Two years ago, filmmaker Karim Ainouz took a trip that he’d been dreaming of all his life. He journeyed back to Algeria, the home of his estranged father and, like any director presented with such a valuable opportunity, it inspired his new movie, Mariner of the Mountains, a touching travelogue that premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Ainouz, 55, is no stranger to Cannes. His 2019 film Invisible Life, about two sisters living in Rio de Janeiro, played in the festival's Un Certain Regard category and won that strand’s top prize. This week, Ainouz had the chance to unspool Mariner of the Mountains, this most personal of films, to several hundred people as part of the festival’s Salle du Soixantieme event. He admits to feeling trepidation, wondering how they will react to something so intimate.
In the film, Ainouz crosses the Mediterranean from Marseille by ferry, heading to Kabylia, a mountainous region in northern Algeria. “For me, it was like meeting a biological country,” he explains. “And it just so happened that this biological country … it was an incredible one. It has an incredible history. And I think that has deeply affected me. It’s going to stay with me for ever.”
Years earlier, Ainouz’s parents split and his Algerian father remarried and moved to Paris. While being raised by his Brazilian mother and grandmother in the north-eastern city of Fortaleza, he felt an unquenchable yearning to explore his father's homeland.
His mother had always wanted to go to, but it was too expensive. The 1992 civil war in Algeria further delayed his ambitions. After his mother died in 2015, he decided the time was right. “I thought it would be great to film this journey because I think there’s something very powerful about discovering this place at my age.”
Ainouz used Mariner of the Mountains as a way to explore his own identity. “I don’t know how to define myself,” he says. “I think I can say, I’m Brazilian, and then people ask, ‘But where is your surname from?’ And I can say I’m Algerian. So I define myself as a very fortunate man who has a background; places that I find really, really fascinating.”
His biggest challenge was finding something universal as he explored his own background. “Every family has secrets,” he says. “Every family has rotten things. Every family has good things. The point for me with this film … was how can you tell that story and be relevant? How can you make that story so that it’s not something you put in your drawer and you keep for yourself?”
The solution was to examine Algeria's recent political history.
When Ainouz arrived, it was just as protests were swirling around then-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was seeking to extend his 20 years in office. He immediately began filming, with no plan. Ultimately, Ainouz accrued so much material he funnelled some of it into another film, Nardjes A, which follows young activist Nardjes over 24 hours during International Women’s Day. It premiered at last year’s Berlin International Film Festival.
Mariner of the Mountains is no less political, as it addresses Algeria's fight for freedom from French colonial rule during the 1954-1962 Algerian War of Independence. “I think colonialism was something so horrible,” he says. Not everyone was in agreement, however. At one point, he interviews a trio of young men. One, a 23-year-old, it's revealed, tried to leave Algeria eight times and was deported back to the country on each occasion. In the film, Ainouz says: “He wished the French had never left.”
“It shows what this film is talking about,” says Ainouz. “It shows the joy of independence and the war and what they conquered. And at the same time, where are we now? And what have we achieved? I think a lot has been achieved, but at the same time, there’s a lot more to achieve.”
While the film is structured as a tender letter to his mother, it’s as much a missive to a country that he feels deeply in his soul, but is only beginning to understand. “I fell in love with the people,” he says. “There was something about the way that people took to me. I think Algeria is a country that’s very reticent to foreigners, they have their own history. It’s a bit like Cuba. There’s a sense of pride. But I really felt a connection. It was a connection of being welcomed home.”
Mariner of the Mountains closes to the sound of Bronski Beat’s 1980s classic tune Smalltown Boy. So does that describe him? “A little bit,” he says. It turns out that in the 1990s, Ainouz shared a house in London’s Islington with Jimmy Somerville, the Scottish lead singer of Bronski Beat and, later, The Communards. “Jimmy is a small town boy,” he says. “That song, it’s so autobiographical. It’s an anthem to emancipation. It’s very Anglo-Saxon.”
Ainouz’s next step is to direct his first English-language project, Firebrand, which he’s planning to shoot early next year in the UK. The film tells the story of Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of Tudor king Henry VIII, and will star the imperious Michelle Williams in the lead role. From modern-day Algeria to 16th century England is quite a leap, though, true to form, Ainouz found a personal way into the story.
“She had something that really reminded me of the way I was raised,” he says, pointing out that his mother had always valued education. Parr, who outlived her rapacious husband by a year, similarly took pains to educate Henry VIII’s children, including a young Elizabeth I.
“I think there was something about how women exercised power that I thought was really fascinating.” He flashes a mischievous glint. “I also have the right to tell it because there are so many times that the English and the French and the Dutch and the Americans have told our history.”
Results
- Brock Lesnar retained the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns
- Braun Strowman and Nicolas won the Raw Tag Team titles against Sheamus and Cesaro
- AJ Styles retained the WWE World Heavyweight title against Shinsuke Nakamura
- Nia Jax won the Raw Women’s title against Alexa Bliss
- Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon beat Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
- The Undertaker beat John Cena
- The Bludgeon Brothers won the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos and New Day
- Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle beat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
- Jinder Mahal won the United States title against Randy Orton, Rusev and Bobby Roode
- Charlotte retained the SmackDown Women’s title against Asuka
- Seth Rollins won the Intercontinental title against The Miz and Finn Balor
- Naomi won the first WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal
- Cedric Alexander won the vacant Cruiserweight title against Mustafa Ali
- Matt Hardy won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Honeymoonish
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
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HOSTS
T20 WORLD CUP
2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland
ODI WORLD CUP
2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
2025: Pakistan; 2029: India
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA