Radical Futures 7-10 March 2022

Titled ‘The Gulf Metaverse 2.0’, the programme features 9 artist films from the Gulf that explore cultural shifts, digital transmission and speculative futures.

  • The Salad Zone

    Sarah Abu Adbullah

    Using scenes from the artist’s surroundings and life in Saudi Arabia, we see disarrayed glimpses of multiple narratives include familial domestic tensions, a juvenile dream of going to Japan, the tendency to smash TVs in moments of anger, and eating fish. Never attempting to provide the whole picture, the film takes a rhizomatic approach to tell a story of everyday life.
    20
    Saudia Arabia
    2013
  • The Green Light

    Ahaad Alamoudi

    This film focuses on the ways in which information circulates and, at the same time, involves the subjects of a society. Through a complex dynamic of lights that turn on at the same time as the intermittence of the voices of a men’s choir singing an Arabic pop song, the artist proposes a letter that is repeated over and over again: “No, no, don’t leave us, we were always with you / No, no, don’t leave us, even if we weren’t with you
    7
    2021
  • The Girls Who Burned The Night

    Sara Mesfer

    Set in Jeddah, the film tells the story of two sisters who embark on a journey after a small act of rebellion. While preparing for an engagement party, Salsabil asks her mom to go shopping, but her request is rejected which leads the day to go in an unexpected direction.
    24
    Saudia Arabia
    2020
  • Tayseer

    Khalida Bataweel

    In this silent drama, we explore phases of Tayseer's daily life on the roof of his building and his relationship to the architecture of his home. Tayseer keeps dragging his chair on the roof until he decides where to settle.
    15
    Saudi Arabia
    2021
  • Seeds After Black Gold

    Razzan Al Sarraf

    A rebirthing of neglected land through self-preservation, illustrated by displacing traditional rituals practiced by Shia women preparing for an Islamic marriage into spaces unbound by time or resolution.
    8
    Kuwait
    2021
  • I Engrave

    Reem Falaknaz

    Every year, Ghulam Mohammed Andalib comes from Afghanistan to Dubai for work. He’s here for a period of four months, where he is offered a stage to perform his craft on for the visitors of Global Village. At his assigned setting, Ghulam sits and engraves poems from Hafez, Saadi, or Quranic verses. Here, in late Sheikh Abdulaziz al Qassimi's abandoned palace in Ras Al Khaimah, Ghulam explores the interiors. Like himself, Sheikh Abdulaziz had a passion for Persian poetry and miniatures, and can be found hand painted on the house walls. Part documentary, part performance, exploring the themes…
    7
    UAE
    2016
  • Glimpses Of Now

    Mohammed al Faraj

    In this film, al Faraj takes us on a visual and auditory exploration of the cities and people of Saudi Arabia. He shot the video in a documentary format using a video camera and mobile phone. This is an ongoing project, and the artist has been gathering footage for the film since 2015.
    48
    Saudi Arabia
    2021
  • Glaze

    Moza Almatrooshi

    Almatrooshi carries out an investigation of the daily activities in local Sharah dessert spots. By centering desserts in the work, she problematises sweeteners as a guise for other flavours. Sugar has historical connotations with enslaved labour, colonial enterprising and class signifiers, as well as a demonised health hazard and a source of “sinful” temptation & indulgence.
    35
    UAE
    2021
  • A DIY of a Dream 101

    Qamar Abdulmalik

    The artist recalls personal experiences that occurred at the Egyptian Embassy, at Counter #6, the division that handles Palestinian refugees who carry Egyptian travel documents. The artist sets a mood of dream and hope played in irony portraying the endless dilemma of those who struggle with identity and citizenship.
    6
    2021