This year, Oscar nominations were once again met with criticism as many were left disappointed by the lack of diversity among the Academy's chosen nominees. We need voices from different backgrounds, ethnicities and countries to be represented at the Oscars, but despite this setback, Middle Eastern filmmakers managed to claim many victories at the world's foremost film awards. Two Syrian documentaries, For Sama, by Waad Al Kateab and co-director Edward Watts, and The Cave, directed by Feras Fayyad, were nominated for Best Documentary Feature. Short film nominees Brotherhood and Nefta Football Club are also set in the Arab world, in Tunisia.
This is not a first for talented Arab filmmakers, who have had their work nominated at the Oscars for decades. In fact Fayyad himself had already been nominated for his documentary Last Men in Aleppo in 2018. As early as 1970, Algerian-French movie Z became the first Arab-produced film to ever win an Oscar. And last year, Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki became the first Arab woman to be nominated at the Oscars, for her feature film Capernaum.
The nomination of specifically Syrian documentaries is all the more crucial, as they give the people of Syria a voice
These nominations offer international recognition, and can help amplify the voices of Arab directors and filmmakers, who work hard to put forth an authentic perspective of the region. The facts and events showcased in these movies have the power to touch a global audience, giving viewers access to often forgotten parts of the world.
Documentaries are also among the first witnesses and recorders of history. They serve as a cinematographic archive for generations to come. The nomination of specifically Syrian documentaries is all the more crucial, as they give the people of Syria a voice at a time when the regime is cracking down on dissent at home and Western discourse often reduces the plight of millions seeking shelter abroad to a refugee “crisis” or “problem”. To counter this dehumanising rhetoric, the two documentaries follow the lives of brave Syrian women who are doing their best simply to survive.
Filmed over the course of five years For Sama documents the battle for Aleppo through the eyes of film director Al Kateab, a woman who is doing all she can to raise her young daughter Sama in the embattled city.
The Cave is set in Ghouta, a city that has gone through untold suffering, sustaining chemical attacks and a five-year siege launched by the Syrian regime. The documentary follows the daily life of Amani Ballour, a female doctor who saves lives in a makeshift hospital, tucked away in a cave. These stories deserve to be told to an international audience, which has all but forgotten the plight of Syrians, as the war enters its ninth year.
Another victory for the region at the Oscar nominations is that Arab directors, producers, actors and film crews, are finally receiving the international recognition due to them.
The artists, filmmakers and documentarians of the Middle East should get all the support they need to produce movies and art pieces about their homeland because they can tell its authentic stories. Their vision will undoubtedly shape a more accurate perception of this part of the world than any Hollywood blockbuster. Such movies are quick to portray the Arab world as a monolithic desert landscape ravaged by war and invariably depict its people as dangerous terrorists or victims waiting to be saved by the West.
A prime example is the fiasco around the American series Homeland, which the Lebanese government threatened to sue in 2012, as it accused the producers of damaging the country's tourism sector. One episode in particular painted lively Beirut as a deserted war zone, and its bar street in Hamra as a haven for extremists.
For a country like Syria, such stereotypical depictions come at an even bigger cost as it reinforces Syrian President Bashar Al Assad's claim that any dissenting voices are terrorists in disguise.
But if For Sama and The Cave have taught us anything about Syria, it is the fact that its people, much like Kateab and Ballour, are not doomed to be victims or militants. Many are resilient survivors in the face of tyranny. We can only hope that the achievements of more Middle Eastern directors will be recognised and rewarded in the future. The region is filled with talented artists who deserve to have their work shown to the world.
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.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tuesday, April 24 (10.45pm)
Liverpool v Roma
Wednesday, April 25
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (10.45pm)
Europa League semi-final, first leg
Thursday, April 26
Arsenal v Atletico Madrid (11.05pm)
Marseille v Salzburg (11.05pm)
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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)
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
The specs
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6pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 Group 1 (PA) $55,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
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Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
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