The year is coming to a close and, with that in mind, the team at The National has been looking back at the work that shaped 2025 across the arts world.
With award-winning films including The Voice of Hind Rajab and The President's Cake, Arab cinema continues to break new ground – in subject matter, in artistry and in resonance.
In the context of ongoing regional conflict, film has also become one of the most direct ways for audiences beyond the region to engage with its history, its culture and, crucially, its humanity.
Closer to home, the picture is even richer. These films point to a new golden age taking shape – one defined by range rather than uniformity, and by stories that move confidently across genres and forms. Find more here.
Hasan Hadi's The President's Cake is one of our 10 best Arabic films of 2025. Photo: TPC Film
Across the rest of the world, our 10 best films of the year were often deeply political and quietly revolutionary – including Brazil's The Secret Agent, South Korea's No Other Choice and Iran's It Was Just an Accident.
In television, the volume of global streaming releases continued to expand. Our favourites span prestige dramas, genre series and unexpected breakouts. Elsewhere, Indian television made further inroads with international audiences, with seven shows in particular resonating well beyond their home markets.
Music moved across registers through the year. The 50 best Arabic songs of 2025 reflected a range of sounds and voices, from established artists to emerging figures shaping the region’s musical landscape.
Coldplay's four performances at Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi were among the year's most successful. Pawan Singh / The National
Live performances also illuminated the calendar: from Coldplay’s multi-night runs at Sheikh Zayed Sports City to headline concerts by Metallica and Katy Perry, the UAE’s best concerts and on-stage events mapped a remarkably active year in live touring and local attendance
Visual art in the UAE maintained its momentum. The most memorable exhibitions of 2025 ranged from exhibitions grounded in heritage and craft to large-scale international presentations, reflecting the breadth of programming across institutions and independent spaces.
In games, 2025 delivered a number of standout releases across platforms. The year’s best titles, including highlights on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 as well as PC games, were shaped by atmosphere, narrative and design, pointing to the medium’s continued evolution.
Of Land and Water is the first presentation of works from the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection in Kalba. Antonie Robertson / The National
Online, things circulated at a different pace. From viral moments to the rise of “6-7” and Gen Alpha as a cultural force, meme culture and digital language provided a running record of how humour, fatigue and connection moved through the year in real time.
The Arab cultural scene has been etched by significant loss in 2025, with the deaths of luminaries including Ziad Rahbani and Mohammad Bakri.
As the world continues to grapple with ongoing crises, culture has remained a vital space for collective expression, reflection and even moments of joy. Now we shall see what 2026 has in store.
Popular singers and film stars from Egypt, Lebanon and beyond are the subjects of a new exhibition in Beirut. Photo: Sursock Museum
From Fairuz and Asmahan to Umm Kulthum and Sabah, the stars of the Arab world’s golden age of cinema and music remain treasured cultural icons. But how much is really known about the women behind the fame?
This is something a new exhibition at Beirut’s Sursock Museum explores, reports Maghie Ghali. Diva: From Umm Kulthum to Dalida, celebrates legendary singers, actresses and dancers while also unpacking the personal struggles they faced in a post-war, post-colonial Arab world.
“In the 1960s, Beirut, alongside Cairo, was a capital of Arab music,” says Sursock Museum director Karina El-Helou. “Here, divas such as ‘Star of the East’ Umm Kulthum, who gave an unforgettable performance at Baalbeck International Festival, and Fairuz – ‘Ambassador of Lebanon to the Stars’ – played a decisive role in shaping modern Arab music.”
The exhibition is structured into four sections: the first traces the pioneering women and avant-garde feminists of cosmopolitan Cairo in the 1920s; the second section focuses on divas with golden voices from the 1940s to the 1970s; the third section turns to the golden age of Egyptian cinema, often dubbed Nilewood; and the final section brings these legacies into the present, examining how the influence of the divas continues to shape contemporary artistic practice.
Originally founded in 1975, Qatar's national museum has evolved along with the country. Photo: National Museum of Qatar
Celebrating its anniversary with a retrospective exhibition titled A Nation’s Legacy, A People’s Memory: Fifty Years Told, the National Museum of Qatar offers a comprehensive survey of its journey – from modest beginnings to present-day reinvention.
Since its founding in 1975 by former Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani as one of the first museums in the Gulf, the institution has remained a source of pride and identity for the people of Qatar.
Drawing on archival documents, photographs and personal testimonies, the exhibition traces the museum’s evolution across five decades, highlighting key exhibitions and programmes, its role in preserving national heritage, and its reopening in 2019 as a state-of-the-art, institution housed in a building designed by French architect Jean Nouvel.
“For half a century, the National Museum of Qatar has safeguarded the legacy of our nation and its national treasures, while continually developing new ways of storytelling through advances in technology,” says museum director Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Thani. “With A Nation’s Legacy, A People’s Memory: Fifty Years Told, we invite audiences to celebrate the institution’s record of honouring our heritage while imagining what lies ahead.
The National produces a variety of newsletters across an array of subjects. You can sign up here. To receive The Editor's Briefing, our Editor-in-Chief's weekly newsletter – exclusive to registered readers – that rounds up the top stories of the week, sign up here.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Fixtures
Sunday, December 8, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v USA
Monday, December 9, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – USA v Scotland
Wednesday, December 11, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v Scotland
Thursday, December 12, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v USA
Saturday, December 14, ICC Academy, Dubai – USA v Scotland
Sunday, December 15, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v Scotland
Note: All matches start at 10am, admission is free
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
Travel distance: Limited
Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
Duration: Can linger for days
Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
