Arab stars celebrate women at Red Sea Film Festival and Vanity Fair’s Cannes gala

Arab stars celebrate women at Red Sea Film Festival and Vanity Fair’s Cannes gala
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(L-R) Razane Jammal, Fatima Al-Banawi, Sara Ali Khan, Mohammed Al-Turki, Simone Marchetti, Tara Emad, Mila Al-Zahrani and Jade Osiberu attend the Red Sea International Film Festival’s ‘Women’s Stories Gala’ in partnership with Vanity Fair Europe . (Getty Images)
Arab stars celebrate women at Red Sea Film Festival and Vanity Fair’s Cannes gala
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Alessandra Ambrosio at the gala. (Ammar Abd Rabbo/Arab News)
Arab stars celebrate women at Red Sea Film Festival and Vanity Fair’s Cannes gala
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Fan Bingbing at the gala. (Ammar Abd Rabbo/Arab News)
Arab stars celebrate women at Red Sea Film Festival and Vanity Fair’s Cannes gala
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Eva Herzigova at the gala. (Ammar Abd Rabbo/Arab News)
Arab stars celebrate women at Red Sea Film Festival and Vanity Fair’s Cannes gala
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Hend Sabri at the gala. (Ammar Abd Rabbo/Arab News)
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Updated 21 May 2023

Arab stars celebrate women at Red Sea Film Festival and Vanity Fair’s Cannes gala

Arab stars celebrate women at Red Sea Film Festival and Vanity Fair’s Cannes gala

CANNES: Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival and Vanity Fair on Thursday hosted a “women’s stories gala after party” during the Cannes Film Festival to celebrate female talent in the region. 

The star-studded event was attended by Leonardo DiCaprio, Katie Holmes, Maiwenn, The Weeknd, Gaspar Noe, Storm Reid, Tobey Maguire, Gurinder Chadha, Fan Bingbing, Freida Pinto, Simone Marchetti, Eva Herzigova, Naomi Campbell and more. 




Naomi Campbell at the gala. (Ammar Abd Rabbo/Arab News)

The event, held at the famed Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d’Antibes, honored six stars from the region: Saudi actresses Mila Al-Zahrani and Fatima Al-Banawi, Lebanese actress Razane Jammal, Indian star Sarah Ali Khan, Egyptian-Montenegrin actress and model Tara Emad and Nigerian filmmaker Jade Osiberu. 

In an interview with Arab News, Emad said: “I am very proud of myself, of each and every women here that is an honoree. I am proud of our industry, of Egypt (and) of the Arab world. I am glad to be able to represent Egypt and the Arab word in general. 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dr Naomi Campbell (@naomi)

“I am happy to be able to see the representation that I always sought to see as a young girl,” she said. “I hope that the six of us can be that representation to all the girls and all the women in the Arab region that seek to see themselves in the spotlight in any career that they choose.”

Khan believes it was a “privilege” to be part of the event. “I think if I had to identify myself in three words it would probably be: Indian, woman (and) actor. And I am here to celebrate all three today,” she said. 

To Al-Banawi, moments like these are no longer a surprise. 

 

 

“I reached to a point where I am really not surprised because Saudi Arabia is trying to prove that we are creating stories that are inspiring, magical and that push for change and development,” she said. “I am very happy that we are here in Cannes Film Festival, celebrating each other and  celebrating with each other.

“I feel like the narrative we represented in the light that was always on us was a very specific one and I don’t think women were part of it. I think it was written by others,” she said. “Today, I am celebrating women that are writing, that are creating and challenging and honoring themselves and other fellow women.

“I think it takes so much courage to tell one story, let alone if there was so many stories that were shaping you in a specific discourse or a specific channel or a specific light. It takes more courage to unleash, to unfold new possibilities and new opportunities. I always remind myself to be OK with taking up space, with speaking my opinion, with addressing what I feel could be wrong or should be changed,” Al-Banawi said. 

 

 

Jammal said that she never differentiated between a man and a woman. 

“Maybe because I lived in a little bubble because I was raised by a man that empowered me and told me that there was no difference between me and my brother. So maybe I never grew up feeling that being a woman is a challenge. If anything, I felt like it was a superpower,” she said. 

But when she joined the workforce, she realized that women faced challenges. 

 

 

“I am learning now as I am more exposed to a wider audience, and depending on their reactions I can learn about them more,” she said. “As a woman, I am really happy to be representing a person who chased her dreams, who is self-made, who is independent, and I am just trying to do my best and I am just really happy that the best is just working for me right now.”

Portugese model Sara Sampaio, who also attended, said that being part of the women’s stories gala was “so special.” 

“Women are amazing, and for the longest time we didn’t have stories told by our point of views. It’s very important,” she said. 

Mohammed Al-Turki, CEO of the Red Sea Film Festival, told Arab News: “We are very happy to be celebrating women. We are very proud that we can share stories from our region. Today, we are highlighting six females from our region: two from Saudi — Mila Zahran and Fatima Al-Banawi — from Egypt Tara Emad, from Lebanon Razane Jammal, from Nigeria Jade and from India Sara Ali Khan.

“It is quite an interesting mix and for us to be able to showcase these talents to the world, to be in a room tonight with the likes of Katie Holmes and more, is a big incredible moment for us,” he said. 

 

 

“I think the dream has come true. I never thought a Saudi co-production would open Cannes with a female director of Algerian descent,” he said. “So it is an indicator that we are going. And if this is just three years of Red Sea, I think we should just fasten our seatbelt and go for a ride because we are going to see incredible things moving forward.”

This year, Cannes Film Festival opened with the screening of Johnny Depp’s “Jeanne du Barry,” which was backed by the Red Sea International Film Festival. 


Dina Shihabi’s latest film to premiere at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival

Dina Shihabi’s latest film to premiere at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival
Updated 07 June 2023

Dina Shihabi’s latest film to premiere at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival

Dina Shihabi’s latest film to premiere at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival

DUBAI: Part-Saudi actress Dina Shihabi took to social media this week to promote her latest film “Catching Dust,” which premieres at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival on June 11.

The 96-minute feature was directed by Stuart Gatt and sees protagonist Geena, an artist and painter ready to dream big, tired of living in the desert with her controlling partner. At her wit's end, Geena is preparing to leave when a new couple shows up at the commune in a trailer from New York, eager to make a new life for themselves away from the city. Things turn dangerous for both couples as tensions boil over and egos come to a head as attempts to connect leave everyone frayed and on the edge of disaster.

Shihabi stars alongside US actress Erin Moriarty, who plays Geena, and Australian stars Jai Courtney and Ryan Corr.

Shihabi has a busy summer ahead of her, with her latest series “Painkiller” set to premiere on Netflix on Aug. 10.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dina Shihabi (@shihabidina)

The Riyadh-born actress recently took to Instagram to share a series of stills from the miniseries, which focuses on the origins and aftermath of America’s opioid epidemic.

“One of the best experiences of my life with a group of the most talented people that I will love forever. Can’t wait for you to watch,” she told fans.

Shihabi stars alongside US actors Matthew Broderick and Uzo Aduba, as well as Canadian actor Taylor Kitsch.

“Painkiller” is based on the book “Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic,” by Barry Meier, and a New Yorker article, “The Family That Built an Empire of Pain,” written by Patrick Radden Keefe.

The series was created by US screenwriter Micah Fitzerman-Blue and actor and writer Noah Harpster, with US filmmakers Eric Newman, Peter Berg and Alex Gibney as executive producers.

Shihabi spent part of her childhood in Dubai. Her father is Saudi Norwegian journalist Ali Shihabi, and her mother Nadia is half-Palestinian and half-German Haitian.

She moved to the US in 2007 and was the first Middle Eastern-born woman to be accepted to the Juilliard School and New York University graduate acting program. She began appearing in short films in 2010, but her big break came in 2017 with the role of Hanin in the series “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.”

Shihabi previously spoke to Arab News to share her advice for up-and-coming actors.

“Look around to the people that are around you right now and start making things. And focus, hard work, determination, passion (are important). Those are real things,” she said.

“I’m still working really hard to make the things I want happen and I don’t think it’s ever going to end. If you choose this life, you are choosing a life where you have to really work hard.”


Tom Cruise to attend Middle East premiere of ‘Mission Impossible’ in Abu Dhabi

Tom Cruise to attend Middle East premiere of ‘Mission Impossible’ in Abu Dhabi
Updated 06 June 2023

Tom Cruise to attend Middle East premiere of ‘Mission Impossible’ in Abu Dhabi

Tom Cruise to attend Middle East premiere of ‘Mission Impossible’ in Abu Dhabi

DUBAI: The UAE is set to host the Middle East premiere of the eagerly awaited “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” at a red-carpet event at Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace on June 26.

The film’s screening will be attended by Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie.

Some of the movie’s scenes were shot in the Liwa desert and the Midfield Terminal in the UAE capital’s airport.

McQuarrie, Cruise, and the cast and crew shot in the emirate for almost two weeks in 2021 with the support of the Abu Dhabi Film Commission and other local production partners, including twofour54 Abu Dhabi.

It marks the second time the Paramount Pictures’ franchise has filmed in Abu Dhabi following the HALO jump sequence for “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” in 2018.

Khalfan Al-Mazrouei, acting director general of Creative Media Authority, said: “Hosting the premiere of ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ is an honor for Abu Dhabi and is also a reflection of the position the emirate holds as one of the Middle East and North Africa region’s top film and TV locations.

“We are proud to have worked with such a genre-defining franchise once again and it demonstrates how Abu Dhabi has everything filmmakers need to successfully complete such large, complex productions.”


US First Lady Jill Biden steps out in Reem Acra gown in Marrakesh

US First Lady Jill Biden steps out in Reem Acra gown in Marrakesh
Jill Biden and Princess Lalla Hasna. (Instagram)
Updated 06 June 2023

US First Lady Jill Biden steps out in Reem Acra gown in Marrakesh

US First Lady Jill Biden steps out in Reem Acra gown in Marrakesh

DUBAI: US First Lady Jill Biden continued her longstanding relationship with Lebanese fashion designer Reem Acra by wearing a purple ensemble from the designer’s eponymous brand at a meeting with Princess Lalla Hasna of Morocco this week.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by REEM ACRA (@reemacra)

“First Lady Dr. Jill Biden radiated elegance and poise as she met with Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasna of Morocco in Marrakesh wearing a regal Reem Acra purple dress,” the label posted on Instagram. 

The fashion move comes mere days after Biden showed off another gown by Reem Acra at the wedding of Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II and Rajwa Al-Hussein, nee Al-Saif, in Amman on Thursday.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by REEM ACRA (@reemacra)

It was the same gown she previously stepped out in for a state dinner at the White House in honor of the South Korean president. 


Saudi label Ashi Studio to show at Paris Haute Couture Week   

Saudi label Ashi Studio to show at Paris Haute Couture Week   
Updated 06 June 2023

Saudi label Ashi Studio to show at Paris Haute Couture Week   

Saudi label Ashi Studio to show at Paris Haute Couture Week   

DUBAI: Saudi designer Mohammed Ashi, founder of Paris-based label Ashi Studio, is set to join the Fédération de la Haute Couture as a guest member and will showcase his latest line on the official Haute Couture calendar in Paris on July 6. 

Ashi, who launched his label his eponymous house 17 years ago, is the first couturier from the Gulf region to be invited to show a collection on the federation’s official fashion week calendar.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Ashi Studio (@ashistudio)

Ashi and his atelier have been established in Paris since 2018. His designs have been worn by A-list celebrities such as Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Hudson, Kylie Minogue, Penélope Cruz, Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor, Queen Rania of Jordan and more.  

“This appointment is the highlight of my career,” Ashi said in a released statement posted on Instagram. “I will honor it in the memory of the great couturiers who came before me and whom I now join in the pursuit of this grand tradition of excellence in creativity and savoir-faire. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Ashi Studio (@ashistudio)

“Today, I am reminded of days escaping to the garden to dream, and, of that first day, when I hired one seamstress to bring to life the images in my head. Challenging and joyous, couture has and continues to lay bare my inner energy, so that I may give the best of myself to serve its high art,” he added.  

“This recognition brings me the greatest emotion; it offers me the opportunity to share with you who I am. As this new chapter unfolds, I recognize that today would not be possible without the exceptional talent and dedication of my atelier. I wish to thank everyone who has worked to bring my dreams to life,” Ashi wrote on Instagram.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Ashi Studio (@ashistudio)

Ashi previously told Arab News: “I incredibly proud of my Saudi roots … my designs are often influenced by Saudi heritage.”  

In February, the designer opened his first-ever flagship store in Riyadh. “I look forward to bring the opulence and fantasy of couture to my home country,” he told Arab News ahead of the opening.  

“Saudi has a thriving fashion scene, and the Fashion Commission is doing a great job at supporting emerging Saudi talent,” Ashi added.  


British Moroccan model Nora Attal poses for Chanel Beauty

British Moroccan model Nora Attal poses for Chanel Beauty
Updated 05 June 2023

British Moroccan model Nora Attal poses for Chanel Beauty

British Moroccan model Nora Attal poses for Chanel Beauty

DUBAI: British Moroccan model Nora Attal took to Instagram this week to share photographs of herself posing for Chanel Beauty.

The photographs, shot by Belgian photographer Quentin De Briey, show Attal posing with a pair of Chanel sunglasses. The model is also seen holding a pocket-sized capsule of Chanel hand cream and lying in long green grass with her oversized branded shades.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Nora Attal (@noraattal)

Attal has starred in a number of campaign shoots for the French fashion and beauty house in the past, including its most recent festive season campaign in December.

The luxury label released an outer space-themed festive campaign, in which a bevy of models were depicted jetting off to the moon in style.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Nora Attal (@noraattal)

In the short clip, a group of models fly to the moon on the glittering Eiffel Tower. Once they land, Attal can be seen exploring the lunar landscape while a robot etches the maison’s famous logo onto the surface of the moon.

“Went to the Moon with @chanel,” Attal captioned a carousel of campaign images.

Attal is a Chanel fixture and has walked the runway for the storied brand a number of times over the years.

She hit the runway for Chanel in October at Paris Fashion Week, where she showed off a number of looks as part of the label’s Spring-Summer 2023 showcase. The ensembles were part of a 71-piece collection designed by the fashion house’s creative director Virginie Viard.

The model had a 2022 to remember. Last June, she treated her Instagram fans to a snapshot of her 23rd birthday celebrations, including attending a concert by US rapper Megan Thee Stallion at the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain.

Her birthday celebrations came hot on the heels of a sentimental moment for Attal, as the catwalk star tied the knot with her partner, UK-based photographer Victor Bastidas. The wedding took place against the backdrop of orange and palm trees in the presence of their loved ones in Ibiza, Spain.

Attal was first discovered by Jonathan Anderson, the founder of fashion label JW Anderson label, and shot a campaign for the British fashion house in 2014 before she had even taken her first steps down a catwalk.

She would go on to become a runway fixture. Based in London and signed to Viva Model Management, Attal has worked with a number of renowned designers and stylists. She has walked the runway for major fashion houses, including Tom Ford, Tory Burch, Tiffany & Co., Fendi, Burberry and Valentino, to name a few.