Last Days of Summer

“Some days in late August at home are like this, the air thin and eager like this, with something in it sad and nostalgic and familiar...”

―William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury

Greetings from a cloudy and slightly wet Lido, Venice. I’m here for the Venice Film Festival, and so far so good. Will share more about this trip another time.

I missed my own deadline to write and send the July edition of my newsletter. Before the month of August ends, and to avoid an even bigger broken promise I made to myself of a monthly newsletter, I’m sharing this, let’s call it an end of summer edition. It’s a summary of things I’ve been up to, most I’ve already written about on my blog, so you can click on the relevant links below to read more if you’re interested.

Side note: This newsletter was written between film screenings on my iPad, so please excuse any typos or formatting issues.

I made a new video essay in June, a result of a mini-residency in London which took place between June 9-13, organised by the Arab British Centre and SAFAR Film Festival. Eight of us were selected from an open call, and we spent a week attending talks, researching and discussing the legacy of Arab film stars, with the aim of making a series of new video essays about an Arab star of our choice and screening them as part of the festival programme.

It was led by multidisciplinary artist, designer and educator Bahia Shehab in collaboration with scholars Dr Stefanie Van de Peer and Dr Kaya Davies Hayon, inspired by their recently published book, Transnational Arab Stardom.

Our videos were screened on June 15 at The Garden Cinema followed by a discussion and Q+A. Mine is about Faten Hamama (1931-2015), known as The Lady of Arab Cinema for her depiction of demure yet strong female characters. Titled Faten Hamama’s Kiss, a line from one of the chapters in the book, it showcases kissing scenes from a selection of her filmography, and her representation of a woman that desires and is desired in Arab cinema. You can read more about it and the other video essays here.

We are now working on finding other venues or online platforms to share our work. If anyone reading this is interested please reach out. 

That same week I also attended the 2nd edition of BFI Film on Film Festival, but missed most of the daytime screenings because of the residency. I wrote a roundup here.

Watching the 1989 pilot episode of Twin Peaks on 35mm followed by talk with Kyle MacLachlan was my top highlight. Another highlight was A Day in the Country (Jean Renoir, 1946) which has been on my cinema wish list for a long time. Seeing it on a 35mm nitrate print made it an even more special screening.

Also in June, I went to Bologna for Il Cinema Ritrovato. This is a festival that I never want to take for granted and always happy to attend. A pleasurable week of cinema history and discoveries, enjoying delicious meals and ice cream with friends. Although there was a bit of stress this year. Also, Dubai Chocolate… More here.

The film programme I curated for Jameel Arts Centre titled Jameel’s Summer Cinema: in collaboration with The Culturist Film Club took place on alternative Saturdays between between June and August and was very well attended. The audience’s engagement with the films, the post screening discussions and the overall feedback was immensely satisfying.

One of the screenings, however, exceeded my expectations - In Memory of David Lynch. It had the highest turnout, and the reactions and feedback were extremely moving. I invited Rebecca Crookshank (artist, playwright and screenwriter) to join me for this event. We made a selection of works by and about David Lynch that I turned into a 75 min montage to screen that night, followed by a discussion between us and the audience. It was such a rewarding and fun collaboration and I hope we can work together again soon.

More about that night and the three other screenings, plus more photos and a playlist I made for each night are on my blog.

Jasmine Soliman, Jon Burr and I returned to 421 Arts Campus in Abu Dhabi for a second Collected Histories event where we showed four short films, followed by a talk and workshop. We had a good turnout, and another lovely session where attendees brought an object from their personal archives and shared why it’s important to them, and for some we discussed ways to preserve / document these objects.

Other summer in Dubai highlights:

Night Beach - Since the summer of 2023, we’ve had three beaches in Dubai that are open at night, with lifeguards on duty and floodlights that brighten up the area including the water, so we’re not swimming in the dark. It was my first time going this year and I strongly recommend it, but not on weekends - too crowded. It’s a rare Dubai outing for me where I don’t spend money, get annoyed at anyone, and the sea water temperature is near perfect.

View of the ocean from the 32nd floor of Atlantis Royal on Palm Jumeirah.

Bowling with nephews.

Watching live music at Raw Music Store.

Watching season 3 of And Just Like That… on Friday mornings, after they are aired in the US the night before. The finale made me tear up. I believe I’m in the minority who think it made sense. I wrote why here.

Visited a few exhibitions. Whilst there are many exhibitions to visit in white cube spaces, ie commercial art galleries, I listed the ones that interested me here, a few were good, but most have been underwhelming, and a reminder that Dubai still lacks options when it comes to art museums.

Trying new restaurants with friends.

Cinema outings - you can read more here and here.

Watching lots of Hollywood classics at home. A great way to end the day.

There’s a lot to be angry at right now, but for now feeling thankful for people and things that bring joy to my life, that help me cope, and to make sense of it all.