Tunisian writer and director Mahmoud Ben Mahmoud's latest film, Fatwa, arrived at Cairo International Film Festival's Horizons of New Arab Cinema Competition following on from the euphoria of winning Best Film and Best Actor for Ahmed Hafiane at The Carthage Film Festival earlier this month.
Hafiane (who starred in Ben Mahmoud's 2012 film The Professor) plays a divorced father, Brahim Nadhour, who has been residing in France, and returns to Tunisia after his son dies in a motorcycle accident. When he arrives, grief-stricken Brahim discovers that in the period before his death his son had quit university to work with a radical Islamist group that had declared a fatwa on his secular ex-wife, Loubna, played by Ghalia Benali.
Brahim embarks on a quest to discover the reasons for his son’s radicalisation and in the process, also discovers that his native land has itself transformed. Ben Mahmoud says, “I wanted Brahim to have had a geographical distance between himself and his homeland, which would give him a cultural idealisation so that when he returns to Tunisia and sees all the changes and the Salafist movement, he would be in real shock.
“The events of the movie take place in 2013 and this for Tunisia is a very black year,” Ben Mahmoud continues. “It was when a number of politicians were assassinated and so many terrorist attacks took place.”
In January 2011, the Tunisian populace took to the streets to protest against corruption leading to the ousting of then President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali from power and the advent of parliamentary democracy in the north African state. Yet there were many unintended consequences, some terrible, as the country tried to implement voting and a new legislative process. “It’s true that there was success in Tunisia when it came to allowing the freedom of ideology and of ideas, but this also allowed terrorists to be as free as the liberals,” the director says.
Ben Mahmoud acknowledges that this is not a problem that only affects newly formed democracies. "This is what makes the film relatable to so many countries that are suffering with the same dilemma," he says.
"The main motive to create this film is to combat this global focus on extremists. I wanted to show the world a regular, moderate and authentic Muslim, who these days we never see on television. He cares about the real reason as to why his son was killed, whereas the media is only focusing on the extremist. This is becoming a global phenomenon and regular Muslims are not being presented."
Ben Mahmoud believes that the success of the film has been down to the fact that so much of the audience can identify themselves with some aspect of the grief-stricken father. He himself identifies with this feeling of being an outsider in his homeland – though born in Tunis in 1947, he now lives in Belgium. “I never thought the price of freedom would be as heavy as it has been,” he says.
The decision to call the film Fatwa, according to Ben Mahmoud, is aimed at showing how words are malleable things that can change meaning and significance over time. "I come from an Islamic background," he says. "My father was an Imam and my uncle was a mufti, a legal scholar that gives out fatwas. Back then – and this is something westerners don't know – fatwa had a very positive meaning and the goal of a fatwa was to facilitate Muslims when it came to coping with life."
"Then after Khomeini declared a fatwa on Salman Rushdie it changed from something peaceful to something bloody. That's why I chose this name, because it's controversial and there are fatwas in the movie targeting the father, mother and the son."
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The film was originally conceived to take place in Belgium. The idea came to Mahmoud when he read an article, around 2004, about a jihadist camp in Belgium. He wrote the script, but the financing fell through. Following the events in Tunisia, he read a lot about what was happening in 2012 and 2013 and decided to rework the script to take place there. He kept the same characters, but removed the camp part. He also retained the Belgian producers, the two-time Palme d'Or winning filmmakers, the Dardenne brothers, who are celebrated for dealing with social issues and their use of hand-held cameras to create an almost documentary sensibility to their movies.
Some of these aesthetic touches are visible in Fatwa. "I did take their advice," says Ben Mahmoud. "They had minor comments on the script and some other notes about the edit, but they didn't interfere with the shooting or anything. Perhaps I'm influenced unconsciously by their way of doing movies, because they don't exaggerate and there is a lot of simplicity, but on the other hand, I didn't have a huge budget so the movie had to be shot simply."
Simply shot it may be, but nonetheless, the resulting film is extremely complex.
Fatwa is playing in competition at the Cairo International Film Festival today
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Company%20profile
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
WISH
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Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
EU Russia
The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
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Price: On request
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
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On sale: Available for preorder now
Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
