Anyone with even a passing interest in independent cinema in the UAE knows the name Butheina Kazim. The Bahraini-Emirati entrepreneur is the founder of the first arthouse cinema in the region, Cinema Akil.
Originally a nomadic series of film nights across the country, since 2018 it has had a permanent home in a converted warehouse in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue, as well as a much more recent outpost at the 25hours Hotel Dubai One Central.
Kazim is part of the fabric of the Dubai – a fact cemented by her guest editorship of the first Louis Vuitton guide dedicated to the city in 2023. “My city is Dubai. And my life is cinema,” she told The National at the time.
What is your favourite time of day and why?
Sunset – the OG Lord’s filter and harbinger of the dark.
What is your favourite restaurant anywhere in the world?
The cafe in Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes.
When was the first time you realised your parents were human?
When I bled my mum with my pre-teen long nails and my dad cried at his mother’s deathbed.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Passport control officer at DXB airport.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I do an on-demand helium balloon voice singing Mohammed Abdu songs.
Your favourite book?
This is too agonising of a question. Though, I’ll never stop loving Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali.
What type of music can’t you stand?
Lazy use of onomatopoeia and unfinished lyrics.
What puts you in a bad mood?
Unsolicited advice.
What can you not live without?
Interesting people.
Dream dinner guests?
Stitch [from Lilo and Stitch], Gurgi [from The Black Cauldron], Batty [from Ferngully: The Last Rainforest] and all the Curious Oysters [from Alice in Wonderland].
Sitting on the sofa or out with friends?
Both in the same day, multiple times, at different times of day.
What smell takes you straight back to childhood?
Lily of the Valley and Mastik.
What food takes you back to childhood?
Cerelac and Rasgulla ... separately.
Which city do you love but would hate to live in?
I have two. Delhi and Amman.
Can you play a musical instrument?
No. Music was banned at our school after the principal became religiously conservative.
Have you ever been on a motorcycle?
Yes.
Any words to live by?
“We tell ourselves stories in order to live” - Joan Didion
Biggest pet peeve?
Nosiness.
Do you believe in aliens?
Yes, along with the djinns and warawaras.
What is your favourite Arabic word?
Ya’ni [editor’s note: hard to translate but used similarly to "like" in English]
The most niche thing you watch on YouTube?
Recently, how-to-videos on making organic pools in the English countryside by retired BBC videographer David Pagan Butler… and vintage Kuwaiti music videos.
How do you take your tea?
Fragrant, sweet, caffeinated.
What makes you cry?
Stagnancy, apathy, bad taste.
What do social algorithms think you’re interested in?
Chili oil, baby content and vinyls.
TikTok or Instagram?
TikTok is the city I love but can’t live in.
What is it about you that would surprise people?
My unrequited love of sardines.
When was the last time you did something for the first time?
This morning, I used a Dyson Airwrap.
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
THE DETAILS
Deadpool 2
Dir: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Justin Dennison, Zazie Beetz
Four stars
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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more from Janine di Giovanni
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Overview
What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.
When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.
Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.
Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.
Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE
Price, base / as tested Dh274,000 (estimate)
Engine 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 245hp @ 4,200rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The bio
Favourite food: Japanese
Favourite car: Lamborghini
Favourite hobby: Football
Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough
Favourite country: UAE
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
