Larissa Sansour's 'Olive Tree' (2012), a photograph inspired by her film 'Nation Estate', which depicts the state of Palestine housed in a single building. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrie Shabibi
Larissa Sansour's 'Olive Tree' (2012), a photograph inspired by her film 'Nation Estate', which depicts the state of Palestine housed in a single building. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrie Shabibi
Larissa Sansour's 'Olive Tree' (2012), a photograph inspired by her film 'Nation Estate', which depicts the state of Palestine housed in a single building. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrie Shabibi
Larissa Sansour's 'Olive Tree' (2012), a photograph inspired by her film 'Nation Estate', which depicts the state of Palestine housed in a single building. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrie Shabibi

Seeing Palestine through the lens of science fiction


Alexandra Chaves
  • English
  • Arabic

Larissa Sansour's visions of a future Palestine are often not optimistic. The opening scene of her latest film, In Vitro, shows a river of oil spilling down Bethlehem's streets, destroying the historic Church of the Nativity. The ecological disaster razes the city.

Below this post-apocalyptic world is a bunker with an orchard of heirloom seeds saved by scientists who wish to replant them in the soil above. At the film's core is a dialogue on loss, memory and exile between two female scientists – Dunia, 70, the founder of the orchard, and her successor Alia, 30, who was born in the bunker. Monochromatic images from the film's production shoots and stills are on view until Thursday at Sansour's After exhibition at Dubai's Lawrie Shabibi gallery

Larissa Sansour’s latest film, ‘In Vitro’, is rooted in science fiction and follows ‘Nation Estate’. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrie Shabibi
Larissa Sansour’s latest film, ‘In Vitro’, is rooted in science fiction and follows ‘Nation Estate’. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrie Shabibi

Like Sansour's more recent films, In Vitroon view at the Danish Pavilion of the 58th Venice Biennale until Sunday, November 24 – is rooted in science fiction. But even though sci-fi has become a big part of the Palestinian artist's practice, she says she didn't grow up on it. "I wasn't a sci-fi buff. I've never watched a Star Wars film."

Instead, the choice was more a form of resistance. “It came out of a need of not documenting stuff from Palestine and defying expectations of a Middle Eastern artist and a woman … where I can speak about the Middle East or gender in a particular way.

I think we often associate science fiction with countries that we think of as progressive countries or the West and also very much male and white."

She’s right – think renowned filmmakers Stanley Kubrick, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg and James Cameron. “Using science fiction is already taking agency, trying to be part of that dialogue and trying to say, ‘I am also part of that vocabulary’,” she explains.

From the film 'In the Future, They Ate From the Finest Porcelain', where the protagonist buries keffiyeh-patterned plates in the hopes that it will be found by archaeologists in the future. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrie Shabibi
From the film 'In the Future, They Ate From the Finest Porcelain', where the protagonist buries keffiyeh-patterned plates in the hopes that it will be found by archaeologists in the future. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrie Shabibi

Sansour didn't always work with sci-fi. Her short documentary-style work from 2003, Tank, shows footage of peace activists blocking an Israeli tank as it makes its way through the occupied territories. Gradually, her videos imbued more fictional elements, and her foray into sci-fi was cemented with her 2009 Kubrickian A Space Exodus, an intergalactic commentary on displacement. In it, the first Palestinian astronaut in space, played by the artist, plants a Palestinian flag on the Moon to claim it for her country.

A Space Exodus was followed by two other films – Nation Estate (2012) and In The Future They Ate from the Finest Porcelain (2016) – that compose her sci-fi trilogy. For all of these projects, Sansour worked with her partner and artistic collaborator Soren Lind.

"Working with sci-fi is quite liberating because I work with difficult issues … I like to contextualise these dialogues in a framework that is not really expected," Sansour says.

The genre allows her to escape the contentious political jargon tied to the Palestine-Israel conflict, she says. "I can create my own world and my own vocabulary in which I can address the same issues."

Larissa Sansour’s film ‘In the Future, They Ate From the Finest Porcelain’, is the last in her sci-fi trilogy. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrie Shabibi
Larissa Sansour’s film ‘In the Future, They Ate From the Finest Porcelain’, is the last in her sci-fi trilogy. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrie Shabibi

This can be seen in Nation Estate, in which the entirety of the Palestinian population and territories have been contained in a single skyscraper. Each floor houses a city – Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron, Gaza, Jerusalem, to name a few. On the surface, the development appears slick, modern and even convenient. But from a distance we see that it is still surrounded by the Israeli wall.

Residents have a view of the Dome of the Rock shrine from their windows, a scene that mirrors real life. "It's quite emotional for Palestinians that they can actually see the real house that they were kicked out of … but a lot of Palestinians are being exiled within Palestine itself," Sansour says. "They can see their house in Jerusalem, but they live outside in a refugee camp." 

Sansour speaks from personal experience. She visits Bethlehem, where she has family, once a year. While there, her movements are often restricted and she has noticed the spread of settlements in the city and beyond. "There are parts where you actually can see the whole city surrounded. It feels like a complete prison, like you're being suffocated," she says.

Despite its futuristic, extra-­terrestrial or dystopian elements, sci-fi is never truly distant from our world and time. In the same way, Sansour’s films are hardly removed from ongoing Palestinian concerns. “It’s quite important for me to discuss the Palestinian identity because it’s an identity that’s in trauma,” she says.

In Vitro, for example, explores a condition faced by those in the diaspora. "I was raised on nostalgia. The past spoon-fed to me. My own memories replaced by those of others," Alia says in the film. Though she didn't live through the eco-disaster she portrays, she still bears the trauma of those that came before her. "The pain these stories cause are two-fold because the loss I feel was never mine."

She challenges Dunia’s intentions to preserve history by passing down such memories to the next generation, resulting in a clouded present that is suspended between past and future. “I despise the idea of the present as nothing but a void. A transition between what was and what’s to come,” says Alia.

For her, the veneration of the past is merely a "liturgy chronicling our losses", reducing history to "symbols and iconography". The older Dunia responds that these stories are vital to survival. "Entire nations are built on fairy tales," she says.

Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour. Photo by Lenka Rayn H
Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour. Photo by Lenka Rayn H

Sansour takes no sides here. Instead, she asks what constitutes national identity and what happens when trauma transforms it. "Palestinian identity is linked to resistance and projecting for a future and for a Palestinian state … once that's gone, it's hard to understand what Palestinian identity becomes," she says.

The idea of mythmaking takes on another shape in the last film of Sansour's sci-fi trilogy, In the Future They Ate from the Finest PorcelainA "narrative resistance" heroine buries keffiyeh-­patterned plates underground with the aim of fabricating historical connections for future archaeologists to "uncover". The film was called anti-Semitic by a Jewish community organisation in the UK, though Sansour responded that it more broadly deals with the malleability of history and a question that arises after conflicts: who gets to tell the story and what will they say?

'Flag' (2009) by Larissa Sansour. The image is drawn from her film 'Space Exodus'. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrie Shabibi
'Flag' (2009) by Larissa Sansour. The image is drawn from her film 'Space Exodus'. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrie Shabibi

Sansour's projects continue to evolve. The artist points out that humour plays less of a role in her later works. A Space Exodus, for example, still had a sense of playfulness, while In Vitro is more ruminative. It also introduces a new theme, the problem of climate change, which the artist says is urgent. She says she is now working on a feature film and her next commission will stay in the realm of science fiction – a sci-fi opera on genetics that will be screened in Liverpool and Toronto next year. 

Larissa Sansour’s After exhibition is at Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, until Thursday, November 7.

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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LIVING IN...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others

Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.

As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.

Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.

“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”

Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.

“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”

Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Rating: 5/5

Cinco in numbers

Dh3.7 million

The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown

46

The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.

1,000

The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]

50

How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday

3,000

The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

1.1 million

The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.

How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?

If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.

Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.

Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.

Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).

Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal. 

Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.

By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.

As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.

Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.

He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.” 

This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”

Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

MATCH INFO

Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')

Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')

Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)

Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
  • Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
  • Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
  • Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
 
 
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Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

The biog

Favourite book: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Favourite holiday destination: Spain

Favourite film: Bohemian Rhapsody

Favourite place to visit in the UAE: The beach or Satwa

Children: Stepdaughter Tyler 27, daughter Quito 22 and son Dali 19

Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.