Photos and Highlights from Jameel’s Summer Cinema x The Culturist Film Club
A post to share photos and highlights from the film programme I curated as The Culturist Film Club for Jameel Arts Centre that ran every other Saturday between June 21 and August 2.
Jameel’s Summer Cinema, in collaboration with The Culturist Film Club presents a lively season of films, inviting audiences to cool down, slow down, and gather indoors for four curated screening nights at Jameel Arts Centre.Taking place over the summer months, the programme delves into stories about cities, archives, and the ways we live and remember together, plus a special nod to the visionary world of David Lynch.
Each screening will include informal talks with filmmakers, artists, and special guests as we unpack the themes together. Audiences are encouraged to engage in collective viewing, stay for the discussion, and enjoy food and refreshments available throughout the evening. via jameelartscentre.org
The response and turnout was great and even though it is less busy in Dubai during the summer, it is definitely not empty and there are many who are eager for summer activities that do not include eating out or spending time in malls during the oppressively hot months.
I was very happy when Jameel Arts Centre reached out asking me to work on a film program. It was a lovely bi-weekly ritual in their lobby area where we screened the films, and I personally hope this can happen more often. Quite a few of the regular attendees expressed the same thing. At every screening, I found out it was the first time for several of the audience members at the arts centre, so it made me even more happy that a film screening made them visit.
Showing the films and discussing them with an audience was extremely rewarding, and as much as I loved each event, one stood out in a way that far exceeded my expectations. Keep reading to find out which one.
Huge thanks to Jameel Arts Centre, especially to Qutouf Elobaid for inviting me to work on this and being open to all my suggestions, Nabeeha Sajjad for promoting the events, Yazan Yacoub for all his technical support and making sure everything ran smoothly each night. A huge thanks to all the filmmakers for agreeing to let us show their films, and the invited guest speakers for their valuable insights.
Last but not least, a big fat thank you to everyone that attended the screenings and for participating in the discussions, especially the regulars. The Culturist Film Club isn’t just about showing films, but creating a space to engage with the themes of the films, to have a discussion that is not “art speak”, and to have other voices heard, which are things I believe many in Dubai seek but not many institutions offer.
The following are photos and highlights from each event.
Apologises for the lack of better quality images, most are from my very old iPhone and a few that were shared on Instagram (I’ve credited the photos that aren’t taken by me). We didn’t have a professional photographer, which in hindsight I wish we had - but the following is a documentation nevertheless.
I made a music playlist for each night and listed them below, (I don’t use Spotify, you can look them up on your own if interested).
Programme 1 on June 21: Cities, Cinema and People
Behind the Sun (Bentley Brown, 2023, USA, 17 min)
Cairo, As Told By Chahine (Youssef Chahine, 1991, Egypt, 23 min)
+ Discussion with Bentley Brown (filmmaker)
We launched the programme with two films reflecting on the representation of a city in cinema, the filmmaker’s relationship with these cities, and the social and political challenges to make their films.
Bentley Brown’s film Behind the Sun was made in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia before 2018 when cinemas were still closed in that country. It is about a love relationship that ended, the hardship of making films in a city that has no cinemas, and the enforced cultural and social restrictions at the time.
Youssef Chahine’s underseen docu-fiction Cairo, As Told By Chahine was made in 1991, it was commissioned by French TV to make a short film about Cairo. It started of by questioning the stereotypes that should be included in the film - we see Chahine asking film students what would be expected to include in a film about Cairo, their answers - the pyramids, belly dancing, the Nile.
After getting the stereotype footage out of the way, the film brings attention to a more complicated depiction of the city, that is over crowded in both public and private spaces, increased unemployment, and an increased level of religious intolerance.
My discussion with Bentley included anecdotes whilst making his film, the community he worked with, the challenges he faced, and when he was forced to leave the country, his relationship to the place after he was able to go back and his feelings about Saudi Arabia post 2018.
Music playlist:
Dalida - حلوة يا بلدي / Hilwa Ya Baladi
a-ha - Manhattan Skyline
Aswat Almadina - لغةالشوارع / Logat Alshawarae
Bananarama - Cairo
LCD Soundsystem - New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down
The National - England
Fairuz - شط اسكندرية / Shat Iskindiriyah
Friendly Fires - Paris (Aeroplane Remix)
Programme 2 on July 5: In Memory of David Lynch
A selection of works by and about David Lynch
+ Discussion with Rebecca Crookshank (artist, playwright and screenwriter)
The turnout and the reactions for this screening blew my mind. It was the highest turnout and the most attentive audience out of all the four events, both during the screening and discussion.
Rebecca and I made a selection of works by and about David Lynch that I turned into a 75 min montage to screen that night. It included a couple of David Lynch’s Weather Report, excerpts from Lynch’s book Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity read by him, excerpts from interviews and lectures, video essays about his work, a small selection of the commercials he directed including perfume ads like Tresor (starring Isabella Rossellini), Gucci, Dior. I loved how everyone laughed when one of the ads ended with “Welcome to the Third Place” followed by the PlayStation 2 logo.
We ended with a video essay made as an homage to Twin Peaks: The Return which made me tear up.
The post screening discussion between us was about David Lynch’s practice as an artist and a filmmaker. I was so happy with how the audience engaged with our discussions and the questions they asked. There were a few young artists in attendance who were not familiar with David Lynch before, and some shared their struggle to make art work without getting caught up with hustle culture, to make art that’s true to themselves and taking their time to make it. I hope the clips and words we shared by Lynch inspired them.
The feedback from so many of the audience members afterwards was overwhelmingly moving. One that stood out for me was being told I created a space to mourn David Lynch that didn’t happen anywhere in Dubai when he passed away in January.
We also had coffee, pies and donuts, and was glad to see only a few crumbs were remained.
Rebecca and I both turned up with buttoned up collared shirts, and ended our talk by wearing dark shades and said in unison a line from one of Lynch’s Weather Report, "I'm wearing dark glasses today, because I'm seeing the future, and it's looking very bright."
This was such a fun and rewarding collaboration with Rebecca and I really hope we can work together again and soon.
Music Playlist:
The Platters - My Prayer
Bobby Vinton - Blue Velvet
Elvis Presley - Love Me Tender
Chris Isaak - Blue Spanish Sky
David Bowie - I’m Deranged
Chrystabell and David Lynch - Sublime Eternal Love
Julee Cruise - Falling
David Lynch and Dean Hurley - Slow 30s Room
Angelo Badalamaneti - Rose’s Theme
Roy Orbison - In Dreams
Programme 3 on July 19: Rematerialising the Archive
The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing (Theo Panagopoulos, 2024, UK, 17 min)
Scenes of Extraction (Sanaz Sohrabi, 2023, Canada, Iran, 43 min)
+ Discussion with Jasmine Soliman (archivist)
This programme was about colonial and corporate archives. Theo’s film included footage from British-occupied Palestine circa 1930s-40s shot by Scottish missionaries, and Sanaz’s film featured photography and footage from Iran circa 1900-50s from the British Petroleum Archives.
I invited Jasmine Soliman, an archivist and founder of RepCinema.com to join me for the post screening. We recently started working together on a new project titled Collected Histories that is also about archives.
Our discussion focused on how archives can reveal, hide or distort history depending on who controls it - how archives are categorised, described and catalogued. We also talked about who is visible in these films, and who are intentionally ignored or obscured, and how some of the footage we saw have connections to other archives in other collections elsewhere.
I’ve attended or know of many talks about archives at cultural institutions where actual archivists aren’t on the panel or even invited to participate and was keen to unpack these two films with an archivist instead or an artist. We also talked about the hidden labour or archiving that most of the general public don’t know about, and how archives used by some artists or archive hobbyists on social media erase that labour and misuse the term ‘archive’.
There were some very thoughtful questions and comments about the films and archives from the audience, and quite a few expressed their appreciation on the insights we shared.
Music Playlist:
Seal - Kiss From a Rose
Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn
The Rolling Stones - Dead Flowers
Bette Midler - The Rose
Mazzy Star - Flowers in December
Sweet Female Attitude - Flowers
The Lumineers - Flowers in Your Hair
The Foundations - Build Me Up Buttercip
Programme 4 on August 2: Home, Longing and Solitude
Why is My Grandfather’s Bed in Our Living Room? (Sarah Alhashimi, 2021, UAE, 7 min)
Practical Dreams (Yulia Piskuliyska, 2019, UAE, 9 min)
The Tobacconist (Keifer Nyron Taylor, 2024, UK, 22 min)
Tender Loving Care (Kalina Pulit, 2023, UK, 20 min)
+ Discussion with Sarah Alhashimi (filmmaker)
The last screening returned to cities, this time about making a place your home, and personal experiences that include struggles, isolation and finding community amidst changes beyond one’s control.
The programme included two films shot in Dubai and two in London. It was followed by a discussion with one of the filmmakers, Sarah Alhasimi. Yulia Piskuliyska wasn’t able to join us because she just had a baby (congratulations), but Anthony Dias featured in her film was in the audience and joined the discussion. I asked Keifer and Kalina to send me a few words to read on their behalf during my intro, here’s what they sent:
“One of the many inspirations for The Tobacconist is the Windrush Scandal: the wrongful detention and deportation of British-Caribbeans, by the British state. We can feel and sometimes see this post-colonial subtext throughout. Or, we can focus on the protagonist, Tobias, and his personal ghosts. They echo through his community - one undergoing constant change. Hope it resonates. Enjoy.”
—Keifer Nyron Taylor
“Tender Loving Care was born out of personal isolation, as we were slowly emerging from a collective isolation globally. It was supposed to be a two-minute-long film, but we quickly learned that there is so much to say about loneliness in big cities - and so many people wanted to get involved.
It's been nearly two years now since our festival premiere, and the film has reached many parts of the world, with precious screenings, meaningful conversations and connections forged through it. I couldn't be more grateful for such an outcome.
I am thrilled to be sharing the film with you tonight. This is a Middle Eastern premiere for Tender Loving Care. I hope you enjoy it, and I would love to hear from you if there's anything you'd like to share, feel free to drop me a direct message on Instagram, for example.
Thank you for having our film. I wish you a wonderful screening.” —Kalina Pulit
The post screening discussion included how one copes with constant changes in Dubai that include demolition of old homes and buildings to make room for new roads or high rise towers, and what is preserved from the past, physically or in our memories. Cities are always changing, but in the case of Dubai, it happens much more rapidly. But we also found other connections with all four films, especially when it comes to how one copes. There’s a line from Kalina’s film that encapsulated a connecting thread for all four films, “People generally just want to be acknowledged, they want to be recognised. I think that’s enough sometimes.”
Music Playlist:
Rashed Al Majed - Ya Salam Ya Dubai
Arash feat. Helena - One Night In Dubai
Vampire Weekend - Houston Dubai
Chickenfoot - Dubai Blues
Chief One - Dubai Boy
The Arrogant One - I'm In Dubai
DJ Khushi, Madhubanti Bagchi, Shashi Suman, Nikhita Gandhi - Burj Khalifa
Bananarama - Hey Young London
Lily Allen - LDN
Magnetic Fields - Swinging London
Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls
Florence & The Machine - South London Forever
Blur - London Loves
Crystal Fighters - I Love London
