Film Screenings at Etihad Museum - Two Films by Nujoom Alghanem
Museum Films is a new series programmed by me, part of Contemporary Histories, a new season of cultural events at Etihad Museum in Dubai, programmed by Alserkal Advisory and commissioned by Dubai Culture.
Running from October 2022 to June 2023, the cultural programme Contemporary Histories features a series of six Museum Films complemented by a similar series of six Museum Talks. Together, they traverse past, present, and future, exploring the impact of history from the birth of the nation in 1971 to the contemporary manifestations and imaginings of Emirati culture today.
I was asked to program six film screening nights, and the inaugural event is on Friday, October 7 at 8pm.
I chose to start the series with Nujoom Alghanem, showing two of her documentaries (one is short), both featuring men and their relationship with the surrounding landscapes - land and water, their labour, traditions and changes.
Nujoom Alghanem will be there to introduce the films and stay for a post screening discussion with Khalid Albudoor and the audience.
More films and dates will be announced soon.
BETWEEN TWO BANKS (Nujoom Alghanem, 1999, 17 min, Documentary, UAE, Arabic with English subtitles)
An old man talks about his life as the only remaining ferry boatman of Dubai Creek. Motorboats and cargo ships now rush past his wooden rowboat, rocking it like a leaf. With the modern development of the wharf, he can no longer find places to park his boat for his customers to disembark.
Followed by
SOUNDS OF THE SEA (Nujoom Alghanem, 2014, 93 min, Documentary, UAE, Arabic with English subtitles)
An ageing Emirati fishing community on the Um Al Quwain Creek, once famed for their sea songs, the community is slowly being forgotten. Despite their age, the fishermen hope for one more sea voyage with Saif Alzibadi, to revive the songs of this legendary sea singer. As more immigrants are hired to replace the ageing fisherman, the newcomers sing songs of their own, replacing both the fisherman and the traditional Emirati sea songs.
The event is free to attend and you can register on this Eventbrite page:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sounds-of-the-sea-between-two-banks-films-by-nujoom-alghanem-tickets-428445360607
Etihad Museum’s website doesn’t show this event (the last event listed there happened in 2018).
Websites of cultural institutions in the country that are not up to date, and don’t have a proper archive of past events is a frustration of mine that I will address another time.
In the meantime, if you are in Dubai, hope you can join us.
