New Louvre Abu Dhabi podcast takes children on fictional adventures
Arabic podcast series presents stories by Emirati authors, such as Nadia Al Najjar and Maitha Al-Khayat
Updated 04 May 2023
Arab News
LONDON: Louvre Abu Dhabi announced on Wednesday a children’s podcast for a more immersive museum experience.
The new Arabic podcast series, which is called “Adventures at the Museum,” has been inspired by exhibits at the venue, reported BroadcastPro.
The series employs storytelling techniques to build on children’s creative thinking, and features stories written by prominent Emirati authors, including Nadia Al Najjar, Ayesha Al Hashemi, Noura Al Khouri and Maitha Al-Khayat.
“Adventures at the Museum,” which is aimed at children aged 6 to 10, features professional voice-overs by actors, along with sound effects and music.
Louvre Abu Dhabi organized listening activities with the Al Jeel Kindergarten and International Community Schools as part of the podcast’s pre-launch.
The podcast is available on Louvre Abu Dhabi’s website and all major podcast platforms, namely Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Anghami, Spotify, Deezer, and Castbox.
DUBAI: Australian director Baz Luhrmann has been chosen to preside over the Red Sea International Film Festival’s features competition jury this year, organizers announced on Tuesday.
The third edition of the Saudi festival is set to take place from Nov. 30 to Dec. 9 in Jeddah.
Luhrmann will head the jury that will be bestowing awards to a competition of 17 titles from filmmakers from the Arab world, Asia and Africa.
Mohammed Al-Turki, the festival’s CEO, said in a statement: “As we work towards our third edition, we are delighted to welcome legendary award-winning director Baz Luhrmann as the head of the jury.”
Luhrmann said: “As a child in the local cinema that we ran near the tiny country town where I grew up, I was mesmerized by the powerful historical and physical landscapes of ‘Lawrence of Arabia’.
“Since that time, I have had an abiding passion for the Arabian world, but after visiting Saudi Arabia, I felt truly inspired by the remarkable young filmmaking talent coming up across the region and to see how they are now capturing the attention of the global film community.”
The Academy Award-nominated auteur is known for being a master storyteller across film, opera, theater and music, as well as his critically acclaimed filmography, including double Academy Award-winning “The Great Gatsby,” “Strictly Ballroom,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Moulin Rouge,” “Elvis” and “Australia.”
Picasso masterpiece begins pre-auction tour in Dubai
The 1932 portrait of Marie-Therese Walter, Picasso’s mistress and “golden muse,” is being exhibited for two days before heading to Hong Kong and London
Updated 25 September 2023
AFP
Dubai: A Pablo Picasso masterpiece expected to fetch at least $120 million at auction went on show Monday in Dubai, kicking off a set of rare viewings outside the United States.
The 1932 portrait of Marie-Therese Walter, Picasso’s mistress and “golden muse,” is being exhibited for two days before heading to Hong Kong and London, a boon for the United Arab Emirates’ bid to establish itself as a cultural powerhouse.
The viewing “marks the first time a painting of this calibre by the world-renowned artist has ever been exhibited in the UAE,” Sotheby’s Dubai said in a statement, noting it is the first time the portrait had been shown outside the US in half a century.
“Over the years the UAE has earned the status of being a global art destination, which receives a further boost as this rare Picasso is unveiled here,” said UAE Culture Minister Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al-Qassimi.
The painting titled “Femme a la montre” will be sold in November as part of a two-day auction of late New Yorker Emily Fisher Landau’s prestigious collection.
Walter met Picasso in Paris in 1927, when the Spaniard was still married to Russian-Ukrainian ballet dancer Olga Khokhlova, and while Walter was 17.
Walter, whose daughter with Picasso passed away last year, was also featured in “Femme assize pres d’une fenetre (Marie-Therese),” which sold in 2021 for $103.4 million by Christie’s auction house.
Fifty years after his death in 1973 at age 91, Picasso remains one of the most influential artists of the modern world, often hailed as a dynamic and creative genius.
But in the wake of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault, the reputation of this workaholic with a vast output of paintings, sketches and sculpture has been tarnished by accusations he exerted a violent hold over the women who shared his life and inspired his art.
Princess Rajwa attends congress meetings with Jordan’s Crown Prince
Updated 24 September 2023
Arab News
DUBAI: Princess Rajwa Al-Hussein this week accompanied her husband, Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II, on his trip to the US for his meeting with Congress members at Capitol Hill.
Fans had their eyes on Rajwa’s style and quickly took to Instagram to share her outfit details.
The Jordanian royal was dressed in a white funnel-neck pedernal blouse by Canadian British designer Edeline Lee and a black midi-skirt by Dior. She added a pop of color to her look by wearing hot-pink slingback Fendi heels and a matching Baguette phone pouch in patent leather.
ALULA: A stellar lineup of stars performed on the second day of Saudi Arabia’s Azimuth festival in AlUla, including British singer and songwriter, Jorja Smith.
Smith performed some of her hits, including “Be Honest” and “Go Go Go.”
The music sensation was joined by stars form around the world who performed on the second and last night of the festival, which forms part of Saudi Arabia’s 93rd National Day celebrations.
The lineup included performances by Dope Lemon, Chet Faker, Saint Levant, Shkoon Live, Ame & Dixon, Tinariwen, Vinyl Mode, Dish Dash, Zone+, Kayan, Baloo, and more.
The festival vibes were enhanced with Azilook stations for makeup, hair, nails and henna tattoos. There was also an opportunity to shop for attire from Creative Collection, accessories from Qurmoz and perfumes from SURGE.
In addition, several food vendors were available, including Gun Bun, SALT, Out of Line, Just Chill, Creamery, Baroque and Maui.
Review: ‘Wrestlers’ deserves to be Netflix’s latest breakout hit
Documentary on the Ohio wrestling scene is bursting with heart
Updated 23 September 2023
Matt Ross
LONDON: The mark of a great documentary is when audiences feel like they’ve learned something — when a hitherto unexplored world is examined and explained in a way that makes sense or interrogated and investigated in order to shed new light on things previously unseen. A truly phenomenal documentary, however, not only does all of the above, but it makes viewers actually care about the world they’re exploring.
Netflix’s “Wrestlers” is a remarkable piece of filmmaking. Director Greg Whiteley (“Last Chance U,” “Cheer”) and his team have created an emotional, intimate look inside the world of the Ohio Valley Wrestling league. Once the pathway to the big time (with alumni that include Brock Lesnar, The Miz, John Cena, Dave Bautista, Randy Orton and others), OVW is struggling to make ends meet. New investors Matt Jones and Craig Greenberg have rescued the franchise, for now, but find themselves in conflict with owner (and legendary wrestler) Al Snow, as their desire to increase revenue and marketability comes up against Snow’s uncompromising commitment to crafting storylines and matches of the utmost quality.
“Wrestlers” is directed by Greg Whiteley. (YouTube)
Whiteley takes us deep into the lives of Snow, the new owners, and the wrestlers — standouts include Cash Flo, Shera and Haley J, but there are so many fascinating characters at the heart of OVW that seven episodes don’t feel even close to enough. By showing us their lives, and just how much wrestling means to them, the day-to-day grind of keeping the league afloat feels uncompromisingly real. It’s genuinely heartbreaking to see the efforts of Snow and his roster of wrestlers draw in just a few extra attendees, and it’s jaw-droppingly uncomfortable to get a firsthand glimpse of the stresses Jones and Snow are under as they reach the culmination of OVW’s summer tour.
To reveal anything more would undermine the gravitas of the season finale, which deserves to be seen far and wide. “Wrestlers” is a remarkable show. Whether or not you care about wrestling at the start, you’ll care about the people behind OVW by the time the curtain drops on season one. Here’s hoping there’s more in store.
