Living in a city, you miss out on seeing sky filled with stars, I have to go out into the desert and away from light pollution to see a starry sky in Dubai.
Take a minute and enjoy this time lapse video from Japan (music by Tanagra).
The Doha Tribeca Film Festival announced its line up for this year's festival which is scheduled to run between 26th-30th October. Over 40 movies are in the line up (all listed after the jump) and it's a good mix of Arab and International movies that include shorts, full features and documentaries.
I will share my top recommendations after I research each title over the next few days, so do come back for more. In the meantime, enjoy this promo clip for the Doha Film Institute and world renowned French photographer Brigitte Lacombe’s "I AM FILM" exhibition, which will be launched in on the opening day of festival on 26th October.
Brigitte Lacombe first came to Doha in 2008, then returned in 2009 to attend the first ever Doha Tribeca Film Festival. She was so inspired by the community spirit and filmmaking talent that this year, she and her sister Marion Lacombe, a former journalist travelled the globe to capture over 100 portraits and intimate interviews with some of the world’s most important emerging and iconic cinema talents. Glad to see it includes Dubai favourites Ali Mostafa and Mahmoud Kaabour.
Fans of Japanese movies in the UAE rejoice! The Japanese Embassy in Abu Dhabi is organising a film festival on 29th and 30th September. All screenings will be at the National Theatre in Abu Dhabi (Phone: +9712 621 5300 and location map). Admission is free.
Wednesday, 29th September at 5.00pm Mura no Shashinshu (The Village Album) by Mitsuhiro Mihara
The small village of Hanatani does not have long. A large construction project in the area will soon commence, to build a dam in a nearby valley. The village must be evacuated before it is completely submerged. Kenchi is a photographer, and runs a small photo studio in the village. His son also works professionally as a photographer in Tokyo, and together they are asked to put together a photo album of the village. Putting aside personal issues and long-lasting feuds, Kenchi and Takashi start visiting every family in the village and the surrounding areas, taking photos that will preserve at least a memory of the village.
Wednesday, 29th September - 7.30pm Tasogare Seibei (The Twilight Samurai) by Yoji Yamada
Seibei Iguchi is a low-ranking samurai living in the fading days of the Shogun period in Japan. His wife has died of tuberculosis, and with two daughters and an elderly mother to support, he and his family must survive in austerity. But when news of his sword-fighting prowess gets out, his superiors order him on a dangerous mission: kill a renowned warrior who is on the wrong side of a clan power struggle.
Thursday, 30th September - 5.00pm Kappa no Kwi to Natsuyasumi (Summer Days with Coo) by Keiichi Hara
A small, lone Kappa miraculously survives over 200 years into modern day Tokyo, Japan when he is found by young Koichi. "Coo" who is secretly adopted by the whole family, faces a tragic past and the present's challenge of living in a dramatically changed environment, searches with his new human friend for places not invaded by people hoping to find any remaining of his kind. When this intelligent "water sprite" draws the popular attention of the whole city upon being discovered and then confronted with his past, it forces him to take action and make an ultimate decision, in order to preserve his kind, inner peace and well being in today's harsh world.
Thursday, 30th September - 7.30pm Bushi no Ichibun (Love and Honour) by Yoji Yamada
Shinnojo Mimura is a samurai sharing a hand-to-mouth existence with his beautiful wife, Kayo. Frustrated by his lowly status within the castle ranks, Shinnojo dreams of better days instructing children in the way of the sword. But destiny, it would seem, has other plans… A freak accident takes the warrior’s sight, leaving Shinnojo cursed. Losing his status and pride, his hopes and dreams, and even himself to this life of eternal darkness, only one path lies open for Shinnojo: That of the true and noble samurai.
Museum ME is a new exhibition that will be held at thejamjar from 14th-21st October that aims to present a snap shot of the United Arab Emirates and the shared experiences of its community by inviting everyone to submit an object which relates to the UAE’s history.
It's your chance to be part of a unique and special exhibition, so I urge you to look through your old things and find that special something that can be part of this exhibition.
The UAE is a place of multiple nationalities and cultures and it would be great to see this reflected through objects that can tell a story and show a shared history of a place that many think of as transcient.
Curated by Sonia Brewin (artist) and Rachael Brown (Head of Special Projects at thejamjar), they will select 100 objects and present them in categories of history, domesticity and art, placing sentimental tokens on the same level as historical artifact, weaving together the personal fragments into a cumulative patchwork tapestry of the UAE’s identity.
I sat with Sonia and Rachael recently to talk about this exhibition and asked them what inspired this idea, what they hope to achieve with this exhibition and its importance as a community project. (This is my first video interview for the blog and I plan to do more of this - so please excuse the sound quality and I promise I will lower my voice in future recordings.)
I am very excited about this exhibition (I was also thrilled they used one of my photos to advertise the event - yes a bit of shameless self promotion here). I love the fact that this is open to everyone in the country to take part and not exclusive to the art community and I can't wait to see the final selection.
How to take part? Send the following to: museumuae@thejamjardubai.com by 1st October 2010. - An image (JPG) of the object being submitted. - A description of its importance to the UAE in no more than 150 words - Measurements in centimeters, height x width x depth - Estimate of object’s age
Someone I know posted these words on his blog last week and it stayed on my mind ever since.
Last night, I found out it's The Holstee Manifesto (Holstee is a company that designs and sells eco friendly, style-driven products and aims to promote innovative approaches to sustainable design).
It's a great manifesto and something everyone should follow.
I love this track by Cinnamon Chasers and the video, directed by Saman Keshavarz. The video is told from a first person's point of view, but there are three versions to the story. All leading to a grim ending.
I'm a year late in appreciating this video, so if you've already seen it, enjoy it again. If you haven't, please watch it now.
A new exhibition called RSTW opens on 22nd September at Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi and will go on till 24th January 2011.
RSTW stands for Rauschenberg, Ruscha, Serra, Twombly, Warhol and Wool, some of the leading names in Post-War American art (or as I’d like to call it RRSTWW in a French accent – don’t ask me why).
It’s a showcase of masterpieces - paintings, sculptures, drawings, photography - that have never been exhibited together, all from the private collection of one of the art world’s renowned figures, Larry Gagosian.
Curated by Anne Baldassari, President of Musée National Picasso in Paris, she proposed to present a deliberately partial interpretation through the most emblematic artists’ work. The seemingly arbitrary nature of the alphabetical ordering, offers a new perspective on the notion of a collection. The works selected offer a slice of art history through an arrangement of forms and techniques – a multiplicity of realities that will occupy the Manarat Al Saadiyat space.
It’s great to have an exhibition of this calibre happening in the country and it will be interesting to see it’s impact, what impressions it leaves and what it leads to.
I’ve put together a collection of videos I found for each artist, each one that shows the artist talking about his work or a showcase of some of their important their work.
The Dubai art and cultural calendar is back after a summer break and I'm looking forward to The Empty Quarter's "Fashion: The Story of a Lifetime" that opens this week. It's a unique, museum quality collection of vintage and modern prints by famed international photographers whose lifetime stories are intrinsically tied to 20th-century high fashion.
The photographers include Albert Watson, Norman Parkinson, F.C. Gundlach, Lillian Bassman, Elliott Erwitt, Erwin Blumenfeld, Melvin Sokolsky, Sarah Moon and Frank Horvat - all are internationally renowned for their immense contribution to fashion photography.
Their legendary images are paired with the incredible story of Parveen Shaath, a fashion aficionado from Saudi Arabia who devoted her entire life to haute couture dresses, collecting the best pieces among the Saudi society. A few of these dresses by notable fashion houses will be on display in the gallery.
I am really, really, really looking forward to this.
Exhibition details: Dates: 14th September to 17th October 2010 (Vernissage on 16th September) Location: The Empty Quarter, Gate Village at DIFC, Bldg 02 Phone: +971 4 323 1210 Website: www.theemptyquarter.com
Wishing you all Eid Mubarak. Hope you will spend the holiday with your family and loved ones. I will be back after the Eid holidays, so see you on the other side.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 7:05PM 
