AR Rahman to Collaborate With UAE's First Woman Filmmaker Nayla Al Khaja
New
Age Islam News Bureau
12
May 2022
• Five
Arab Women Filmmakers Receive Netflix Grant to Support Their Films
• Saudi
Arabia Sends 250 Athletes to Kuwait; First Women Participation in GCC Games
• Iranian
Woman Archer Abdollahi Wins Gold at Asia Cup 2022 Stage-2
• Khargone:
Group of Muslim Women Submit Memo to SP Office Demanding Justice to Their Kin
• Women-Centric
Edtech Platform Raises $3m in a Pre-Seed Funding
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/ar-rahman-nayla-khaja-uae/d/126989
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AR
Rahman to Collaborate With UAE's First Woman Filmmaker Nayla Al Khaja
TWITTER/
NAYLAALKHAJA, AR RAHMAN
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MAY
11, 2022
The
first woman filmmaker in the United Arab Emirates, Nayla Al Khaja is teaming
with Oscar-winning music composer AR Rahman for her upcoming feature film Baab.
The film is written by Al Khaja and Masoud Amralla Al Ali. As per Variety’s
report, Baab follows the story of Wahida, who is unable to make sense of her
twin sister's mysterious death and is plagued by a haunting rhythm in her ears.
She discovers hidden cassette tapes and her relentless pursuit of the truth
begins to untangle unresolved grief taking her deep into the mountains to delve
into the complexities of the human soul.
Speaking
about the film, AR Rahman told Variety, “I'm delighted to be working with Nayla
on her feature film Baab, she's a passionate and promising filmmaker and an
important creative voice within the Gulf region. The script is enigmatic,
thought-provoking and promises to be both visually and emotionally engaging for
universal audiences. I'm looking forward to the journey."
Meanwhile,
filmmaker Nayla Al Khaja said, "My grandmother came from the mountains,
they have never been captured in a feature before, the sheer access to the
indigenous people of Ras Al Khaimah and the soulful script is an untold story
that I am eager to tell. With A.R. Rahman on board, we will live a very
immersive journey that is authentic, haunting and real.” Al Khaja is known for
her shorts such as Malal and The Road to Fulfilment. She is making her feature
debut with Three, which is scheduled to go into production later this year.
The
team will begin shooting in March 2023 in the northern Emirate of Ras Al
Khaimah, which will provide the film's backdrop of dramatic vistas of the Jais
mountains.
Rahman
recently set up the Firdaus Studio as part of Expo 2020 Dubai and mentored the
Firdaus Orchestra, an all-woman ensemble of 50 musicians from 23 Arab
countries.
Source:
The News Minute
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Five
Arab Women Filmmakers Receive Netflix Grant to Support Their Films
File:Five
Arab women filmmakers receive grant through Netflix’s Fund for Creative Equity
in partnership with AFAC.
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May
12, 2022
JEDDAH
— In cooperation with the Arab Fund for Culture and Arts (AFAC), Netflix
announced the names of the five Arab directors and producers who received a
one-time cash grant to support their films.
Launched
in 2021, the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity aims to create more opportunities
for talents in underrepresented communities within the entertainment sector and
to bridge the skills gap by providing training programs.
In
the Arab world, the Fund offers a grant of up to $250,000 aiming to provide
financial support to Arab women directors.
Nuha
El-Tayeb, Director of Content Acquisition for the Middle East and Turkey at
Netflix, said: “The Arab world has a long-standing history of women in
entertainment, and we’ve had incredible successes and firsts from the region
that we’re all very proud of. But in order to give more people a chance to see
their lives reflected on screen, we need more women behind and in front of the
camera. The Fund for Creative Equity helps the industry as a whole to have a
much more dynamic, interesting, multidimensional representation of women and
this is one step in the journey to enabling more women to tell their stories
and have new audiences discover their work.”
AFAC
offers annually two grant programs to support filmmakers in the fields of documentaries
and feature films. Netflix selected five women AFAC grantees for the year 2021
to receive support for their individual projects.
Rima
Mismar, Executive Director of AFAC, stated: "More and more Arab women
filmmakers are creating moving images that have the power to shed light on the
realities of the region. This second collaboration with Neftlix, this time to
support women in the field of cinema, complements perfectly AFAC's mission to
promote diversity of voices and narratives.”
The
film "White Lie" by Moroccan director and producer Asmae El Moudir
was selected in the non-fiction category. While Lebanese producers Diala
Kachmar (From the Other Shore), Jana Wehbe (The Day Vladimir Died) and Tania
Khoury (Manity) presented three exceptional novels. Also, Tunisian director and
producer Sarra Abidiwill now have the opportunity to present her novel (My Name
is Clara) on screen.
Over
the years, Netflix has been keen to obtain exceptional business licenses for
women creators and steadily working more with Arab storytellers to highlight
their experiences.
Investing
in the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity is another way to amplify the voice of
women while bringing fresh and original content to audiences across the region.
Source:
Saudi Gazette
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/620388/Life/Art-/5-Arab-women-filmmakers-receive-Netflix-grant
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Saudi
Arabia sends 250 athletes to Kuwait; first women participation in GCC Games
May
11, 2022
RIYADH
— Saudi Arabia will participate in the third Gulf Games hosted by Kuwait on May
22 with more than 250 male and female players in 17 different games.
First
arrivals to Kuwait, the women's futsal team arrived on Wednesday to launch
their participation in the tournament against the Bahraini national team at
5:00 p.m. next Sunday.
The
games will witness women’s participation for the first time in its history, and
the Saudi athletes will participate in 17 games, futsal (men and women), 5 x 5
basketball for men, 3 x 3 women’s basketball, athletics (men and women), padel
(men and women), e-sports (men and women), cycling (men and women), swimming,
table tennis, tennis, ice hockey, archery, handball, judo, karate, volleyball
and fencing for men.
The
Supreme Organizing Committee allocated 12 facilities to host the games: the
headquarters of the Kuwait Olympic Committee, the Crown Plaza Hotel, the Sheikh
Nasser Al-Mohammed Aquariums Complex, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Hall,
Ahmed Al-Rashdan Track and Field, Sheikh Jaber Al-Abdullah International Tennis
Complex, and Mayadin Complex Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic Shooting, Sheikh
Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Bridge, Kuwait Aquatic Club, Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah
Al-Sabah Halls, Yarmouk Sports Club, and Kuwait Sports Club.
It
is noteworthy that Saudi Arabia topped the general rankings of the Dammam games
in 2015 with 115 medals, 57 of which were gold, 35 silver and 23 bronze, the
UAE came second with a total of 73 various medals, Qatar was third with 59
medals, Bahrain fourth with 43 medals, and Oman fifth with 29 medals.
In
the 2011 Manama Games, Kuwait topped the rankings with 41 medals, Qatar came
second with 27 medals, Bahrain was third with 23 medals, the UAE fourth with 26
medals, Saudi Arabia fifth with 32 medals, and Oman sixth with 14 medals.
Source:
Saudi Gazette
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Iranian
woman archer Abdollahi wins gold at Asia Cup 2022 Stage-2
May
11, 2022
She
defeated Indian archer Bhajan Kaur 6-2 in the final match of women’s recurve.
Bangladesh’s
Diya Siddique defeated her compatriot Beauty Ray to win the bronze medal.
Reza
Shabani, Nima Naderi, Mohammad Hossein Golshani and Mahta Abdollahi represented
Iran in the recurve competition.
Source:
Tehran Times
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Khargone:
Group of Muslim women submit memo to SP office demanding justice to their kin
May
11, 2022
Khargone
(Madhya Pradesh): Scores of Muslim women from different localities in the town
rushed to Khargone superintendent of police office and submitted a memorandum
demanding justice to their kin who were arrested in connection with the riots
erupted on April 10.
Muslim
women took to the streets and reached the SP office raising slogans where they
met ASP Neeraj Chaurasia. They accused local police of taking one-sided action
against their kin and arrested them without proper identification.
According
to reports, police so far arrested 182 people in 72 FIRs registered after
violence reported in the town following the stone pelting incident that occurred
during the Ram Navami procession.
One
of the women, Ujma Sheikh claimed that police arrested children aged 10 to 12
years during night without identification. Not only kids but also arrested many
of the senior citizens. Cops misbehaved with the women as well, she claimed
Meanwhile,
ASP Neeraj Chaurasia rubbished all the allegations levelled on the cops and
said that police did not arrest anyone without proper identification. If anyone
found innocent who was picked up by the police then he would be released.
Following
the women’s claim that police arrested many of their kin during night hours,
ASP Chourasia clarified that miscreants were never found at their place during
day-time and they came to their places during night hours only.
Accused
who brandish sword on SP arrested
Khargone
Kotwali police arrested the accused brandishing a sword on the superintendent
of police Siddharth Choudhary during Ram Navami clashes erupted on April 10.
The accused has been identified as Irfan. SP Choudhary who assumed charge on
Wednesday confirmed Irfan's arrest.
Irfan
had an allegation of attacking people with a sword during the Khargone violence
and arson in Sanjay Nagar area.He was also produced before the court.
Source:
Free Press Journal
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Women-centric
Edtech platform raises $3m in a pre-seed funding
May
11, 2022
RIYADH:
California-based women-centric training platform for MENA computer science
engineers, Manara, raised $3 million in a pre-seed funding round that was led
by Stripe.
The
round also had participation from world-class entrepreneurs like LinkedIn’s
Reid Hoffman, Y-Combinator’s Paul Graham, Lean Startup founder Eric Ries, and
Careem’s Mudassir Sheikha.
Founded
in 2021 by Iliana Montauk and Laila Abudahi, the company offers computer
science training to anyone who is qualified for it without paying any tuition
fees but committing to 10 percent of their salary in the first two years of
employment.
The
startup will use its funds to launch self-service products for interview
practice, networking, and mentorship as well as grow from 60 to 6,000 engineers
per year, according to TechCrunch.
The
company has seen 86 percent of its trained engineers receiving job offers in
just five months of graduating with others seeing a 300 percent increase in pay
after training.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2080051/business-economy
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/ar-rahman-nayla-khaja-uae/d/126989