The Yemeni women who took to the streets during the protests that forced Abdullah Ali Saleh to step down as president are the subject of Khadija Al Salami's documentary Al Sarkha (The Scream).
She said women in Yemen were not expected to speak out, which made the demonstrators’ stand all the more remarkable.
“For me, they were not only revolting against the regime but also against the whole society and the people closest to them - their husbands, their fathers and their brothers,” she added.
“The fact that thousands of them came out on the streets and screamed against their oppression, that was very impressive. They were screaming: ‘We exist’, and I thought that was the most wonderful thing when I was in Yemen.”
The film, a Muhr Arab Awards contender, tells the stories of five of the women.
Khadija, Yemen’s first female filmmaker, added: “Thanks to this revolt women now are not afraid to come out and express themselves. The fear is gone from them, they know they can make a change.”
She said women should have the same rights, duties and opportunities as men.
“Women are capable of doing anything they want,” she added. “If a woman wants to be in politics, or social work, she has the right to choose for herself, and not have her father or her husband or society choose for her.”
The Man Inside
The filmmaker Karim Goury is hoping that the intensely personal story he tells in The Man Inside will strike a chord with others.
In 1989 his Egyptian father Amin Hassan, who Goury had never met, died after leaving his family and going to work at a hotel in Kuwait City. Twenty-two years later Goury, 43, booked a room at the hotel and, surrounded by his father’s belongings, shot the film there.
He said the experience helped him to understand how his father felt when he left his family and moved abroad to work.
“It’s personal, but I worked hard not to talk about myself but to talk about something universal,” he said. “All these themes are universal, when we talk about fatherhood, identity, roots, heritage and transmission, all this stuff concerns everyone.”
The Man Inside is an entry in the Muhr Arab documentary section.
Bekas
The Kurdish director Karzan Kader spent three years having the old adage about never working with children and animals drummed into him at film school - then completely ignored it.
His movie Bekas stars two youngsters who had no prior experience of acting… and the film also features a donkey.
Sarwar Fazil, 15, and Zamand Taha, 13, play Dana and Zana, orphaned brothers living in Iraqi Kurdistan under Saddam Hussein. Filming was not without its challenges.
“Zamand was running so fast that my director of photography couldn’t have the focus right on him,” said Karzan. “We had to make limits for him: ‘You go from there to there and no further, please stand still.’ But he took directions very well.”
Bekas will be screened on Saturday.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.
Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.
"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."
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The five pillars of Islam
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5