Netflix has added two films by Emirati film director and producer Nayla Al Khaja to its global streaming platform. Photo Sarah Dea / The National
Netflix has added two films by Emirati film director and producer Nayla Al Khaja to its global streaming platform. Photo Sarah Dea / The National
Netflix has added two films by Emirati film director and producer Nayla Al Khaja to its global streaming platform. Photo Sarah Dea / The National
Netflix has added two films by Emirati film director and producer Nayla Al Khaja to its global streaming platform. Photo Sarah Dea / The National

Netflix releases two films by Emirati filmmaker Nayla Al Khaja


Hayley Skirka
  • English
  • Arabic

Two films by path-breaking Emirati filmmaker Nayla Al Khaja have been added to Netflix’s global streaming service.

The Emirati director’s first full-length feature film The Shadow, and her 2016 short Animal are now available to watch on the streaming platform worldwide.

Thank you Netflix for placing both of my films on your platform. It has also made a big impact that it was picked for the world and not just for our Mena region,” wrote the acclaimed film producer on LinkedIn.

“This has opened so many incredible opportunities for storytellers like myself. There is no limit to my appetite now.”

On Instagram, she commented on the support she'd received from fans of the films.

“I have received messages from different continents and connected with other storytellers because of this. This is a wonderful positive step towards what's ahead, especially for female voices in the Mena region. The feedback and reviews have been overwhelming.”

Horror fans can tune in to The Shadow, an Arabic-language supernatural thriller that was, according to the director, inspired by a real-life family experience.

The film is also being developed into an international feature called Three, which is due to be released in 2023.

Animal is a 14-minute short that tells the story of a girl aged 7, who is struggling to endure life marked by three controlling guardians.

Nayla Al Khaja and A R Rahman at the 75th Cannes International Film Festival. Photo: Ammar Abd Rabbo
Nayla Al Khaja and A R Rahman at the 75th Cannes International Film Festival. Photo: Ammar Abd Rabbo

The UAE filmmaker is currently working on her forthcoming feature, a mystery thriller titled Baab, set in Ras Al Khaimah.

She is teaming up with Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman, who earned global fame for his work on the soundtrack of Slumdog Millionaire. He will score the music for the film, which is set to begin shooting in March 2023.

Baab, co-written by Al Khaja and writer Masoud Amralla Al Ali, follows Wahida, who is haunted by the mysterious death of her twin sister. The discovery of hidden cassette tapes then leads her on a relentless pursuit to find answers and deal with her own grief.

The northern Emirate will provide the film's dramatic backdrop and indigenous people from Ras Al Khaimah will also feature, Al Khaja said.

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

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.

In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

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The Africa Institute 101

Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction. 

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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

Updated: November 05, 2022, 10:45 AM