CAIRO: Nearly two years after the overthrow of autocrat Omar Bashir, Sudan is taking steps to rejoin the international community from which it was long shunned. That includes its film industry.
For the first time in its history, Sudan has a submission for the Academy Awards. Produced by a consortium of European and Egyptian companies but with a Sudanese director and cast, “You Will Die at Twenty” will compete in the Best International Feature Film category.
The story follows a young man whose death at the age of 20 is prophesied not long after his birth, casting a shadow over his formative years, and parallels the burdens placed on a generation of Sudan’s young people.
Based on a short story by Sudanese novelist Hammour Ziyada, critics say it demonstrates that the country’s cultural scene is reawakening after decades of oppression.
The film was produced amid mass demonstrations against Bashir, who was toppled by the military in April 2019 after ruling the country for nearly 30 years.
“It was an adventure,” filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala told The Associated Press. “There were protests in the streets that had grown to a revolution by the beginning of filming.”
Sudan’s uprising erupted in late 2018, and as the number of people in the streets swelled, many of them young, the military stepped in and toppled the Islamist president. Since then, the country has embarked on a fragile transition to democracy, ending years of theocratic rule that limited artists’ freedoms.
The film’s submission was announced in November by the country’s ministry of culture, a month before the second anniversary of the start of the uprising.
It follows a narrative written by Ziyada in the early 2000s that chronicles the life of a child in 1960s in a remote village, located between the Blue and White Nile rivers. The inhabitants are largely guided by ancient Sufi beliefs and traditions, a mystical strain of Islam.
The film starts when a mother, Sakina, takes her newborn boy to a Sufi ceremony at a nearby shrine as a blessing. As a sheikh gives his blessing, a man in traditional clothing performs a meditative dance, suddenly stopping after 20 turns, falling to the ground — a bad omen.
The frightened mother appeals to the Sheikh to give an explanation. But he says, “God’s command is inevitable.” At this point, the crowd understands this is a prophecy predicting the child will die at 20.
Stunned and frustrated, the father leaves his wife and son, named Muzamil, to face their fate alone.
Muzamil grows up under the watchful eye of his overprotective mother, who wears black in anticipation of his early demise. He is haunted by the prophecy — even other children name him “the son of death.”
Despite that, Muzamil proves to be an inquisitive boy full of life. His mother allows him to go to study the Qur’an. He receives praise for his memorization and recitation of verses. Then comes a turning point.
A cinematographer, Suliman, returns to the village after years working abroad. Muzamil, who is by now working as an assistant to the village shopkeeper, gets to know him through delivering him alcohol, a social taboo.
Suliman, who lives with a prostitute, opens Muzamil’s eyes to the outside world. Through their discussions, he starts to doubt the prophecy that has governed his life so far and torn his family apart.
As he turns 19, Muzamil takes it upon himself to decide what it means to be alive, even as death beckons.
The film has received positive reviews from international critics. It premiered at the 2019 Venice International Film Festival’s parallel section, Venice Days. It won the Lion of the Future for Best First Feature — the first Sudanese film to do so. Since then, it has won at least two dozen awards at film festivals worldwide.
Abu Alala says his team tackled obstacles in making the film, thrown up by the same conservative milieu that it depicts. He blames the environment created by Bashir, who came to power in a military coup in 1989. Under his rule, limited personal freedoms meant art was viewed with suspicion by many.
One major challenge, he said, was that local residents at the initial filming location objected to their presence. The crew was forced to move, but they persevered.
“We believed that it should be done under any circumstances,” Abu Alala said. He says that it was lucky that the film’s production period coincided with the cultural watershed moment of the uprising. The previous government wouldn’t have been a proponent of his work.
The movie has also been met with commendations from inside the region.
“It is a very real and local film that makes the audience feel all of its details whenever and whoever they are,” wrote Egyptian film critic Tarik el-Shenawy.
The film is only the eighth to be made inside Sudan. Abu Alala says that its selection shows Sudan has countless stories that remain untold.
“There wasn’t a film industry existing in Sudan — only individual attempts ... Sudan’s rulers — communists or Islamists — were not interested in cinema. They just were interested in having artists on their sides,” he said.
Now, he hopes that he and other filmmakers will have the freedom to share Sudan’s stories with the world.
A Sudan in transition presents first-ever film for Oscars
https://arab.news/w9dvs
A Sudan in transition presents first-ever film for Oscars
- Muzamil grows up under the watchful eye of his overprotective mother, who wears black in anticipation of his early demise. He is haunted by the prophecy — even other children name him “the son of death”
Immersive installation takes center stage at Quoz Arts Fest with ENESS’s ‘Forest Dancer’
DUBAI: As part of this year’s Quoz Arts Fest in Dubai, ENESS, the Australian-based creative studio, will debut an immersive light and sound installation titled “Forest Dancer and the Path to Pure Creation” at Concrete in Alserkal Avenue on Jan. 25-26.
ENESS founder Nimrod Wies said that the installation symbolized “freedom and joy through creativity.”
“The artwork promotes the idea that embracing your creative gifts positively impacts those around you and inspires you to find your place in humanity through art,” he said. “We hope that visitors experience joy and playfulness in our exhibition and take away from it the inspiration to fill their lives with creativity and expression.”
The installation features inflatables packed with computers controlling sound, lightplay and motion-tracking LED eyes. “The biggest challenge is that we arrive from the other side of the world and we work all hours to create a completely immersive artwork that takes over any space that it occupies,” Wies said.
“The most rewarding part of my journey has been to exhibit all over the world and see different people respond to the artworks. I love seeing the appreciation audiences feel and experience, and hearing their joyful feedback.”
Speaking about the festival’s appeal, Wies said: “Working with Quoz Arts Fest suits the ENESS vision because we love to be involved in local cultures and bring our work to thriving areas with all-ages audiences who are open to new ideas. We think that the Alserkal neighborhood is the coolest place in Dubai.”
Wies said that public art created opportunities for alternate behavior and emotion. “Public spaces are generally relatively codified with clear designations for what sort of behavior is undertaken where. However, the introduction of public art can reconfigure a space visually, emotionally and behaviorally.”
Looking ahead, Wies said: “We have works coming up all around the world. We are looking forward to our next experience in Saudi Arabia.”
Rare Vatican artifacts on show at Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah
- More than 500 historic items, contemporary artworks on display
- 1685 Nile map’s journey to Jeddah a ‘cultural milestone’
JEDDAH: A six-meter map of the Nile believed to be more than 300 years old has left its home in the Vatican archives for the first time to become the centerpiece of the second Islamic Arts Biennale launched in Jeddah on Saturday.
Visitors to Jeddah’s Western Hajj Terminal, the biennale venue, can see the map along with 10 other artifacts from the Vatican Library.
The historic chart, drawn with watercolor ink on Venetian paper and depicting historic sites along the Nile, has been dated to around 1685.
Its inclusion in the biennale marks a cultural milestone, showcasing the Vatican’s commitment to interreligious and intercultural dialogue, according to Vatican archivist and librarian Angelo Vincenzo Zani.
The map underwent restoration by the Vatican before making the journey to Jeddah. It is displayed alongside a sister map of the Arabian Gulf from the National Library of Qatar.
Both maps are believed to have been acquired in the 1700s in Constantinople by Giuseppe Alemanni, a Lebanese librarian who later became the Vatican Library’s prefect.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the exhibition in Jeddah explores faith by juxtaposing contemporary and newly commissioned artworks with historical objects from Islamic cultures.
• More than 30 cultural institutions have provided objects from their collections, as well as 29 newly commissioned works of art.
Zani attended the biennale’s opening ceremony and later told Arab News that the artifacts highlight a rich history of cultural exchange and shared knowledge.
“I think this Islamic Arts Biennale is very important. The concept of art is very important — to expand knowledge and creativity. Art is an emotion that we can all understand. It can cross over in a dialogue that is ‘in between’.”
The 2025 biennale’s theme, “And all that is in between,” draws from the Qur’anic verse “And God created the Heavens and the Earth and all that is in between.”
The Vatican Library is also showcasing several works from its collections in “The Art of Numbers” display at Al-Madar section of the biennale.
Al-Madar, or “The Orbit” section, features items from 20 institutions with significant Islamic art collections worldwide.
The section examines the role of numbers in collective history, exploring their origins in natural calculations and applications across Islamic culture, mathematics, architecture, music, design, celestial and terrestrial mapping, ocean navigation, trade and geometric patterns in Qur’anic decoration.
Heather Ecker, Al-Madar’s curator, said the Vatican Library, which was established in the Middle Ages, is the oldest taking part in Al-Madar.
“The Vatican has Arabic manuscripts on virtually any subject, and has a large collection of early Qur’ans. It has early translations of the Qur’an, of which we are exhibiting several,” she said.
Ecker said the Nile map appears to have been linked to a travel log and is a visual record of a journey.
“The maps were created from the written text and from memory, apparently,” she said.
“It’s not a map as we conceive it, because it is image with text, with annotations that correspond to observations made during the voyage and notes taken. It collapses geography in a certain way, so it scrunches up the land between the Nile and the Red Sea, for example, in order to include more sites such as Jeddah.”
The map has been in the Vatican since the late 18th century, but had never been restored and was first shown in 2021, Ecker said. The Diriyah Biennale Foundation helped fund its restoration and conservation.
“It’s much brighter now,” Ecker said. “The paper is much more supple now, so it’s really vastly improved, and it’s much easier to exhibit and for people to appreciate. That was a big undertaking, and important in the field of conservation preservation.”
Organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the Jeddah exhibition explores faith by juxtaposing contemporary and newly commissioned artworks with historical objects from Islamic cultures.
The event has built on the success of the first biennale, and is bigger in scale and ambition, Aya Al-Bakree, CEO of the foundation, told Arab News.
This year, more than 30 cultural institutions have provided objects from their collections, as well as 29 newly commissioned works of art.
“The biennale is rooted in Saudi Arabia and has become a clear landmark on the international stage as well. We are excited to share this exhibition with audiences from near and far,” Al-Bakree added.
Display space is divided into several sections, each blending Islamic cultural heritage with contemporary interpretations.
The inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale in 2023 attracted more than 600,000 visitors. The 2025 edition will feature more than 500 historical artifacts and contemporary artworks, including treasures from Makkah, Madinah, and around the world.
The 2025 curatorial team is led by Julian Raby, Amin Jaffer, and Abdul Rahman Azzam, with Saudi artist Muhannad Shono as curator of contemporary art.
The Islamic Arts Biennale will run until May 25.
Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer wows fans in Riyadh
RIYADH: Renowned composer Hans Zimmer performed on Friday at the Mohammed Abdo Arena in Saudi Arabia as part of the Riyadh Season events.
The Oscar-winning composer performed a selection of compositions from films such as “Dune,” “Wonder Woman,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Interstellar,” “The Lion King” and “No Time to Die.”
The music was accompanied by interactive visual projections and stage effects that complemented the performance and highlighted its theme.
The concert, which sold out immediately on ticket release, concluded with enthusiastic applause, marking a memorable highlight of the Riyadh Season.
Zimmer expressed his gratitude to the Riyadh Season audience in a recorded message at the end of the concert, thanking them for their enthusiasm and energy.
Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, revealed this week that the composer is working on a new interpretation of Saudi Arabia’s national anthem.
The post continued that the German composer was also offered the chance to create the soundtrack for the upcoming Saudi Arabia film, “The Battle of Yarmouk.”
Zimmer attended the Kingdom’s Joy Awards on Jan. 18, which honors the achievements of artists in the Arab world.
Gwen Stefani to perform in the UAE in February
DUBAI: US pop star Gwen Stefani is set to perform in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 21 as part of the city’s Saadiyat Nights, marking her first-ever performance in the UAE capital.
The triple Grammy Award winner will take the stage just 24 hours before legendary US singer Lionel Richie closes the event on Feb. 22.
The three-month open-air music series will also feature performances by Egyptian composer Omar Khairat on Feb. 1, British musician Sting on Feb. 3, Lebanese music icon Magida El-Roumi on Feb. 10 and US pop star Christina Aguilera on Feb. 15.
Artists who have already performed include Grammy-winning Michael Buble, Russian band Leningrad, US R&B group Boyz II Men, British singer Robbie Williams and Iranian singer Ebi.
Stefani has achieved global recognition as a songwriter, performer, and frontwoman of the US rock band No Doubt, and as a multi-platinum solo artist. Over the course of her career, she has received numerous awards, including four MTV Video Music Awards, two Billboard Awards, an American Music Award and a Brit Award.
Stefani has sold over 60 million records worldwide, combining her success with No Doubt and her solo career. Her 2004 debut solo album, “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.,” achieved multi-platinum status and included chart-topping hits like “Hollaback Girl,” which became the first digital download to sell over 1 million copies in the US.
Stefani is no stranger to Emirati culture. In 2019, she performed in Dubai at the Dubai World Cup. During her visit, the singer immersed herself in Emirati culture, embracing the quintessential tourist experience by taking a desert safari, dining in a desert tent, watching a falcon show, riding a camel, covering her face and hair with a headscarf, shopping at the perfume souk, and visiting the iconic Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.
Saadiyat Nights is part of the Abu Dhabi Calendar’s year-round schedule of events, which includes music, sports, comedy, family-friendly shows, cultural festivals and art exhibitions.
Held on Saadiyat Island, the concert series is set against the backdrop of the Saadiyat Cultural District, pristine beaches, and luxurious resorts.
The inaugural edition of Saadiyat Nights, which ran from January to March 2024, featured a lineup of artists, including American stars Mariah Carey, John Legend, and Alicia Keys, Iranian singer Googoosh, and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.
Princess Iman of Jordan is expecting her first child
DUBAI: Jordan’s Princess Iman bint Abdullah II and her husband, Jameel Alexander Thermiotis, are expecting their first child.
Queen Rania, the princess’s mother, shared the news on Instagram with a photo of the couple at sunset by the beach, highlighting the mother-to-be’s baby bump. “Two is a couple, three is a blessing,” the Queen captioned the image.
This will be the second grandchild for Queen Rania and King Abdullah II. 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.
