In Hell’s Heaven, a short film directed by Karim Satoum, a man wakes up in a body bag in Gaza. At first, he is unsure of how he ended up in the thick plastic reserved for the dead. He unzips himself from the bag, and begins walking amidst refugee tents set against a demolished landscape, trying to recount his previous day. He had been sleeping on bare concrete, shivering from the cold, he remembers. He had gone to one of the organisations that offered free washing and burial for the dead. He had asked for a bag, and when initially denied, he had argued, saying: “Don’t I get a bag if I was martyred? I might as well make use of it now.”
And so, he had been given the bag. The thick plastic was his sole respite from the cold, a slim victory in his displacement, his “heaven in hell".
Satoum’s film is one of the works in From Ground Zero, a collection of 22 short films by Gazan filmmakers. The films offer an evocative view of the current reality in Gaza. It aims to highlight the tragedies in the Palestinian enclave, and the measures people have to take to survive.
A recent report by the Lancet medical journal gave a sombre overview of the Israel-Gaza war, suggesting that the death toll in the Palestinian enclave was far more than initially perceived. The report claimed it was “not implausible” that more than 186,000 people have died since the Israeli bombardment began on October 7, considering both direct causalities and indirect causes, such as sickness and starvation.
The toll is a harrowing number to consider, and yet it can only communicate so much of what is actually happening on the ground. From Ground Zero aims to provide a more personal perspective of the situation in Gaza, highlighting stories told by Gazans themselves.
From Ground Zero, spearheaded by Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi, marked its official world premiere at the Amman International Film Festival. The project was initially expected to be shown at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, but was then pulled. Masharawi then led a protest screening in the French resort town with no official backing from Cannes.
Speaking during the film’s premiere in Amman last week, Masharawi said he was happy that the film finally had its official screening and that his mission is to spread it across the world. “These films were written, filmed and produced during the war, and during the destruction that is still ongoing,” Masharawi said. “It was a very difficult period. A large number of the filmmakers had to move from place to place during their projects. Some had their houses bombed, for instance, and had to live in a tent. Others lost half of their family and yet continued the project. We decided that we wanted to tell not just personal stories, but we wanted to do them cinematically at the same time.”
Masharawi and the team of 22 filmmakers succeeded in fulfilling this aim. The stories presented in From Ground Zero vary across a spectrum of emotions, ranging from resilience and tragedy to hope and finding joy in unlikely places. They also incorporate unexpected elements, including animation, puppetry and stop-motion.
In Sorry Cinema, Ahmed Hassouna, a veteran filmmaker in the Gazan community, offers a letter of apology to the art form, saying he is unable to continue working as he has to ensure his family’s survival. The film is a moving tribute to cinema, as much as it is a poignant perspective of a creative’s life amidst war. At first, Hassouna was not able to find it within himself to make the feature, even though doing so would mark his worldwide debut as a filmmaker.
“Ahmed never had the opportunity to showcase his films at festivals or even see his films on the big screen,” Masharawi said. “When I approached him about the project, I told him now’s your chance and that I guarantee it would be screened all over the world. He said he didn’t want to do it. He had lost his brother a few days before. He also lives in North Gaza, where ambulances or civil defence can’t access. The only way food and medical provisions can reach them is through air drops.”
At first, Masharawi did not insist. However, after some time had passed, Masharawi knew that his colleague had a valuable perspective to offer and suggested that he address his reluctance to work on a project through a film.
Hana Eliwa, meanwhile, underscores a different aspect of living life in war. Masharawi said Eliwa didn’t want to pursue stories of destruction and tragedy, but instead wanted to focus on the human tendency to seek light in the darkest of circumstances. Her short film, No, does just that. It features a group of Gazan youths as they sing songs of resistance and hope, offering an uplifting streak of joy in a landscape marred by devastation.
Then there are works, such as Recycling, which show how people have to make do with scarce resources. The film, directed by Rabab Khamis, revolves around a mother, who utilises a single bucket of water to hydrate her children, bathe them, clean the floors of their house and do the laundry.
Masharawi says the filmmakers who participated in the project also taught each other techniques to adapt to the situation. In most of the films, the dreadful sound of overhead drones and planes can be heard. For voice-overs, Masharawi suggests that filmmakers isolate themselves in a car, shutting the window to record audio as cleanly as possible.
“When I said this to one of the filmmakers, she instead offered a more viable solution,” Masharawi said. “She suggested going inside a closet and lining it with a rug and make an insulated space. When she sent the audio, it was studio quality, even if it was recorded in a tent. I then shared this technique with other filmmakers.”
As poignant are the films that didn’t make it to the collection. Taxi Wanissa by Etimmad Wishah, for example, revolves around a taxi driver who transports people and goods around Gaza with a caravan and mule. Midway through, the footage stops and Wishah herself takes the screen, saying she was unable to complete the project, as on the third day of filming, tragedy struck when a member of her family was killed in an airstrike.
“No one could ask her to complete the film,” Masharawi said. “We told her to forget about the film, and to look after herself.” Weeks later, the team decided to supplement the footage with a statement of Wishah to shed light on what had happened to the project.
“Sadly, we had several projects that did not make it,” Masharawi said. “Some stories couldn’t make it because the filmmaker’s footage, his computer and everything he had was bombarded. For instance, there was a film about a woman who goes to the hospital as she is about to give birth. But there is no space in the hospital for her. The hospital is filled with death and there is no place for new life.”
“All these stories are part of reality,” Masharawi said.
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
Three out of five stars
THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Dir: Ron Howard
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson
3/5
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House
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Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 5
Keita 1', Mane 23', 66', Salah 45' 1, 83'
Huddersfield 0
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Seoul from Dh3,775 return, including taxes
The package
Ski Safari offers a seven-night ski package to Korea, including five nights at the Dragon Valley Hotel in Yongpyong and two nights at Seoul CenterMark hotel, from £720 (Dh3,488) per person, including transfers, based on two travelling in January
The info
Visit www.gokorea.co.uk
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
MATCH INFO
Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
Leeds United 0
The five pillars of Islam
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
