The documentary series preserving the legacies and personalities of veteran Emirati artists

Al Helm or The Dream features the stories of 13 artists from the UAE

Khulood Al Jabri is one of the 13 artist featured in Al Helm documentary series. Photo: Media Mania Productions

“Death is very tough,” Khulood Al Jabri says in a new documentary dedicated to the Emirati artist. “I never knew how tough it could be until my mother died.”

Al Jabri is sitting in her studio. One of her paintings is propped up against the wall behind her. The work is a good example of Al Jabri’s artistic idiosyncrasies, incorporating motifs of Emirati heritage within a dynamic and vibrant composition. Yet, her work is in the background both literally as well as figuratively. It informs only a small part of the 40-minute documentary. Instead, the film is more keen to unpack who she is as a person, how she sees the world and her place in it.

Al Jabri is one of 13 Emirati artists featured in their own documentary as part of a series titled Al Helm, or The Dream. It is screening every Thursday at the Ministry of Culture’s Abu Dhabi Creative Centre.

The artists also include Mohamed Al Astad, Mahmoud Al Ramahi, Dr Mohamed Yousif, Abdulrahman Zainal, Hoda Saeed Seif, Jassim Rabia Al Awadhi, Noura Al Hashimi, Rashid Al Mulla, Nasser Haji, Mariam Eid Al Mazroui, Hisham Al Madhloum, and Obaid Srour.

Al Helm does touch upon their disparate practices, but it is their individual perspectives that the films are more interested in uncovering.

“These films are very important for our history, our archive,” says Sumayyah Al Suwaidi, director of the Cultural and Creative Centres at the Ministry of Culture. “They will be something that future generations will watch to learn about the history of arts in the UAE. These films show the personality of these artists more than they do their work.”

Elyan Mouarkesh, director and producer of Al Helm, says she approached all the artists with the same questions, which ranged from their favourite foods and colours to the scent that affected them the most. The artists were asked to recount their best and worst memories, and their views on death and life. They were asked to define the nature of a dream.

The questions, at first, may seem simple enough, but they evoke responses that are often profound and relatable. The artists’ answers, Mouarkesh says, were as diverse as their works.

“You have Mahmoud Al Ramahi, who is a philosopher, talking about the big questions in life. You have the sensitivity and the tears of Khuloud Al Jabri. You have Mohamed Al Astad, who was very rational. Dr Mohamed Youssef, who was telling jokes and recounting his first visit to Egypt. They were all presented with the same questions, but we never had the same answer twice,” Mouarkesh says. “I have four artists who cried on camera.”

Mouarkesh and executive producer Roland Daou, chief executive of Media Mania Productions, both say Al Helm began five years ago as a passion project. The group had previously worked with government entities, including films for DCT – Abu Dhabi. Al Helm, in a way, was a natural extension to the network they had established over the years.

“We are into production, broadcasting and streaming. This is the heart of our business,” Daou says. “We decided to do the project after having friends and connections in the world of art.”

The Ministry of Culture soon recognised the potential of the series and its power in documenting an important era of Emirati art. The series’ presentation at the Abu Dhabi Creative Centre is fitting, especially considering that several of the artists featured in the films are exhibiting works at the venue. The programme, which runs every Thursday until May 29, goes beyond film screening, Al Suwaidi says. It offers a communal experience and gives a chance for audiences to meet the artists in the films.

“As the ministry, we want to bridge the gap between the community and the artists,” Al Suwaidi says. “A lot of people in the community are intimidated by the arts. They say we don't go to galleries because we don't understand art, or we don't go because we don't know this community. A movie screening is something easy for someone to attend. They may be intimidated to attend Abu Dhabi Art or Art Dubai, but if it’s a film, it’s easier.”

While it is still uncertain where the films will be available after they finish screening at the Abu Dhabi Creative Centre, Al Suwaidi says the series will be a natural fit for local film festivals.

“These films should be at film festivals,” she says. “We have Marmoom: Film in the Desert, Al Ain Film Festival and the Sharjah Film Festival, to name a few. These films should be showcased there before they become available on social media platforms or on YouTube.”