A group of eight artists has been selected by the foundation MENA Arts UK to create a series of short films on what unites creatives in turbulent times.
Each artist is to receive £1,000 ($1,366) to create a one-minute piece of filmed work that responds to the question: “How should the MENA+ arts community celebrate what we have in common?”
The winners came from a call for entrants who had to be a UK-based artist working in the live and recorded arts, and have a connection to the Middle East, North Africa and the surrounding area. They also had to sign up for a ground breaking directory of creatives from this background.
The chosen artists hail from a range of backgrounds, from a puppeteer to a DJ, a deaf Iranian artist and a Yemeni-Scouse performance artist.
The winners are Peyvand Sadeghian, an actor, puppeteer and theatre-maker born, bred and based in London to Iranian and Chinese parents, and Nooriyah Qais a DJ, presenter and filmmaker.
May Ziade is French-Lebanese and works on other people's films and her own. Maral Mamaghanizadeh is a deaf Iranian artist. Her work explores the barriers she encounters in everyday life, being deaf, female and a refugee.
Majid Adin studied fine art and animation in Iran, where he was arrested because of the political nature of his work. Jida Akil is a Syrian/Lebanese early-career theatre designer currently based in London and Cyprus.
Bint Mbareh is a first-time filmmaker with experience in television production, song-writing and an interest in sound. Amina Atiq is a Yemeni–Scouse poet, performance artist and activist.
Peyvand Sadeghian, one of the winners, said it was an opportunity to take a creative risk. “I am looking forward to working collaboratively with another artist to bring my vision to life. I already have my project in mind and I can’t wait to get started,” she added.
Sepy Baghaei, an Iranian theatre director is a vice chair for MENA Arts and hailed the high standard, creativity and ambition of all the ideas submitted. “Our winning eight ideas are an eclectic mix, and feature animation, set design, poetry and music,” she said. “Their makers are from all around the UK and are connected to MENA regions including Iran, Palestine, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon.”
Ms Baghaei added she was “excited to see these films come to life, and to share their celebrations of MENA+ identity with a wider audience”.
MENA Arts is part funded by the Film and TV Charity and Arts Council England and recruited a panel of industry professionals for the judging panel of the competition.
The team comprised Sabrina Mahfouz, a playwright and poet; playwright Hannah Khalil; film director Saeed Taji Farouky as well as Ms Baghaei
The winning commissions will be released digitally in March 2021, alongside a Q&A session with the artists behind each film. The organisers also hope there will also be a series of panel events.
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Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
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