenings took place, with half of the films being world or international premieres, including 46 world premieres, 15 international premieres, and 53 MENA premieres.

The Al-Balad headquarters features five purpose-built cinemas and a large auditorium that hosted back-to-back screenings as well as In Conversation panels with celebrities.

Presided over by Spike Lee, the 2024 edition's two juries deliberated across 14 competition categories, with 16 feature films vying for top honors, alongside short films from the Arab world, Asia, and Africa featured in the New Saudi, New Cinema, and Arab Shorts programs.

Last year’s red carpet featured the likes of Emily Blunt, Aamir Khan, Mona Zaki, Viola Davis, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Other notable attendees included Michelle Yeoh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Johnny Depp, Yousra, Vin Diesel, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Cynthia Erivo, Brendan Fraser, Mohamed Sami, and more.


‘Conclave’ and ‘Brutalist’ share BAFTA honors as Anna Kendrick looks to Georges Chakra archive

Updated 17 February 2025
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‘Conclave’ and ‘Brutalist’ share BAFTA honors as Anna Kendrick looks to Georges Chakra archive

  • “Conclave”, which stars Ralph Fiennes as a cardinal corralling conniving clergy as they elect a new pope, was also named outstanding British film and took trophies for editing and adapted screenplay
  • US filmmaker Brady Corbet took the BAFTA for best director for “The Brutalist,” while leading man Adrien Brody scooped up the best actor gong

DUBAI/LONDON: Hollywood actress Anna Kendrick hit the red carpet at the 78th British Academy Film Awards in an archival look by Lebanese designer Georges Chakra on Sunday night in London.

Kendrick showed off a silk chiffon pleated gown adorned with bands of cascading black crystal fringe and a sweeping train from the designer’s Fall/Winter 2005-2006 couture collection at the BAFTAs.

Anna Kendrick showed off a look from Georges Chakra's Fall/Winter 2005-2006 couture collection. (Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Papal thriller “Conclave” and immigrant epic “The Brutalist” tied for top honors at the ceremony, with each film picking up four coveted gongs.
“Conclave,” directed by German-born Edward Berger, won the BAFTA for the best film with its tale of the intrigue and horse-trading behind the scenes during the election of a new pope.

Accepting the award, Berger recalled the journey to make the film took seven years, paying tribute to British screenplay writer Peter Straughan's “wonderful script” and lead actor Ralph Fiennes.

US filmmaker Brady Corbet took the BAFTA for best director for “The Brutalist”, while leading man Adrien Brody scooped up the best actor gong for his portrayal of a Hungarian Holocaust survivor and architect who emigrates to the United States.

Brody told a winners press conference that the film was “an opportunity for me to honor my own ancestral struggles.”

In “a film that speaks to tremendous cruelty and despicable behavior in our past... we see elements existing today that can guide us and remind us of that,” he added.

Veteran British actor Fiennes, who played a cardinal in “Conclave”, once again saw his hopes of winning a BAFTA gong dashed, losing out to Brody in the race for the honour.

Scandal-hit “Emilia Perez”, a surreal musical about a Mexican druglord, had been heavily favored at the beginning of the year. But it ended the evening with just two BAFTAs, including one for Zoe Saldana for best supporting actress.

Until last month, French director Jacques Audiard's movie had been expected to be a frontrunner having won 11 nominations.

But old racist and Islamophobic tweets by lead actor Karla Sofia Gascon surfaced at the end of January, shaking up the race just before the London ceremony and the Oscars on March 2.
 


Jordan’s Princess Iman welcomes first child

Updated 16 February 2025
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Jordan’s Princess Iman welcomes first child

DUBAI: Jordan’s Princess Iman bint Abdullah II and her husband, Jameel Alexander Thermiotis, have welcomed a baby girl, Princess Amina.

Queen Rania, the princess’s mother, took to social media to announce the news on Sunday.

“My darling Iman is now a mother. We’re grateful and overjoyed to meet Amina, our family’s newest blessing. Congratulations Jameel and Iman — may God bless you and your precious little girl,” she captioned the post.

This will be the second grandchild for Queen Rania and King Abdullah. Their first grandchild, born in August, is the daughter of Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah and Princess Rajwa Al-Hussein. She was named Iman in honor of her aunt.
 


Model Imaan Hammam turns curator of Arab art on Instgram

Updated 16 February 2025
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Model Imaan Hammam turns curator of Arab art on Instgram

DUBAI: Dutch-Moroccan-Egyptian model Imaan Hammam took to Instagram to announce the launch of her new archival project, Ayni, which will highlight significant contributions to Arab film, art, music and literature.

“Meet Ayni (@ayni.vault), an archive dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Arab artistic expression through ‘my eyes,’” Hammam captioned the post on Instagram.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Imaan Hammam (@imaanhammam)

“Follow along as I highlight some of the most significant contributions to Arab film, art, music, and literature — both old and new — and celebrate the talented artists behind them. This project holds such a special place in my heart, and I hope you enjoy it just as much as I enjoy curating it.”

Late last year, the model made waves when she delivered the opening remarks at the highly regarded Fashion Trust Arabia Awards’ sixth event, which took place in Marrakech, Morocco.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Imaan Hammam (@imaanhammam)

The 28-year-old went on stage in a gorgeous black kaftan from Moroccan designer Selma Benomar. The heavily embroidered look highlighted Moroccan artistry and design, and paid tribute to the country’s royal family.

“So honored to open this year’s @fashiontrustarabia Awards here in the motherland,” Hamman said on Instagram. “Celebrating Arab artistry in the place where my roots run deep made this experience truly special. Proud to uplift the creativity that makes our culture unique. A special thank you to @selma_benomar_caftan for designing this gorgeous Moroccan custom-made caftan.”

Although Hammam was born and raised in Amsterdam, her mother is from Morocco and she visits the country frequently.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Imaan Hammam (@imaanhammam)

Hammam is one of the most in-demand models in the industry. She was scouted in Amsterdam’s Centraal Station before making her catwalk debut in 2013 by walking in Jean Paul Gaultier’s couture show.  

Hammam has appeared on the runway for leading fashion houses such as Burberry, Fendi, Prada, Bottega Veneta, Marc Jacobs, Moschino, Balenciaga and Carolina Herrera, to name a few, and starred in international campaigns for DKNY, Celine, Chanel, Versace, Givenchy, Giorgio Armani, Tiffany & Co. and others.

Celebrity guests at the Fashion Trust Arabia ceremony included Emirati singer Balqees Fathi, British model Jourdan Dunn, Lebanese-British fashion entrepreneur Karen Wazen and American-Lebanese supermodel Nour Arida.


Stormzy’s ‘Free Palestine’ Instagram post was not deleted due to McDonald’s ad, sources tell British newspaper

Updated 15 February 2025
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Stormzy’s ‘Free Palestine’ Instagram post was not deleted due to McDonald’s ad, sources tell British newspaper

DUBAI: Sources close to British rapper Stormzy have said that the artist did not delete his previous Instagram post in support of Palestine due to last week’s advert with McDonald’s, according to Sky News.

Unnamed sources told the British news outlet that it “is simply not true” that the “archiving” of his Instagram post and the release of the McDonald's campaign are linked.

The initial Instagram post read: “1. Free Palestine. 2. In the future, if there is ever a clear injustice in the world no matter how big or small, 100 times out of 100 I will always be on the side of the oppressed. Unequivocally. As I always have been.”

According to Sky News, the deletion of the post was part of a “mass archiving effort” last year and not linked to his new advert, the sources said.

The 31-year-old grime artist from south London has come under fire for collaborating with McDonald’s, which has repeatedly been accused of supporting Israel since the start of the war in Gaza.

He launched the limited edition “Stormzy Meal” on Wednesday in the UK. In an advert, actors speaking in his voice order the new offering, consisting of nine chicken nuggets, fries, BBQ sauce, a Sprite drink and an Oreo McFlurry dessert.

McDonald’s has faced boycotts worldwide and been subjected to protests after it emerged that its Israel franchises gave thousands of free meals to members of the Israeli military and their relatives after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski previously condemned the boycotts as “disheartening and ill-founded,” saying they had harmed McDonald’s profits across the Middle East and elsewhere.

Franchise owners in Kuwait, Malaysia and Pakistan issued statements distancing themselves from the decision to hand out the free meals.

Fans responded to his McDonald’s collaboration critically, with one posting on social media that Stormzy is a “sellout.”

In an open letter to Stormzy, the UK-based  Peace and Justice Project  said his work with McDonald's is "hugely disappointing, especially given the musician's otherwise proud and solid record in supporting great causes and campaigns for social justice".

"We are therefore asking Stormzy to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their hour of need and respect the BDS committee's call for a global boycott of McDonald's by ending his new partnership with them," the group added. 

Kempczinski posted on LinkedIn in January 2024: “In every country where we operate, including in Muslim countries, McDonald’s is proudly represented by local owner-operators who work tirelessly to serve and support their communities while employing thousands of their fellow citizens.”

He added: “Our hearts remain with the communities and families impacted by the war in the Middle East. We abhor violence of any kind and firmly stand against hate speech, and we will always proudly open our doors to everyone.”