Sirens, the new film from award-winning Moroccan-American filmmaker Rita Baghdadi, was unveiled in the documentary competition at the Sundance Film Festival this week.
Ostensibly, the film is about Slave to Sirens, the first self-styled, all-female thrash metal band in Lebanon.
While much of the film is taken up by the on-off relationship of the band's two most prominent members, Lilas and Sherry, the film is so much more than that.
It looks at the changing gender norms in Lebanon, as more women choose careers over marriage; a time when it's possible to decide to get on stage and pursue three chords and the truth.
In the years that the metal band were making a name for themselves and touring the underground scene of Beirut, Baghdadi was in America moving from cinematography to directing.
She directed No Country No More in 2018 and City Rising, which won the LA-area Emmy award for Best Social Film.
While her own career was on the up, it did not stop her from getting frustrated by the representation of Arab characters on screen. She felt that the characterisations she saw in the cinema misrepresented the Arabs she saw around her in America and the Arab world.
The director knew she wanted to make a documentary about changes in the Middle East and North Africa.
"My goal was to make a film about the region from where my family is from that didn't focus on war and the bad things happening," she says. "I wanted to show real human beings with lives that people all over the world could relate to; that really was one of my missions."
When she heard and read about Slave to Sirens in 2018, Baghdadi contacted the band through Facebook, saying she was interested in making a documentary about them.
At the time, Slave to Sirens had just released an acclaimed EP, which led to Glastonbury, the world-renowned British summer festival, inviting them to play. The band felt like they were going places.
The documentary starts with the musicians' excitement at playing Glastonbury, which they believe will be a life-changing event. But while the event was terrific, there was disappointment when the band went back to their everyday lives. The experience pushes the band to breaking point.
My goal was to make a film about the region from where my family is from that didn't focus on war and the bad things happening. I wanted to show real human beings with lives that people all over the world could relate to
Director Rita Baghdadi on making 'Sirens'
A couple of days before the world premiere of Sirens, The National spoke with Baghdadi and band members Lilas and Sherry on Zoom.
As a result of the pandemic, the festival went online-only this year, but that didn't deter them from meeting up in Los Angeles and hosting their own premiere party where the band played.
Baghdadi reveals that she connected with Lilas on Skype, asking: "What do you think about me coming to visit and hang out for a little bit, and maybe do some filming?"
"Everyone was down," she says. "I went to Beirut and stayed with Lilas for a week, and that was the start of everything."
Lilas says speaking to Baghdadi was "really comfortable. We shared common ideas and were like-minded. Rita was so lovely and friendly. It felt like a win-win situation, with nothing to lose".
"At first, it was kind of weird to have the camera following you around," says Sherry. "We were not used to that. But Rita was so heartwarming and really fun."
The film uses music and the band to look at more significant social issues.
"It was a tricky deciding what parts of the events unfolding in the country to include in the film," Baghdadi says. "I always knew going into this film that I was stepping into a complicated situation with economic collapse, revolution and corruption in politics, and then the explosion happened, and we had to think about how to navigate all these things."
The Beirut blast in August 2020 caused at least 218 deaths, left more than 7,000 injured, created $15 billion in property damage and left an estimated 300,000 people homeless.
Baghdadi believes it also led to an unconscious collective change, where the citizens decided that they had enough of the years of bureaucratic mismanagement. She felt that this moment also made people feel more forthright and less scared of discussing issues previously swept under the carpet.
"It was a big moment, a sort of loss of innocence for the band and the young people in Lebanon," says Baghdadi. "It felt like there was no going back from this moment. I saw a change in the girls, especially Lilas, which I thought I couldn't ignore, and I wanted to portray it in the most sensitive but raw and dynamic way.
"It gave some context and backdrop as to why the characters were feeling the way they were feeling."
And the result is the film that Baghdadi wanted to make. "A film that challenges the stereotypes, particularly western, of what it's like to live in the Mena region," she says.
Sirens is playing at the Sundance Film Festival, which runs until January 30
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
Biography
Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related
Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
Analysis
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The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
The past Palme d'Or winners
2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda
2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund
2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach
2015 Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux
2012 Amour, Michael Haneke
2011 The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke
2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet
Wayne Rooney's career
Everton (2002-2004)
- Appearances: 48
- Goals: 17
Manchester United (2004-2017)
- Appearances: 496
- Goals: 253
England (2003-)
- Appearances: 119
- Goals: 53
In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press
The%20Hunger%20Games%3A%20The%20Ballad%20of%20Songbirds%20%26%20Snakes
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Company%C2%A0profile
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
match info
Southampton 0
Arsenal 2 (Nketiah 20', Willock 87')
Red card: Jack Stephens (Southampton)
Man of the match: Rob Holding (Arsenal)
Aggro%20Dr1ft
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Cricket World Cup League Two
Teams
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs
UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets
Fixtures
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Oman
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Dir: Ron Howard
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson
3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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