The world premiere of short film My Family and the Explosion on Dutch TV channel Humanistische Omroep, or Human, today, will signal Mahmoud Kaabour's return, after an eight-year hiatus.
All I could do was head back to Lebanon and see for myself
His second film, Teta, Alf Marra (Grandma, A Thousand Times), a 51-minute poetic tribute to his larger-than-life Lebanese grandmother, won the Audience Award for Best Director at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival in 2010. Then came Champ of the Camp, about a Bollywood singing competition in the communities of South Asian construction workers in the UAE, which had a spectacular premiere at the 10th Dubai International Film Festival in 2013, in a historic outdoor screening at Burj Khalifa.
Now Kaabour is back with My Family and the Explosion, which tells the story of how members of one family were affected by the blast at Beirut Port on August 4 last year, when one of the biggestnon-nuclear explosions in history devastated large parts of the Lebanese capital. It follows resident Nicole Torbey, her husband and their daughter, as they attempt to put their lives back in order in the months after the catastrophe.
"When the explosion happened in Lebanon, I was sitting in a playground in Berlin with my kids; I could not believe what I saw on YouTube," Kaabour tells The National. "All I could do was head back to Lebanon and see for myself. Even though I left Lebanon as a child, I knew the country. I have shopped in its markets and taken very long walks between my grandparents' and parents' houses. It's the city that inspired Grandma, A Thousand Times. So I really needed to go back and do my grieving behind the camera."
Once there, he called on a crew of friends to start filming the city in its now-shattered form. It was difficult for the filmmakers to see their beloved city this way, but they were driven by a need to document what had happened, and show the world what was happening. At first it took the form of television journalism. “We did several reports that ended up on news media around the world. I’m not a journalist, but we didn’t mind that; we wanted to keep Lebanon in the news.”
On one of the filming days, Kaabour was speaking to doctors and nurses at LAU Medical Centre-Rizk Hospital when the medical facility's administrator introduced him to Torbey, who was looking after her husband after he had been injured in the blast.
“The first shock we had to absorb was the state of her husband,” Kaabour recalls. “I remember my cameraman couldn’t even come close to him. Nicole was quite prepared to speak. She started painting a big story of how the explosion happened literally 400 metres away from their home. Their house door was flung off its hinges and landed on her husband’s head.”
Kaabour knew instantly he wanted to tell Nicole’s story. And just like that, he was back in the director’s chair. “It’s the type of filmmaking that’s hardly planned,” he says. “You’re getting the story as you’re filming it.”
Disconcertingly, the 13-minute documentary also depicts how it doesn’t take long for people to try and use a situation for personal gain. “I tapped into this phenomenon of disaster capitalism that was happening in Lebanon,” says Kaabour. “Interested parties were going out and trying to buy destroyed homes from people; some of the interested parties are related directly to politicians who sit in the Lebanese cabinet and parliament. Nicole received four calls in one day about her written-off car, and she could not explain how people got her number.”
His passion for filmmaking is undeniable. So why did it take so long for him to make another film? "The fact is, I burnt out," he says. "Running a boutique documentary company out of the UAE was quite taxing. I did these two films with disparate success, but they took so much energy from the family. I needed a break."
He says he "fell into the trap" of projecting a successful image of himself, rather than being honest about how hard it is to make documentaries. "As a family, we struggled a lot. I won the $100,000 cash prize from Robert De Niro [who co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival] in Doha for Grandma, A Thousand Times, and I would say I spent more than half of it on renting an office for a film-production company in Dubai."
Sensing that making independent films in the UAE would only get harder, especially after the cancellation of the Abu Dhabi and Dubai international film festivals, Kaabour and his family decided to shut down his company and move to Europe. "I think Berlin was a rite of passage that I needed. Six years in Europe passed relatively quickly, setting up in a new continent with a kid and learning a language."
It was also a time of change in his personal life. He went through a divorce and worked on creating an online documentary channel for ZDF in Berlin. He struggled with the idea of directing again. "I worked with coaches and therapists, reflecting on the parts of filmmaking I was struggling with so much. At the end of the exercise, I came out still embracing my dream to be a filmmaker. I needed time off to have a big life experience and come back and try again."
And this time he will do it differently, he says. Now, he’s set up a new base in Dubai, while keeping a foot in Europe, registering as a freelance film director in Germany and as an agent in London. “I have missed the Middle East so much,” he says. “The vibrancy, the warmth of the people.”
He is also working on a project called Handala, The Boy Without a Face. "Handala is an illustrated image of a Palestinian refugee child. He always has his back to us; we hardly ever see his face. His creator, Naji Al Ali, used Handala to criticise an array of human rights violations against Palestinians and Arabs."
Al Ali was gunned down in London in August 1987, but Handala continues to appear on walls across the world. Kaabour has spent the past three years capturing the image wherever it has cropped up.
It's a hugely ambitious multimedia project, one he says will be another few years before completion. "It includes an augmented reality and animation component," he explains.
“It’s a film that’s going to play a lot on the theme of being 10 years old. My parents had to flee Lebanon, and we took refuge in Syria during the Lebanese Civil War. My mother used to say to me at that age: ‘You have to be strong like Handala.’ Somehow, I felt that our destinies were intertwined.”
For now, Kaabour is working to make sure My Family and the Explosion is available in the Middle East later this year.
More coverage from the Future Forum
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Race results:
1. Thani Al Qemzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi: 46.44 min
2. Peter Morin (FRA) CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team: 0.91sec
3. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team: 31.43sec
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score)
Porto (0) v Liverpool (2), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v tba
Dunki
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2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
Saturday results
Qatar beat Kuwait by 26 runs
Bahrain beat Maldives by six wickets
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by seven wickets
Monday fixtures
Maldives v Qatar
Saudi Arabia v Kuwait
Bahrain v UAE
* The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
List of alleged parties
- May 15 2020: Boris Johnson is said to have attended a Downing Street pizza party
- 27 Nov 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
- Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson
- Dec 13 2020: Mr Johnson and his then-fiancee Carrie Symonds throw a flat party
- Dec 14 2020: Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative Party headquarters
- Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
- Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
The specs: 2018 GMC Terrain
Price, base / as tested: Dh94,600 / Dh159,700
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Power: 252hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 353Nm @ 2,500rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.4L / 100km
Company%20Profile
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GULF MEN'S LEAGUE
Pool A Dubai Hurricanes, Bahrain, Dubai Exiles, Dubai Tigers 2
Pool B Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jebel Ali Dragons, Dubai Knights Eagles, Dubai Tigers
Opening fixtures
Thursday, December 5
6.40pm, Pitch 8, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Knights Eagles
7pm, Pitch 2, Jebel Ali Dragons v Dubai Tigers
7pm, Pitch 4, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Exiles
7pm, Pitch 5, Bahrain v Dubai Eagles 2
Recent winners
2018 Dubai Hurricanes
2017 Dubai Exiles
2016 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2015 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2014 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Scoreline
UAE 2-1 Saudi Arabia
UAE Mabkhout 21’, Khalil 59’
Saudi Al Abed (pen) 20’
Man of the match Ahmed Khalil (UAE)
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)
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
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