Interview with Samya Ayish about Arab Cinema in the UAE and Gulf Region

My podcast partner Wael Hattar and I recently sat with author and journalist Samya Ayish to record an episode for Tea with Culture about the state of Arab Cinema, specifically in the UAE and the Gulf region.

Our talk included thoughts about film education (or the lack of), the role film festivals, especially the importance of Dubai International Film Festival (which ended in 2018 after 14 years), the calibre of film critique and film journalism in the region and how film discussions are conducted on social media locally, the lack of film marketing and short lived local film screening initiatives.

Here’s a list of films highlighted in the episode:

Musk (dir. Humaid Alsuwaidi)
Rashid and Rajab (dir. Mohammed Saeed Harig)
Shabab Shayeb (dir. Yasir Al-Yasiri)
Sea Shadow (dir. Nawaf Al Jana)
Al Mamar / The Passage (dir. Sherif Arafah)
Fan of Amoory (dir. Salmeen AlMurry Amer)
Leil Kharji / EXT. Night (dir. Ahmad Abdalla)

Key venues to watch films in the UAE:

Multiplexes found across the UAE
Cine Royal Cinemas
Cinema City
Cinemax Cinemas
Novo Cinemas
Oscar Cinema
Reel Cinemas
Roxy Cinemas
Star Cinemas
Vox Cinema

Independently run cinemas and institutions/cultural spaces across the UAE that frequently screen films

In Abu Dhabi:
Cinema Space, Manarat Saadiyat
Korean Cultural Center
Louvre Abu Dhabi
NYUAD Arts Center
Sorbonne University
Warehouse 421

In Al Ain:
Al Ain Community Cinema
Al Qattara Cinema

In Dubai:
Alliance Française Theatre
Cinema Akil
Dubai Opera
Jameel Arts Centre
thejamjar
Warehouse Four

In Sharjah:
Africa Hall, The Africa Institute, Sharjah
Mirage Cinema, Sharjah Art Foundation