Barely deciphered - Culture - Al-Ahram Weekly
The film opens with subtitles giving the location: the colony of Sharq 12 (the latter, as the English title indicates, a reference to noon). It is clear this won't be a mainstream experience. The title carries two values. One is geographic (east), the other temporal. It would never become clear what the metaphorical interpretation of the title is, though it suggests this is a space outside the world as we know it, as if the action is taking place in a space-time gap. This is also suggested by the fact that all the clocks and watches in the film don't work.
The filmmaker-screenwriter sets her black comedy in the dystopian atmosphere of a remote village or colony near an abandoned industrial facility, which adds to its isolation. Each character symbolise a concept. At the beginning a female narrator (Menha Al-Batraoui) is telling the story of a couple with a young child escaping by the seashore.
One of the first scenes shows the main character, Abdo (Omar Rozik) in his room playing percussions using slippers and old plastic water tubes. Abdo and his friend are drinking tea, however this simple act reflects the fact that sugar cubes are a rare commodity. In another scene sugar becomes a kind of currency. The two friends are seen burying a body with one of the security forces, and when they finish the job they are paid in sugar boxes.
Shawki Al-Bahlawan (Ahmed Kamal) is the most powerful man in the village. His introductory scene quickly shows the luxury he lives in as he appears in his house wearing a bathrobe before he starts his work of following up on what is happening in the colony. In another scene he takes a box of sugar cubes out of his drawer and sniffs them passionately as he might do with banknotes.
Shawki performs in a theatrical show in front of the colony's audience. This performance combines public speech with acting and dancing. The character represents the colony's power mixed with clownish behaviour in line with the name Al-Bahlawan, which though a known surname actually means clown.
Galala (Al-Batraoui) is Abdo's grandmother and a character that may be seen as the opposite of Shawki. She is among the ordinary people of the community helping them to meet their needs by letting them barter unnecessary belongings for the contents of her shop-office. On the other hand, her main activity is telling the children of the colony stories about the sea while they act as if they swim on the office floor. In one of the most significant scenes in the film, Abdo confronts his grandmother about this. She says that imagination is a cure and he replies that imagination is a sedative.
Shawki's authority is executed by armed men who represent the colony's security forces headed by Borai (Osama Abul-Atta). As a character Borai shows aggression against those who don't comply with what Shawki orders. He sexually exploits Nuna (Fayza Shama) by locking her in the toilet of the security office where he works, not only having sex with her himself but passing her onto all the other security personnel as well. Nuna, who is a free spirit forced against her will to have sex with all of these people, is in love with Abdo. However, she is pregnant and doesn't know who the father is. She only believes that escaping with Abdo from the colony may give her a better future.
Most films about authoritarian oppression end with chaotic revolt, and Elkoussy's is no exception: Abdo, who is working with music and sound recording, fakes a message from Shawki using his old speeches telling all the people that there is a treasure in the area where they bury the bodies.
It is clear Elkoussy is influenced by the late filmmaker Youssef Chahine, which is clear from characters like the lame man who wears a galabiya and moves around the village lusting after and perhaps harassing Nuna. He looks exactly like Qenawi, the main character of the Chahine's Bab Al-Hadid (Chahine himself played the role). In fact Abdo has similar features with Ibrahim, the young man in Chahine's The Return of The Prodigal Son. Both are obsessed with leaving the chaotic isolated place they live in and travel seeking a wider future.
It is interesting that Egyptian cinema produces various kinds of films. Some have the attention of large audiences while others are only accepted by a few. But in the end such diversity represents a deeper value for the entire film and cultural industry alike.
It is true that the core of creativity in general is built somehow on references and metaphors, but symbolism since its emergence as a movement in the 19th century has demonstrated an extreme notion regarding metaphors. Opposed to both naturalism and realism, symbolism gave artists the freedom to express their thoughts against the widespread political dominance of one-sided thought or even harassment by dictatorial authorities.
Visually, ElKoussy's film is beautiful. Shot on 16 mm film black and white celluloid, the beautifully composed picture has a noticeable roughness. The DOP Abdel-Salam Moussa created an alluring image, while Ahmed Al-Sawy composed a peculiar score. However, the filmmaker may have relied too heavily on symbolic motifs, complex ideas, and layered messages, which became overwhelming for much of the audience.
The capacity to grip the audience's emotions and sympathy was lost too often as the film engaged the intellect, but after losing the emotional connection it is not easy to satisfy the minds. Even experienced cinephiles felt the film lost the soul of its story, the primary means of capturing the viewers' attention. And in the end this made its intellectual and artistic power ring hollow.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 3 July, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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Egypt Independent
5 days ago
- Egypt Independent
‘You're going to see this flood of new stories': Why African animators are excited about AI
CNN — Digital technology may have led to the decline of hand-drawn animation, but it still required legions of creatives and technicians to feed into the process. Now some fear that artificial intelligence (AI) could push the human touch further still out of the equation. But in Africa, animation professionals see AI as a means to unlock new creative possibilities, while getting their projects off the ground with greater ease. Stuart Forrest, CEO of BAFTA and Emmy-winning Triggerfish Animation Studio, which has its headquarters in South Africa, is one of them. 'Africa has quite a unique position globally,' he told CNN. 'Of the 1.4 billion people that live on the continent, there's such a tiny amount that are actually active in the animation industry.' Given the limited number of professional animators, Forrest believes that by integrating AI, some creatives will have a route to realize their projects for the first time – 'that's really exciting for the continent.' Ebele Okoye, an award-winning Nigerian filmmaker affectionately known as the 'Mother of African animation,' also sees plenty of upsides. 'We now have the opportunity to tell our stories without having to wait for somebody to give us $20 million,' she told CNN during the Cannes Film Festival in May, where she hosted a masterclass on AI in animation at the Pavilion Afriques. A still from 'Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire,' a series produced by Triggerfish Animation Studios that debuted on Disney+ in 2023. The series did not use AI as part of its production, but Triggerfish CEO believes the technology has the potential to help animators in Africa. The Walt Disney Company Africa's animation sector was valued at $13.3 billion in one 2023 report but historically, there has been a lack of funding for African animated projects, said Forrest. 'There's a general rule that African stories don't generate income. But the African stories that are made are such low budget that, yes, they don't generate income. So it's a self-fulfilling thing,' he explained. Soon, he projects, a feature film that might have cost $10-20 million to make, may cost $50,000 with AI, and require just two or three creatives. 'You're going to see this flood of new stories that have never been heard before, from countries that no one would ever invest (in),' he added. 'Eventually the playing field between Hollywood and Kinshasa (in the Democratic Republic of Congo) will be levelled in terms of the quality of storytelling.' Is AI coming for your job? There are many outstanding questions. For one: What might AI do to the jobs market? Opinions differ. 'You're going to empower people working for you,' Okoye said. 'You're not going to replace them; you're going to make their jobs easier.' But that's assuming you have a job in the first place. AI is already taking on many mundane, repetitive tasks – tasks that might be done by entry level staff and trainees. 'If those jobs then become obsolete, at some point this makes the industry a bit elitist … you don't have the same entry window that you do now,' argued Masilakhe Njomane, a junior research fellow at the South African Cultural Observatory and co-author of a recent report on AI's impact on South Africa's creative industries. 'In an economy like South Africa it's detrimental, as we already have a lot of trouble with job security as a whole, especially in the creative and cultural industry,' she added. A still from 'The Legacy of Rubies' (2015), an award-winning short film by Ebele Okoye. The film did not use AI in its production. courtesy Ebele Okoye While Triggerfish has not used AI-generated art, Forrest said, employees have used GitHub Copilot, an AI-powered coding assistant, to help them generate code for the past couple of years, noticeably speeding up their output. 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In January the US Copyright Office concluded that the output of generative AI could be copyright protected, but only when a human had contributed 'sufficient expressive elements' – and that inputting prompts alone did not meet the criteria. The African Union is a few paces behind forming concrete policy, but the issue featured prominently its 2024 AI strategy report. Triggerfish Animation Studios produced 'Aau's Song,' the final episode of volume two of Disney+ series 'Star Wars: Visions.' The short, which did not employ AI in its production, is infused with imagery harking back to South Africa, where Triggerfish has its headquarters. Lucasfilm A creative with no copyright on their work has few routes to make money from it. Okoye believes, for this reason and more, African animators should avoid web browser-based generative AIs and instead use AI in a localized workflow. Okoye uses software ComfyUI, into which she has fed drawings of her characters in different poses. 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'It's not being programmed with (Africans) in mind or even consulting them at all. And that's a huge problem.' A still from 'Anna Blume' (2010), a short film by Ebele Okoye visualizing 'An Anna Blume' (T'o Eve Blossom'), a 1919 poem by German Dadaist Kurt Schwitters. The project did not involve the use of AI. courtesy Ebele Okoye Okoye outlined a dream scenario in which development funds or angel investors back studios to create diverse African characters and culturally specific assets to train an AI model. That would generate a library of accurate, free-to-access imagery, which can serve as a foundation for animators to build on in a way that allows them to assert their copyright. Amid a boom in African animation, animators will need all the tools they can get, as studios look to replicate the success of series like 'Iwájú' and 'Iyanu' – Nigerian projects streaming on Disney+ and HBO Max respectively, signposting growing international appetite for Afro-centric storytelling. 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CairoScene
10-07-2025
- CairoScene
Styled Archives: The MENA's Most Iconic Long Sleek Hair Looks to Date
The sleek long hair look is everything; it's fierce, it's girl-next-door, it's whatever you want it to be. Jul 10, 2025 Trends are, as we are now all well aware, cyclical. The return of ancient relics like dramatic bootcut jeans, excessively dark lip liner and, more recently, the moustache necklaces that dominated the early 2010s only goes to show that what goes around comes around. One hair trend that has made its way through the fashion cycle many, many times, is the long sleek hair look. It goes like this: straightened hair, beach curls, bob, straightened hair, beach curls, bob - potentially repeating until the end of time. The mullet makes an occasional appearance every three cycles, maybe. To celebrate the return of the sleek - sometimes fried - hair look, we've curated a list of iconic Arab celebrities sporting it across the years. Nancy Ajram | 'Betfakar Fi Eih' Music Video 2013 In this iconic music video, Nancy sports sleek hair and emo side bangs with an electric guitar she's not really playing to complete the look. Two years ago, we would've thought this was cringe, but now we kinda wanna replicate it. Somaya ElKhashab | Casino du Liban 2009 Somaya ElKhashab is the queen of long sleek hair. She's had it forever, and she'll probably keep it forever. We live to learn from her. Basma | Middle East International Film Festival 2008 At this screening, Egyptian actress Basma ditches her usual wide curls for a pin-straight look, and early 2000s side bangs. Latifa | Cannes Film Festival 2017 Tunisian singer Latifa bint Alaya El Arfaoui, more commonly known as just Latifa, is well known for her beautiful, long hair. It's a classic, and to her, it never goes out of style. Nadine Labaki | Venice Film Festival 2012 For jury duty at the Venice Film Festival, Nadine Labaki seemed to have chosen to intimidate the rest of the board, ditching her usual soft look for a fierce one. Sherihan | Fawazeer Ramadan 1989 The iconic Sherihan is known for her elaborate updos but, when off set, she lets her long hair loose to hang around her like a curtain. Yasmin Abdelaziz | Photoshoot 2007-2008 In this iconic shoot, Egyptian actress Yasmin Abdelaziz wears her long hair in a classic 2000s half-up, half-down look that compliments her very Y2K cami top. Elissa Khoury | Paris Fashion Week 2013 In this historical image, Elissa is pictured with designer Chantal Thomass, showcasing a lookbook of the most popular looks in history: a bob, and a sleek look. Haifa Wehbe | Cannes Film Festival (Premiere for Oceans Thirteen) 2007 Back in 2007, Haifa Wehbe arrived at the Cannes premiere of 'Ocean 13' looking as fierce as anyone on the cast. Mona Zaki | Venice International Film Festival 2009 Beloved Egyptian actress Mona Zaki showed up to the red carpet at the 66th edition of VIFF in a look that borders on the casual as a girl-next-door aesthetic, but is ultimately fashionable.
Al-Ahram Weekly
04-07-2025
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Barely deciphered - Culture - Al-Ahram Weekly
Hala ElKoussy's narrative feature debut was Zahrat Al-Sabbar (Cactus flower, 2017). Sharq 12 (East of Noon), her second, premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in the Director's Fortnight section and has participated in festivals and events around the world since then, but the first Egypt screening of the film in Egypt took place only last week at Cinema Zawya. The film opens with subtitles giving the location: the colony of Sharq 12 (the latter, as the English title indicates, a reference to noon). It is clear this won't be a mainstream experience. The title carries two values. One is geographic (east), the other temporal. It would never become clear what the metaphorical interpretation of the title is, though it suggests this is a space outside the world as we know it, as if the action is taking place in a space-time gap. This is also suggested by the fact that all the clocks and watches in the film don't work. The filmmaker-screenwriter sets her black comedy in the dystopian atmosphere of a remote village or colony near an abandoned industrial facility, which adds to its isolation. Each character symbolise a concept. At the beginning a female narrator (Menha Al-Batraoui) is telling the story of a couple with a young child escaping by the seashore. One of the first scenes shows the main character, Abdo (Omar Rozik) in his room playing percussions using slippers and old plastic water tubes. Abdo and his friend are drinking tea, however this simple act reflects the fact that sugar cubes are a rare commodity. In another scene sugar becomes a kind of currency. The two friends are seen burying a body with one of the security forces, and when they finish the job they are paid in sugar boxes. Shawki Al-Bahlawan (Ahmed Kamal) is the most powerful man in the village. His introductory scene quickly shows the luxury he lives in as he appears in his house wearing a bathrobe before he starts his work of following up on what is happening in the colony. In another scene he takes a box of sugar cubes out of his drawer and sniffs them passionately as he might do with banknotes. Shawki performs in a theatrical show in front of the colony's audience. This performance combines public speech with acting and dancing. The character represents the colony's power mixed with clownish behaviour in line with the name Al-Bahlawan, which though a known surname actually means clown. Galala (Al-Batraoui) is Abdo's grandmother and a character that may be seen as the opposite of Shawki. She is among the ordinary people of the community helping them to meet their needs by letting them barter unnecessary belongings for the contents of her shop-office. On the other hand, her main activity is telling the children of the colony stories about the sea while they act as if they swim on the office floor. In one of the most significant scenes in the film, Abdo confronts his grandmother about this. She says that imagination is a cure and he replies that imagination is a sedative. Shawki's authority is executed by armed men who represent the colony's security forces headed by Borai (Osama Abul-Atta). As a character Borai shows aggression against those who don't comply with what Shawki orders. He sexually exploits Nuna (Fayza Shama) by locking her in the toilet of the security office where he works, not only having sex with her himself but passing her onto all the other security personnel as well. Nuna, who is a free spirit forced against her will to have sex with all of these people, is in love with Abdo. However, she is pregnant and doesn't know who the father is. She only believes that escaping with Abdo from the colony may give her a better future. Most films about authoritarian oppression end with chaotic revolt, and Elkoussy's is no exception: Abdo, who is working with music and sound recording, fakes a message from Shawki using his old speeches telling all the people that there is a treasure in the area where they bury the bodies. It is clear Elkoussy is influenced by the late filmmaker Youssef Chahine, which is clear from characters like the lame man who wears a galabiya and moves around the village lusting after and perhaps harassing Nuna. He looks exactly like Qenawi, the main character of the Chahine's Bab Al-Hadid (Chahine himself played the role). In fact Abdo has similar features with Ibrahim, the young man in Chahine's The Return of The Prodigal Son. Both are obsessed with leaving the chaotic isolated place they live in and travel seeking a wider future. It is interesting that Egyptian cinema produces various kinds of films. Some have the attention of large audiences while others are only accepted by a few. But in the end such diversity represents a deeper value for the entire film and cultural industry alike. It is true that the core of creativity in general is built somehow on references and metaphors, but symbolism since its emergence as a movement in the 19th century has demonstrated an extreme notion regarding metaphors. Opposed to both naturalism and realism, symbolism gave artists the freedom to express their thoughts against the widespread political dominance of one-sided thought or even harassment by dictatorial authorities. Visually, ElKoussy's film is beautiful. Shot on 16 mm film black and white celluloid, the beautifully composed picture has a noticeable roughness. The DOP Abdel-Salam Moussa created an alluring image, while Ahmed Al-Sawy composed a peculiar score. However, the filmmaker may have relied too heavily on symbolic motifs, complex ideas, and layered messages, which became overwhelming for much of the audience. The capacity to grip the audience's emotions and sympathy was lost too often as the film engaged the intellect, but after losing the emotional connection it is not easy to satisfy the minds. Even experienced cinephiles felt the film lost the soul of its story, the primary means of capturing the viewers' attention. And in the end this made its intellectual and artistic power ring hollow. * A version of this article appears in print in the 3 July, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
