DUBAI: Image Nation Abu Dhabi has revealed that is was part of the team behind Oscar-winning film, "Free Solo."
The film was awarded Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards on Sunday night.
The film was directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin and follows rock climber Alex Hannold’s ascent with no gear of El Capitan, a vertical rock in Yosemite National Park.
The film has grossed $17.2 million at the box office and has received 43 nominations and a BAFTA.
The documentary was produced by Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation alongside Little Monster Films and National Geographic.
BARCELONA: Colombian superstar Shakira will be questioned by a court near Barcelona on June 12 for allegedly evading $16.5 million (€14.5 million) in taxes, a Spanish court said Tuesday.
In a statement, the high court of Catalonia, where the singer lives with her partner, FC Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique, said she had been summoned to appear before a judge.
DUBAI: Of all the achievements of Arab filmmakers in recent times, Talal Derki’s “Of Fathers and Sons” may be the most stunning. The only non-American film nominated for Best Documentary at the 91st Academy Awards, which take place this Sunday, “Of Fathers and Sons” is the kind of film one might imagine making, but never believe could actually be made. It’s a story that Derki risked his life to tell.
For two and a half years, the Syrian filmmaker lived in northern Syria with Abu Osama, a member of the Al-Nusra Front (also known as Al-Qaeda in the Levant), and his family. There, he pretended to be sympathetic to their cause so that he could film them in an attempt to learn, first-hand, how young men become radicalized. Focusing on a father and his sons, the film lays bare in terrifying detail how young boys with kindness in their hearts find themselves in an Al-Qaeda training camp at a tender young age, all to gain the approval of their beloved patriarch.
“The idea started with my previous film,” Derki tells Arab News. “After the siege of Homs in my last film, ‘Return to Homs,’ after all the massacres, a lot of people on the ground moved to be more radical. It’s a war, but I started wondering how this movement managed to brainwash and bring all these people (over) to their side, and how they gained their trust. I saw a lot of kids with their fathers involved in fights. All these things put questions in my mind. I’m not a part of this, but I also have to understand.”
Derki didn’t want to make a film about the Syrian war or about violence. He wanted to examine life behind closed doors, focusing on the generation of young Syrian men raised in wartime. To do so, he had to go deep undercover.
After starting research for the film at the end of 2013, Derki used many ‘fixers’ to help him work his way into this close-knit community, gain people’s trust, and identify his subjects. He settled on Abu Osama and his sons. He convinced them that he was on their side, and was given intimate access to their lives in return — all the time aware that he could not let them know what kind of film he was actually making.
“Abu Osama wasn’t well known. He’s not the leader. What attracted me to him is how strongly he believed in what he was doing, in the ideology. When you look at him, he looks like a normal father, a lovely father,” says Derki. “This paradox between these two faces — between a lovely father and the father who is ready to sacrifice his kids in order to (realize) his ideology — this is part of my cinematic vision. If I went to a regular cliché jihadist, people would not watch the film. People would leave the cinema after five minutes, believe me.”
Though Derki managed to gain the trust of the family and the Al-Nusra Front, he was always conscious that no matter how friendly they were with him, he was never really creating a true connection with anyone he was filming. And he was powerless to create positive change while he was there.
“I was undercover as a sympathizer,” he says. “This is how they know me. I couldn’t be more than an observer. Sometimes, if I could, I would act as a merciful guy with the kids so they would not get punishment. I played that role. But in a big-topic issue, you couldn’t do anything but make your own film out of this chaos.
“I was connected to them only as a filmmaker, because, at the end of the day, if they knew I had a different purpose than what they thought, I would lose my life,” he continues. “When I had a good moment to film, I was satisfied and happy. As time passed, I had to accept all these things — all these ideas, all this behavior — without any (question). My mission there was to make a film.”
“Of Fathers and Sons” is purely observational. Derki keeps himself out of the story as much as possible, zooming in on a father and his son in everyday moments, in order to see how they interact, the love and trust they build, and the ways that a son’s dedication to his father is twisted to dark ends.
“The knowledge I got from this experience is about the roots of violence — the circle of violence — and the eternal relationship between the dictatorial father and his son; the masculine power that destroys our society,” Derki explains. “All of these things gave me more understanding that it all starts from childhood. Why does someone like me decide not to carry a weapon? If you grow up in a society in which your father, your teacher, are harming you, and punishing you by hitting you, and you’re used to receiving violence, then when you grow up you are very capable of carrying weapons and killing someone for any idea you start to believe in.”
By the second half of the film, the eldest son of Abu Osama is participating in an Al-Qaeda training camp. In one harrowing scene, the young boys are told to lie still on the ground while bullets are shot next to their heads and feet in order to teach them to lose their fear. Even now, years on from filming, Derki thinks about Abu Osama’s young children, hoping they can escape from the fate that already killed their father, who Derki says died at the end of 2018.
“Emotionally, I feel sad for the kids. They are still around 12 years old, it’s still possible to take them out of this and start a new life. Even in the moment when I was there, it was still possible,” he says. “They appreciate life. (But) in this ideology, they appreciate death. Death is their request — not life. Not humanity.”
Derki is speaking to Arab News from Los Angeles, ahead of Sunday’s Oscars ceremony. While there, Derki has had the chance to celebrate with the other Arab nominees, Egyptian-American actor Rami Malek and Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki.
“It was great to meet them and to have some conversation — to be three nominees from the Arab world at the biggest global celebration. It’s very intense,” he says. “I hope that, in the upcoming year, this will bring more success for Arab filmmakers.
“Nadine said she liked it so much. And I liked her film,” Derki continues. “I really want to work with Rami in the future, he’s a very talented actor.”
Whatever happens at the Oscars, Derki hopes the attention his film has received will ultimately be a force for good in the Arab world.
“It’s about how we can protect the new generation in the other Muslim countries,” he explains. “What can we do to build a generation without violence, to focus more on life, love, and communicating with other cultures, instead of building walls around us?”
BEIRUT: Over the years, Medina Publishing has established a reputation for its quality books about the Arabian Peninsula and a recent publication sheds light on one of the lesser-known emirates, Ras Al-Khaimah.
The cover photograph of “People of Ras Al-Khaimah,” featuring three elderly women wearing the burqa, a mask covering the eyebrows, part of the nose and the lips, sets the tone of this book.
Author Anna Zacharias tells us the story of Ras Al-Khaimah “in the words of its people” with an impressive series of portraits highlighting the smooth integration between the immigrant population, the Emiratis and their rulers.
The “Gulf culture is neither static nor at risk” and there “is also evidence of the continual cultural adaptation,” writes the Canadian author.
Ali Rashed, a camel-race commentator is a good example. Pragmatic and versatile, he quickly understood the potential of the VHS technology during the late 1970s and 1980s. He opened a video shop, bought a camera and was the only one with the right to make videos.
Nowadays people can watch a race on their phone. “Culture and modernity are easily reconciled,” writes Zacharias.
The coffee table book features photographs of more than 50 people who live in the state, including Emiratis and foreign expats from both urbanized areas and the surrounding villages.
Unlike Dubai, the dazzling city with the biggest, the tallest and the most expensive, Ras Al-Khaimah stands at a crossroads between modernity and tradition and this book has captured that elusive moment in time with its engaging interviews, sleepy anecdotes of a bygone era and sun-drenched photography.
American photojournalist Jeff Topping, and Zacharias worked together to produce the book, which charts the state’s history and explores its diverse landscape — a patchwork of inviting beaches, sprawling lagoons, mangrove forests, slithering sand dunes, date palms oases and craggy mountains.
The book was launched with the support of the Ras Al-Khaimah Media Office and should not be used as a historical guide to the emirate, but rather a fascinating and visually appealing collection of amusing stories and gorgeous images from a little-explored corner of the UAE.
DUBAI: You’ve probably heard of Caesars Palace from the TV or the movies. My earliest memory of the world-famous hotel, for example, is from “Friends” — more specifically, “The One in Vegas” when Joey is forced to work as a gladiator in armor. Judging by the scenes in the episode, the hotel is good for those looking to party hard. Being featured in other US productions such as “The Hangover” do little to dispel that impression… it is in Vegas after all.
So, when I first caught wind of the Caesars brand making its way to Dubai, I was curious, to say the least. How would it be tailored to this market? Would it become notorious for its nightlife? Would people hate living nearby because of the noise?
Surprisingly, Caesars Bluewaters Dubai turned out to be quite the opposite experience.
Bluewaters Island’s flagship resort is split into two: Caesars Palace Bluewaters Dubai — which opened last November — and Caesars Resort Bluewaters Dubai, which launched at the start of this year. The Palace is aimed at business travellers and groups of friends, while the Resort is more family-friendly, offering a range of experiences for all age groups.
Having visited both properties, it is clear that they are nothing like their US counterpart. Here, it’s all about laidback entertainment and relaxing by the beach.
Wanting to get some much-needed pool and beach time, we opted to check in to Caesars Resort, and were lucky enough to be upgraded to a one-bedroom suite, which was absolutely gorgeous. The luxury property offers a total of 301 rooms across five categories, ours being the second largest.
The room — which contains two washrooms — features a balcony that overlooks the adult swimming pool, beach and a part of the Ain Dubai, the giant Ferris wheel that’s scheduled to operate from the island. And while Dubai is known for having calm seas, we were pleasantly surprised to hear waves; there’s something very relaxing about it, and it made lounging on the balcony even more enjoyable.
Furniture and décor is modern, featuring a mix of grey, aqua-blue and white, while the room is spacious and offers optimal lighting thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows. Two giant TVs grace the walls, with one doubling up as a mirror in front of the king-size bed.
But it’s the little things that really make the stay. For example, there’s a beach bag and flip-flops available for guests, as well as cozy robes and fluffy slippers for bedtime. The bath products scream luxury — shower gels, shampoos and the like are all from Italian perfumery brand Lorenzo Villoresi — and there’s even a nail dryer fitted in the wardrobe. Yup, a place to dry your manicure.
Caesars Resort Bluewaters Dubai loses brownie points in one area, however. For such a large room that included a not-so-mini bar, the room came without a coffee machine or even a kettle. Personally, I like being able to have a cuppa without having to call room service for it, so here’s hoping they introduce this later on.
As for the rest of the hotel experience, it’s hard to fault. The staff were immensely friendly and accommodating, while the beach and pool facilities are fantastic. There’s no overcrowding, so you can enjoy a perfectly private stay.
One little downside is that there is a beach club (Cove Beach) slap bang in the middle of the resort, which plays house music until the early hours of the morning (at least on the weekend when we stayed), which doesn’t really gel with the overall atmosphere of the resort. A little misguided to have that next door.
But a stay at Caesars Resort Bluewaters Dubai is worth the investment. Rooms certainly don’t come cheap (around $410 a night), but the amenities and facilities transform it into great value for money. And be sure to book a room rate including breakfast. The buffet spread at Bacchanal restaurant is one of the largest we’ve ever seen in Dubai. You’ll be spoilt for choice with everything from cereals, salads, cheeses and an English-style slap-up, to pancakes, muffins and waffles. Good job there’s a gym in the building.
WASHINGTON: Angkor, the ancient capital of the Khmer empire, appears to have suffered a gradual decline rather than a catastrophic collapse, according to a study published on Monday.
Archaeologists and historians have long sought to explain the 15th-century abandonment of Angkor, with many attributing it to the 1431 invasion by Thai forces from Ayutthaya.
“The historical record is effectively blank for the 15th century at Angkor,” said Dan Penny, a member of a team of Australian and Cambodian archaeologists and geographers who took part in the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
“We don’t have a written record that tells us why they left or when or how,” said Penny of the School of Geosciences at the University of Sydney. “Everything that survived is carved on stone.”
For the study, the team examined 70-centimeter sediment cores taken from a moat that surrounded Angkor Thom, the capital of the Khmer empire.
Penny said the cores serve as a “natural history book recording changes in land use, and climate, and in vegetation, year after year.”
Where humans live they leave traces through fire, soil erosion through agriculture and disturbed vegetation. When they leave, conditions change.
In the first decades of the 14th century, Penny said you start to see a decline in land use, wood burning, destabilized vegetation and a reduction in soil erosion.
By the end of the 14th century, “the southern moat of Angkor Thom was overgrown with vegetation, and management, by implication, had ceased,” the authors said in the study.
“Angkor was never fully abandoned,” Penny said, but “the elite were shifting away from Angkor,” moving to new communities elsewhere with more commercial opportunities.
“This was not a collapse,” Penny said. “This was in fact a decisive choice to shift focus away from Angkor.”
“While the breakdown of Angkor’s hydraulic network, most likely associated with climate variability in the mid-14th and early 15th centuries, represents the end of Angkor as a viable settlement, our data indicate that it was presaged by a protracted demographic decline,” the study said.
“This raises the likelihood that the urban elite did not leave Angkor because the infrastructure failed, as has been suggested, but that the infrastructure failed (or was not maintained and repaired) because the urban elites had already left.”
“The absence of Angkor’s ruling elite by the end of the 14th century casts a different light over the Ayutthayan occupation of the city from 1431 CE, and over Cambodian narratives that emphasize loss at the hands of interventionist neighboring states,” they added.
Masked dance tradition rises from near extinction in CambodiaBricked in by poverty, Cambodia’s farmers fight debt bondage https://ift.tt/2XmPkOK February 26, 2019 at 02:44AM
