Elham Ehsas was just 14 years old when he first became interested in directing.
Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, Ehsas fled the country at the age of 10 after the Taliban takeover. He found refuge in London where, as a teenager, he was cast in the critically acclaimed 2007 drama The Kite Runner, directed by Bafta and Golden Globe nominee Marc Forster.
“We were shooting a party scene,” Ehsas tells The National. “I was looking at the monitors. I saw that there was an empty space in half of the frame. I told the script supervisor about it and they told me it was a good idea to fill it. I just really responded to that.”
Over the past decade Ehsas has built an impressive career as an actor, appearing opposite Brad Pitt in War Machine, Alexander Skarsgard in The Kill Team, the final season of Homeland, the Apple TV+ series Little America, and on stage in London and New York. But, at the same time, he has struggled to find roles and characters that he really connected with, which is what drew him to creating his own.
“There’s a gap in the stories about the part of the world I’m from. Oftentimes, the people in these areas and their stories aren’t overly dramatic. I thought maybe I could change the way they’re shown. Being a director came out of a necessity to control my life as an actor.”
Yellow, Ehsas’s fourth short film as a director, tells the story of Laili (Afsaneh Dehrouyeh), who walks into a Chadari store in Kabul to buy her first full body veil and face a new future. Ehsas was inspired to write the film after he saw a news conference by the Taliban where they decreed that women must wear an all-covering veil in public, and then limited their ability to work, their access to education, and their freedom of movement.
“I had such a strong reaction to that news. It’s a human rights issue and it is unacceptable. In that moment I also realised it meant that a lot of women had to go out and buy the veil for the first time. I’m always drawn to the small moments that are quite heavy underneath.”
Over the course of a weekend, Ehsas became obsessed with the idea and wrote the script. “I was completely immersed in the idea,” he says. Throughout the writing process Ehsas was careful not make the film “preachy” and rather than being overt with his message and condemnation he wanted to just focus on this heartfelt moment between the two characters.
“I didn’t want to make a short film that read like a textbook. I knew that it needed to be emotional. We all know that what’s happening is wrong. I wanted to put what’s going on with Afghan women against a simple and small story. I think that’s what makes the idea and story more powerful and palatable. I wanted to make something that took a nuanced look at it.”
When it came to casting Laili, Ehsas originally looked to find an actress from Afghanistan for the part. But as this process proved increasingly futile, he turned to British-Iranian actress Dehrouyeh. He had previously worked with her on his first short film, Our Kind of Love, which told the story of a woman from an Afghan village going on her first date in London. “She’s such an amazing performer and actress. We have so much chemistry on screen. She is just so supportive and brings so many emotional elements to the character.”
While the interior scenes for Yellow were filmed in Hackney, London, they were able to travel to Afghanistan for the brief exterior shots at the beginning, which immediately brings a detail and authenticity to the film that makes it feel more realistic.
When it comes to his hopes for Yellow, which has already qualified for consideration at the 2024 Baftas and Academy Awards, Ehsas just wants audiences to feel the pain that Afghan women feel because they’re unable to have equal footing in life. “I want audiences to see the world that these women are living in. I want them to try to help, because there are so many different ways and organisations. There’s UN Women, emergency appeals, and even petitions to governments.”
Looking to his own future, Ehsas will make his fifth short before the end of the year. The theme will focus on climate change, specifically how it has started to change biological behaviour. After completing that, though, he then wants to turn his attention to making feature-length films.
“The key to directing is identifying emotions and life experiences that incite emotions, whether good or bad. I have a lot to learn, but the more I direct the more I realise how powerful it is to tell stories about internal emotions.”
When it comes to telling personal stories about Afghanistan and its diaspora, he has no interest in telling the usual tales of violence and trauma. “This is a country that has gone through so much change. I know that the diaspora in the West is hungry for material and stories from the region. I want to pay tribute to the rich culture that we have and I want to hold up a mirror to ourselves and build expectations for the future.”
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French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
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
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
The biog
Favourite pet: cats. She has two: Eva and Bito
Favourite city: Cape Town, South Africa
Hobby: Running. "I like to think I’m artsy but I’m not".
Favourite move: Romantic comedies, specifically Return to me. "I cry every time".
Favourite spot in Abu Dhabi: Saadiyat beach
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ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More on Quran memorisation:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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