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Film critic A.S. Harmah joins Hind Mezaina for a conversation about his book The Earth Dies Streaming. A.S. Hamrah is a writer living in Brooklyn. He contributed a column on film to n+1 from 2008 to 2019, and his essays and reviews have appeared in Harper’s, Bookforum, Cineaste, and other publications. His first book, The Earth Dies Streaming: Film Writing, 2002–2018, was published by n+1 Books in 2018. Episode Notes: The first half of the discussion is about the state of film criticism, the current the debate about streaming, their impact on movie theatres, and film studios as hyper capitalist entities. From the 42nd minute onwards the discussion is focused on the book, including the following chapters and filmmakers: - Alien Land - The Grapes of Wrath - Jessica Biel's Hand - Chantal Akerman - Stanley Kubrick Other films/filmmakers/topics mentioned / discussed in this episode include: Outbreak, Contagion, Nomadland (Chloe Zhao), Hillbilly Elegy (Ron Howard), The Irishman (Martin Scorsese), Il Cinema Ritrovato and the roles of film festivals in general (especially during the pandemic), Links discussed in this episode: 2021 Will Launch the Platinum Age of Piracy www.wired.com/preview/story/5fd2…56e34070c4339bc27c Oedipal Multiplex https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/oedipal-multiplex-1.602016 Links related to the book: Book intro, Remember Me On This Computer nplusonemag.com/online-only/onlin…on-this-computer/ n+1 Bookstore shop.nplusonemag.com/products/the-e…-by-a-s-hamrah Where to find A S Hamrah: thebaffler.com/authors/a-s-hamrah twitter.com/hamrahrama www.instagram.com/hamrahrama

In this episode Wael Hattar interviews Alia Fattouh from Athr Gallery, one of the leading galleries in Saudi Arabia, where they discuss the 11 years since it's establishment, covering the beginnings of Athr gallery in parallel with the development of the art scene in the region. With the recent cultural expansion in the Gulf and Saudi Arabia, Athr had to shift and develop with that, and the conversation went into the interaction with a young generation, how Athr are growing their new artists and the scene, and getting into new projects now that the Saudi Art Council has been set up, and starting up their own residency program and micro grants. You can find out more through their links as mentioned in the interview https://www.athrart.com/ www.maaneditions.com/ www.thesaudiartcouncil.org/ instagram.com/athrart/ twitter.com/athrart facebook.com/AthrArtGallery

Hind Mezaina invited Maryam Wissam Dabbagh for a conversation about her project currently on exhibit at Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai, part of its ongoing Library Circles series. The commissioned project reflects on the conversations around belonging and revisiting relationships with our cities, topics  many of us around the world have been thinking about since the pandemic started and apt themes themes to discuss for our 100th episode. About the Library Circles commissioned project: Library Circles feature research, talks and experimental interventions by UAE practitioners in the Jameel Library and Jameel Arts Centre. The programme explores alternative research methodologies and representations with a focus on ‘thinking in public’. For the fall iteration of Library Circles, Jameel Library presents an audio piece by writer and researcher Maryam Wissam Al Dabbagh. The commissioned work reflects on the conversations around belonging; revisiting relationships with our cities through bureaucracy, administration and the long-prophesied age of retirement. Through personal narratives, Al Dabbagh examines complex round histories that continue to reimagine their beginnings and abruptly ending. Accompanying the audio piece is a text installation. Meant for slow reading and chance encounters, the writing starts from the library and grows outwards across various spaces throughout the Jameel Arts Centre. About Maryam Wissam Al Dabbagh: Born and raised in the UAE, Maryam Wissam Al Dabbagh is an Iraqi writer, researcher, and cultural communications consultant. She received a BA in Journalism, from the American University of Sharjah, and an MA in Global Media and Post-National Communications from SOAS, London. Her research is focused on the Arab Diaspora in the Gulf, and exile, especially through the lens of belonging and return. Library Circles: Maryam Wissam Al Dabbagh is on until 31 December 2020. https://jameelartscentre.org/whats-on/library-circles-maryam-al-dabbagh/

This episode was recorded on 22nd March 2020, a few weeks into the significant changes felt all around the world caused by the Coronavirus. Tea with Culture's Hind Mezaina was invited by Warehouse 421, an arts and design centre based in Abu Dhabi that hosts exhibitions and public programmes, to moderate a discussion for their new podcast "Warehouse 421 Conversations". You can listen to the discussion here, and thank you to Warehouse 421 for letting us share this episode with you, our listeners. Since March 14th, museums and cultural spaces across the UAE closed their doors for health and safety reasons due to the Coronavirus. It’s been a tough few weeks for all since that announcement and Warehouse 421 invited Tea with Culture to moderate a discussion about the impact of the current interruptions in the local art ecosystem and the various ways that livelihood in the arts can continue during times of disruption. Hind Mezaina was joined by artist and educator Zahra Jewanjee, Umer Butt, director of Grey Noise Gallery, and Kevin Jones, arts writer and consultant and founder of Juniper Mind to have this conversation. https://www.warehouse421.ae/en/ http://www.zjewanjee.com https://www.greynoise.org http://junipermind.com

Hind Mezaina sits with Faisal Salah, social media journalist at The National (https://twitter.com/EyesWOutAFais) and comic book artist Mohamed "Momo" Sheibani (https://twitter.com/momoarchive) to discuss Ali F Mostafa's film City of Life ten years after its premier at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2009. The discussion includes their thoughts about the film, the representation of Dubai in the film, the films and commercials made by Ali F Mostafa after City of Life and a look at other UAE films released during the past decade, the impact of the cancellation of Abu Dhabi Film Festival and the Dubai International Film Festival, and the challenges of developing and maintaining a film industry in the UAE. Other UAE films discussed in this episode: From A to B (Ali F Mostafa, 2014) The Worthy (Ali F Mostafa, 2016) Sea Shadow (Nawaf Janahi, 2011) A Fallible Girl (Conrad Clark, 2013) Djinn (Tobe Hooper, 2013) Zinzana (Majid Al Ansari, 2015) Hajwala: The Missing Engine (Ali Bin Matar, Ibrahim Bin Mohamed, 2016) Aerials (S.A. Zaidi, 2016) Only Men Go to the Grave (Abdulla Al Kaabi, 2016) Musk (Humaid Al-Suwaidi, 2018) You can rent/buy City of Life before on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ae/movie/city-of-life/id1093942053 You can read Hind Mezaina's review of City of Life here: https://www.theculturist.com/home/review-city-of-life-by-ali-f-mostafa.html You can read Hind Mezaina's interview with Abdulla Al Kaabi about Only Men Go to the Grave here: https://www.theculturist.com/home/interview-with-abdulla-al-kaabi-director-of-only-men-go-to-t.html

A spoiler filled discussion about James Mangold's latest film Le Mans '66 (Ford v Ferrari) between Hind Mezaina and a returning guest, motoring journalist Imtishan Giado(www.instagram.com/imthishan). The discussion moves on to car culture in the United Arab Emirates, including the one time Dubai Grand Prix from 1981, Dubai Rally, Dubai Police car fleet, and if motor racing in the United Arab Emirates is culturally accepted or relevant.

In this episode Wael Hattar and Hind Mezaina sit with author and journalist Samya Ayish to discuss the state of Arab Cinema, specifically in the UAE and the Gulf region. The discussion includes film education; the role film festivals, especially the importance of Dubai International Film Festival (ended in 2018 after 14 years) for filmmakers, film enthusiasts and cinephiles; the calibre of film critique, film journalism and film discussions on social media in the region; lack of film marketing, short lived film screening initiatives. You can follow Samya Ayish on Twitter https://twitter.com/sayish. Films mentioned in this episode: Musk (dir. Humaid Alsuwaidi) Rashid and Rajab (dir. Mohammed Saeed Harib) Shabab Shayeb (dir. Yasir Al-Yasiri) Sea Shadow (dir. Nawaf Al Janahi) 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 + institutions/cultural spaces that screen films frequently: 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 In Dubai: Alliance Francaise Theatre Cinema Akil Dubai Opera Jameel Arts Centre thejamjar Warehouse Four In Sharjah Africa Hall, The Africa Institute, Sharjah Mirage Cinema, Sharjah Art Foundation

This episode is a recording of a talk titled Art Critique in the UAE which took place in Dubai on September 10th at Tashkeel. Thanks to Tashkeel for letting us share the talk with our listeners. About the talk: Can a Culture of Critique Exist in the UAE? Why has the UAE seemingly resisted the culture of critique? Who is contributing to changing the dynamic? Do we even need to think critically about contemporary art?  Can a Culture of Critique Exist in the UAE? Why has the UAE seemingly resisted the culture of critique? Who is contributing to changing the dynamic? Do we even need to think critically about contemporary art?  Moderated by Kevin Jones, arts writer, UAE Desk Editor for ArtAsiaPacific and founder of Juniper Mind, with a panel that included artists Afra Al Dhaheri and Rania Jishi, Umer Butt from Grey Noise Gallery, and Tea with Culture's Hind Mezaina. The discussion addressed the presumed barriers to critique in the UAE arts ecosystem, the blossoming opportunities to cultivate critique, and a speculative leap into the future of local critique. The panelists assessed the current state of “crit”—from burgeoning grassroots artist-run collectives to the complex feedback loop of the artist/gallerist tandem. They decoded the critical landscape today in the UAE—who are the critics, what influence do they wield—before imagining the stakes of a fully matured culture of critique—how would this be different from what exists elsewhere, what would be the uniquely UAE inflection? https://tashkeel.org http://junipermind.com https://www.afraaldhaheri.com https://www.greynoise.org

Wael Hattar met with Rami Zeidan, the VP of Anghami and talked about the digital audio landscape in the Middle East and Anghami’s role in the region with its changing consumption habits. They also discussed Anghami's new direction on working with Podcasts and their insight on the types of shows that work, how consumption happens and how they support and push the content curators. We also talked about Rami's own experience with his Hip Hop podcast 7awwil. facebook.com/anghami.ae/ twitter.com/anghami instagram.com/anghami/ www.anghami.com https://play.anghami.com/album/5730967 www.7awwil.me

In this episode, Hind Mezaina sits with Kourosh Nouri, founding director of Carbon 12 gallery. Launched in Dubai with his business partner and wife Nadine Knotzer in November 2008, the gallery represents regional and international artists with an active calendar of exhibitions and attendance in art fairs around the world. To discuss its milestone 10 years in Dubai, Kouroush Nouri shares with us the opportunities and challenges of running a contemporary art gallery, how he and Nadine work with artists and collectors and what they expect from them, plus the overall development of the art scene in the UAE over the past decade. Warning: some strong language in this episode. https://www.carbon12dubai.com facebook.com/Carbon12gallery/ instagram.com/carbon12gallery/ twitter.com/carbon12gallery

Wael Hattar sits with Maya Moumne and Hatem Imam, the Beirut based co-founders and co-directors of Journal Safar, an independent bilingual(Arabic and English)and biannual visual and design culture magazine launched in 2014. Journal Safar provides a window into cultural production in the Middle East, focusing on contemporary design, critical thinking and experimentation in the region by inviting designers, writers, thinkers and other creatives to respond to a specific theme per issue. Maya Moumne and Hatem Imam discuss the reasons behind launching a bilingual magazine, how they choose their themes and collaborating with contributors, how they go about producing the magazine in terms of funding and distribution. www.journalsafar.com/ facebook.com/journalsafar/ twitter.com/JournalSafar instagram.com/journalsafar/ www.studiosafar.com/

Hind Mezaina sits with Nada Raza, Artistic Director of Ishara Art Foundation which opened in March 2019. Established by Smita Prabhakar, an entrepreneur, art collector and long term Dubai resident, the foundation is focused on contemporary art from a South Asian context, supporting cultural exchange and building on the shared histories, continued presence and cultural contribution of South Asian voices in the Gulf. www.ishara.org twitter.com/Ishara_Art instagram.com/isharaartfoundation/ facebook.com/isharaartfoundation/

Hind Mezaina invited cinephile and motoring journalist Imtishan Giado (https://www.instagram.com/imthishan) to discuss the new Aladdin film, what they liked and didn't like about it, the representation of Arabs, how does it compare it to the original animated version Aladdin from 1992, and thoughts on whether we need remakes like this.

Hind Mezaina sits with Antonia Carver (Director, Art Jameel) to talk about Jameel Arts Centre which opened in Dubai in November 2018. Jameel Arts Centre, located by the creek in Al Jaddaf Waterfront, is an independent and privately owned art institution which is both an exhibition and education space dedicated to contemporary art presented through art projects, commissions, and curated solo and group exhibitions, drawn both from the Art Jameel Collection and through regional and international collaborations. By nurturing artists and practitioners to produce work from and about the region, the centre aims to to create dialogue and exchange of ideas through exhibitions, education and research, to encourage broad audiences young and old to engage actively with the artworks and ideas generated. https://jameelartscentre.org twitter.com/JameelArtsCtr instagram.com/jameelartscentre/ facebook.com/JameelArtsCentre/

In this episode, Hind Mezaina sits with Michelle Facey from Kennington Bioscope (http://www.kenningtonbioscope.com) who programmes regular screenings of silent films at The Cinema Museum in London (http://www.cinemamuseum.org.uk). Links to some of the references in the discussion: Kevin Brownlow - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Brownlow Napoleon by Abel Gance https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/features/abel-gance-s-napoleon-monumental-restoration Silent Film Accompanists http://www.kenningtonbioscope.com/accompanists/4579544071 Dawson City: Frozen Time directed by Bill Morrison - https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/2630 Michelle Facey on Twitter https://twitter.com/best2vilmabanky Kennington Bioscope on Twitter https://twitter.com/kenbioscope and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kenbioscope/ The Cinema Museum on Twitter https://twitter.com/CinemaMuseum and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/the_cinema_museum Petition to save The Cinema Museum http://www.cinemamuseum.org.uk/2017/petition-to-save-the-cinema-museum/ BFI https://www.bfi.org.uk Silent London https://silentlondon.co.uk

In this episode, Hind Mezaina sits with Faisal Salah (https://twitter.com/EyesWOutAFais) from The National to talk about a film screening organised by the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute, in conjunction with the Film and Visual Media in the Gulf conference (https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/events/2018/october/film-and-visual-media-in-the-gulf.html). The film "Bas Ya Bahr / The Cruel Sea" by Khalid Al Siddiq was released in 1972 and is the first feature film made in Kuwait. They talk about the film, why and how it was made, the controversy around it, its reception regionally and globally and its importance to Gulf and Arab film history. Faisal Salah's article about the film in The National https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/film/the-first-ever-gcc-film-and-the-story-of-how-sheikh-zayed-saw-it-1.785906 The Cruel Sea on IMDB imdb.com/title/tt0121994/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_3 The Cruel Sea on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cruel_Sea_(1972_film)

In this episode Wael Hattar interviews the artist Shaikha Al Mazrou. They discuss her art practice, how discomfort drives her, the directional change of her work and the effect of receiving an MFA. As a teacher at University of Sharjah, Al Mazrou also discusses art and higher Education in the UAE, and her role as an educator. We dive into the recent and upcoming projects, from Sharjah Art Foundation's artist residency March Projects, the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation(ADMAF) commission, her current solo exhibition at Lawrie Shabibi, and her upcoming piece for Jameel Arts Centre opening in Dubai in November. lawrieshabibi.com/artists/134-shaikha-al-mazrou/overview/ sharjahart.org/sharjah-art-foundation/exhibitions/march-project-2018

In this episode Wael Hattar interviews the artist Daniele Genadry. They talk about art, education and the evolution in her work. The discussion includes Daniele's techniques and thoughts behind her work and how she has been able to grow as an artist within the region in the past few years. Daniele Genadry also teaches at the American University of Beirut, and she shares how education impacts artists and how an artist impacts education, and within that how her work has taken the form it did. Daniele Gendary's current exhibition "Slow Light" can be seen at the Beirut Art Centre, until 7th October 2018. More information can be found here http://www.beirutartcenter.org/en/exhibitions/daniel-genadry-slow-light. Other links: www.danielegenadry.com/ www.salehbarakatgallery.com/ instagram.com/dgenadry/

In this episode, Wael Hattar interviews Wafa'a Celine Halawi the Director of the Lebanese Film Festival. This is the 13th edition since it launched 17 years ago. Wafa'a Celine Malawi discusses the idea behind the start of the festival, its current iteration, the festival's audience, the effect on the film industry, plus the theme of this year's festival, "Lebanese Women in Cinema". www.lebanesefilmfestival.org twitter.com/lebfilmfestival instagram.com/lebanesefilmfestival/ facebook.com/lebfilmfest youtube.com/user/LebaneseFilmFestival

In this episode, Wael Hattar sits with Nisrine Wehbe, Programmer at Metropolis Cinema and Nour Ouayda, Co-ordinator of it's new project, Cinematheque Beirut; to talk about how the two organisations promote Lebanese and Arab cinema heritage and documenting the Lebanese movie production. Both Nisrine and Nour discuss with Wael what each does and their role in the film community in Lebanon, from creating a film database for Cinematheque Beirut, to programming film retrospectives, and organising film screenings and education for young viewers and also within the film industry. They also discuss budgeting and censorship challenges and their efforts in audience building. For all their latest news, events and updates: www.metropoliscinema.net metropoliscinema.net/page/theproject/ Social media links: twitter.com/metropolislb instagram.com/metropoliscinema/ facebook.com/MetropolisCinema/ twitter.com/cinemathequebei instagram.com/cinemathequebeirut/ facebook.com/cinemathequebeirut/