Our editors select TMR World Picks. We welcome your suggestions: editors@themarkaz.org
TMR
Arab film at the International Venice Film Festival—Happy Holidays from Scandar Copti & Al bahs an manfaz i khoroug al sayed Rambo (Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo) from Khaled Mansour
Sept 3-5—more info
Director Scandar Copti (Ajami) presents his new feature film from September 3 to 5 in Venice. In Happy Holidays, four interconnected characters share their unique realities, highlighting the complexities between genders, generations, and cultures. Copti explains, “Happy Holidays begins with a car crash during the Purim holiday and ends during the siren of Israeli Memorial Day…I aim to critically examine these mechanisms and their impact on individuals’ values through two intertwined stories told from four perspectives. The stories showcase good human beings trapped in a corrupt system.” More info.
Director Khaled Mansour presents his feature Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo on Sept. 4 and 5. In a working-class neighborhood of Cairo, 30-year-old Hassan faces eviction with his mother and his dog, Rambo, as their landlord, Karem, a car mechanic, plans to expand his workshop. When Hassan’s mother decides to sue Karem, he responds with hostility, leading to an attack on Hassan. Unable to defend himself, Hassan is rescued by Rambo, who bites Karem in a sensitive spot in a public display. Determined to restore his dignity, Karem intensifies his harassment, prompting Hassan to embark on a challenging journey across the city to find a safe haven for Rambo. Through this quest, Hassan confronts his deepest fears and rediscovers himself. More info.
Le livre est sur la table: The Challenges of Translating Poetry
Sept. 8, 3 pm, New York, US—more info
Join Words Without Borders for a very special in-person reading and discussion featuring four exceptional translators of poetry from Arabic, French, German, and Portuguese. The line-up includes Kathleen Heil (from German), John Keene (from Portuguese), Yolande Schutter (from French) and Yasmine Seale (from Arabic).
Elif Shafak, online, on her new novel There Are Rivers in the Sky
Sept. 10, 11 am, PST, US—more info
Elif Shafak will be in conversation with Ipek Burnett when City Lights and Alfred A Knopf celebrate the publication of There are Rivers In The Sky. Elif Shafak is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist and storyteller. She has published 20 books, 13 of which are novels and her books have been translated into 57 languages. The Island of Missing Trees was a finalist for the Costa Award, British Book Awards, RSL Ondaatje Prize and Women’s Prize for Fiction and was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick.
Ipek S. Burnett, PhD, is the author of A Jungian Inquiry into the American Psyche: The Violence of Innocence and the editor of the upcoming volume Re-Visioning the American Psyche: Jungian, Archetypal, and Mythological Reflections. She is a contributing writer at CounterPunch and a Turkish novelist. Dr. Burnett is the Co-Chair of Human Rights Watch Executive Committee in San Francisco and serves on the board of 826 Valencia, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting under-resourced students with their writing skills. Made possible by support from the City Lights Foundation.
Voices of Resilience at the Barbican from Comma Press
Sept. 14, 19:00, Barbican Center, London, UK—more info
Presented by Comma Press, this promises to be an evening of testimonies reflecting upon the resilience of Palestinians in Gaza accompanied by traditional Arabic music and a visual score. The show includes extracts from the diaries of writers Nahil Mohana, Sondos Sabra, Ala’a Obeid and Atef Abu Saif. Traditional Arabic music will be performed by Ahmed Adnan and there’ll be a visual score by Gazan filmmaker Hossam Abo Shamallah.
Tayseer Barakat, Gaza: Recalling the Collage of a Place, Zawyeh Gallery Dubai
Through Sept. 15, online here
Since finishing his studies in Egypt and settling down in Ramallah, Gazan artist Tayseer Barakat has worked intensively on producing a remarkable series of paperwork, which he later kept hidden in a corner of his studio. In this online exhibition, Zawyeh Gallery reveals this unique body of work, produced over a decade, exploring the rich and intricate tapestry of Gaza. At this time of genocide, the exhibition not only presents a fascinating body of work from the past but also honors the memory of a vibrant place that has been facing unmerciful destruction of its people and memories.
Barakat’s series stems from his childhood memories as he grew up in Gaza, specifically in Jabaliya camp, which was subjected to a brutal bombardment campaign in recent weeks. From his graduation from Egypt in 1984 until 2005, Barakat worked on this series using different techniques, including collage, various printing methods, inks, and dyes. The work is also inspired by old manuscripts and documents from the pre-Israeli occupation era, which parallels his other artistic endeavors.
Barakat’s distance from Gaza and his infrequent visits due to the Israeli occupation measures can be noticed in this series. The longing for the place, people, and social scene is apparent in almost every work and his choice of collage is an excellent way to express this subject.
Bidoun presents Farouk Beloufa’s NAHLA
Sept. 19 & Sept 22, Anthology Film Archives, London, UK—more info
Since the summer of 2023, Anthology has been hosting screenings co-presented by Bidoun. For the next instalment of this recurring series, which is guest-programmed by Bidoun’s Tiffany Malakooti, there will be two (35mm) screenings in September of the Algerian film, NAHLA (1979), a classic of Algerian cinema that is the sole surviving feature by Farouk Beloufa. The filmmaker’s son, Neil Beloufa, will be at the screening on September 19th to introduce the film.
This will be followed by a 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary by Jocelyne Saab titled Saab On the Set of NAHLA/ Sur le Tournage de NAHLA (1979) featuring Farouk Beloufa, Yasmine Khlat, Ahmed Mehrez, Jocelyne Saab, Youcef Saïeh, and Lina Tebbara. The film will be in Arabic and French with English subtitles.
Way of the Forest Arts Fest
Sept. 21—Dec. 29, Gallery 421, Abu Dhabi, UAE—more info
Way of the Forest is a mobile arts festival featuring various art forms that aim to revive the understanding of interconnectedness, stewardship, and healing practices in natural landscapes. The exhibition is the 8th edition of the COLOMBOSCOPE festival held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Talk: A Short Journey into Prehistoric Arabia
Sept. 25, NYU Abu Dhabi Conference Center, UAE—more info
The talk by Dr. Abdullah Alsharekh from the Department of Archaeology at the King Saud University in Saudi Arabia will explore the prehistoric landscapes of Arabia, tracing the movements of early humans who migrated from Africa over the past two million years. The talk examines how these groups adapted to diverse environments, from lush greenery to areas inhabited by now-extinct animals.
17th Toronto Palestine Film Festival
Sept. 25 —Sept. 29, in-theatre & online, Toronto, Canada—more info
Don’t miss the 2024 Toronto Palestine Film Festival lineup. Watch online if you can’t attend in person. Palestinian singer, composer, and flautist Nai Barghouti will be performing on Sept. 27 at the Meridian Arts Center. Tickets here.
Outdoor film screening: Tajouje
Sept. 26, Third Avenue Bridge, Minneapolis, US—more info
Catch the classic 1977 Sudanese film Tajouje outdoors. Curated by guest programmer filmmaker, curator, and educator Fatima Wardy for 18th Arab Film Fest organized by Mizna. Considered one of the first narrative feature films from Sudan, Tajouje is an adaptation of a novel by the same name which tells the tale of forbidden love and examines the social dynamics of a small village in the region during the 19th century. For the festival’s full line-up, see here.
TMR Book Club on Stories from the Center of the World—readings & conversation – Sept. 29 online
RSVP
The Markaz Book Club invites you to readings and conversation about Stories from the Center of the World: New Middle East Fiction, with TMR editors Jordan Elgrably and Malu Halasa, along with writers Leila Aboulela, Farah Ahamed and Tariq Mehmood, who will read from their short stories and discuss the state of short fiction out of the region TMR calls “the center of the world,” from Pakistan in the east to Morocco in the west on Sunday, September 29 at 1pm EST/ 6pm UK/ 7pm CET.
