Oscar-winning Palestinian director released by Israeli forces in the West Bank

Update Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham pose with the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film for “No Other Land” in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. (File/Reuters)
Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham pose with the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film for “No Other Land” in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. (File/Reuters)
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Updated 25 March 2025
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Oscar-winning Palestinian director released by Israeli forces in the West Bank

Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham pose with Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film for “No Other Land.”
  • AP journalists on Tuesday saw Hamdan Ballal and the two other Palestinians leaving the police station in the West Bank
  • Ballal had bruises on his face and blood on his clothes

HEBRON, West Bank: An Oscar-winning Palestinian director and two others have been released by Israel, a day after he was badly beaten by Jewish settlers and detained by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.
AP journalists on Tuesday saw Hamdan Ballal and the two other Palestinians leaving the police station in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba where they were being held.
Ballal had bruises on his face and blood on his clothes.
Balla’s wife said earlier Tuesday that he was beaten in front of his home by three men in military fatigues while another filmed the attack.
Ballal and the other directors of “No Other Land,” which looks at the struggles of living under Israeli occupation, had mounted the stage at the 97th Academy Awards in Los Angeles earlier this month when it won the award for best documentary film.
On Tuesday, the three were being held at a police station in the occupied West Bank. Their attorney, Lea Tsemel, said they would soon be released after spending the night on the floor of a military base while suffering from serious injuries sustained in the attack.
She had earlier said they were accused of throwing stones at a young settler, allegations they deny.
Palestinian residents say around two dozen settlers — some masked, some carrying guns and some in military uniforms — attacked the West Bank village of Susiya on Monday evening as residents were breaking their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Soldiers who arrived pointed their guns at the Palestinians, while settlers continued throwing stones, they said.
The Israeli military said Monday it had detained three Palestinians suspected of hurling rocks at forces and one Israeli civilian involved in a what it described as a violent confrontation. On Tuesday, it referred further queries to police, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
‘I’m dying!’
Lamia Ballal, the director’s wife, said she heard her husband being beaten outside their home as she huddled inside with their three children. She heard him screaming, “I’m dying!” and calling for an ambulance. When she looked out the window, she saw three men in uniform beating Ballal with the butts of their rifles and another person in civilian clothes who appeared to be filming the violence.
“Of course, after the Oscar, they have come to attack us more,” Lamia said. “I felt afraid.”
West Bank settlers are often armed and sometimes wear military-style clothing that makes it difficult to distinguish them from soldiers.
On Tuesday, a small bloodstain could be seen outside their home, and the car’s windshield and windows were shattered. Neighbors pointed to a nearby water tank with a hole in the side that they said had been punched by the settlers.
Film looked at Palestinians’ struggle to stay on the land
“No Other Land,” which won the Oscar this year for best documentary, chronicles the struggle by residents of the Masafer Yatta area to stop the Israeli military from demolishing their villages.
The joint Israeli-Palestinian production has won a string of international awards, starting at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2024. It has also drawn ire in Israel and abroad, as when Miami Beach proposed ending the lease of a movie theater that screened it.
Basel Adra, another of the film’s co-directors who is a prominent Palestinian activist in the area, said there’s been a massive upswing in attacks by settlers and Israeli forces since the Oscar win.
“Nobody can do anything to stop the pogroms, and soldiers are only there to facilitate and help the attacks,” he said. “We’re living in dark days here, in Gaza, and all of the West Bank ... Nobody’s stopping this.”
Masked settlers with sticks also attacked Jewish activists in the area on Monday, smashing their car windows and slashing tires, according to Josh Kimelman, an activist with the Center for Jewish Nonviolence. Video provided by the group showed a masked settler shoving and swinging his fists at two activists in a dusty field at night.
Open-ended military rule
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians want all three for their future state and view settlement growth as a major obstacle to a two-state solution. Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal.
Israel has built well over 100 settlements, home to over 500,000 settlers who have Israeli citizenship. The 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under seemingly open-ended Israeli military rule, with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centers.
The Israeli military designated Masafer Yatta in the southern West Bank as a live-fire training zone in the 1980s and ordered residents, mostly Arab Bedouin, to be expelled. Around 1,000 residents have largely remained in place, but soldiers regularly move in to demolish homes, tents, water tanks and olive orchards — and Palestinians fear outright expulsion could come at any time.
The Palestinians also face threats from settlers at nearby outposts. Palestinians and rights groups say Israeli forces usually turn a blind eye to settler attacks or intervene on behalf of the settlers.
The war in Gaza has sparked a surge of violence in the West Bank, with the Israeli military carrying out widescale military operations that have killed hundreds of Palestinians and displaced tens of thousands. There has been a rise in settler violence as well as Palestinian attacks on Israelis.


Red Sea Film Foundation announces mentorship program with Spike Lee

Red Sea Film Foundation announces mentorship program with Spike Lee
Updated 5 sec ago
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Red Sea Film Foundation announces mentorship program with Spike Lee

Red Sea Film Foundation announces mentorship program with Spike Lee

DUBAI: Academy Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee – known for films like “Malcolm X” and “BlacKkKlansman” – is teaming up with Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Film Foundation to launch the brand new Director’s Program.

The initiative will bring together 15 selected filmmakers for a “one-of-a-kind, intimate and inspiring mentoring experience” with Lee, according to an Instagram post from the foundation.

Taking place from April 30 to May 3, the program offers emerging directors from the Middle East and Asia a rare opportunity to learn from one of the most influential voices in cinema.

Applications are open until April 24.


Simone Biles wins Laureus award in Saudi design

Simone Biles wins Laureus award in Saudi design
Updated 22 April 2025
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Simone Biles wins Laureus award in Saudi design

Simone Biles wins Laureus award in Saudi design
  • Saudi Arabia’s Eman Al-Ajlan designed Biles’ dress
  • US gymnast won 3 gold, 1 silver at Paris Olympics

DUBAI: US gymnast Simone Biles took home the Sportswoman of the Year award at the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards this week, wearing a black gown by Saudi Arabia designer Eman Al-Ajlan.

The athlete opted for a strapless dress with a structured corset bodice featuring nude and black embroidered detailing. It included a voluminous peplum-style layer at the waist and a floor-length, sheer black skirt.

Simone Biles opted for a strapless dress with a structured corset bodice. (Getty Images)

She paired the look with simple diamond accessories and a black Tyler Ellis bag.

The American gymnast won three gold and a silver at the Paris Olympics.

Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis was named Sportsman of the Year. He had won a second Olympic gold medal and twice raised his own world record.

Al-Ajlan shared a photo on Instagram of Biles wearing her design, writing: “Congratulations @simonebiles on winning the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award.”

This is not the first time Al-Ajlan’s designs have appeared on major red carpets.

Earlier this year, at the 96th Academy Awards, US social media personality Kristy Sarah wore a gown by Al-Ajlan.

The dress was a strapless, form-fitting gown in a soft nude tone. It featured a structured, ruched bodice that extended into a mermaid-style silhouette.

The skirt and train were embellished with three-dimensional floral appliques in shades of lavender and lilac.

In 2023, she dressed US actress, dancer, and social media star Tessa Brooks in an all-black ensemble for the MusiCares Persons of the Year event in Los Angeles.

The following year, British model and TV presenter Leomie Anderson wore a structured look by Al-Ajlan at the 2024 amfAR Gala in Cannes, featuring a mini dress layered with a net-like skirt.

Al-Ajlan, who launched her label in 2007, is based in Riyadh and specializes in couture, bridal and pret-a-porter designs.

She has dressed several regional celebrities for international events, including Saudi Arabia actresses Mila Alzahrani and Dae Al-Hilali at the 2019 Venice Film Festival.

In 2024, Riyadh-based TV host Ajwa Aljoudi wore a mustard gown by the designer to the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Hollywood.


Japan’s Kaneko Masakazu explores memory, myth and nature in intimate Saudi Film Festival talk

Japan’s Kaneko Masakazu explores memory, myth and nature in intimate Saudi Film Festival talk
Updated 22 April 2025
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Japan’s Kaneko Masakazu explores memory, myth and nature in intimate Saudi Film Festival talk

Japan’s Kaneko Masakazu explores memory, myth and nature in intimate Saudi Film Festival talk

DHAHRAN: Japanese filmmaker Kaneko Masakazu — known for his cinematic exploration of nature, memory, and myth — captivated audiences at the 11th Saudi Film Festival (SFF) with an intimate and insightful conversation about the deep connections between culture and storytelling.

Masakazu was joined on stage by Abdulrahman Al-Qarzaee, a fluent Japanese speaker from Saudi Arabia who served as translator with cultural commentator Showg AlBarjas acting as moderator.

The conversation delved into how landscapes, folklore and cultural identity shape cinematic storytelling, facilitating a thoughtful exchange of ideas that spanned cultural boundaries.

During this session, Masakazu shared his approach to filmmaking, particularly in “River Returns” (2024), his third feature film. It was shown just days earlier at the SFF, which is set to wrap up on April 23.

The film, a stunning blend of fantasy and drama, takes place in a rural Japanese village and tells the story of a young boy’s perilous journey to a seemingly haunted body of water. There, he hopes to calm the grief-stricken spirit responsible for devastating floods that have plagued the village. The story is set during the 1958 typhoon, which serves as a backdrop to the boy’s journey.

Masakazu revealed how his work has always been centered on the relationship between humans and nature.

“My work deals with the relationship between nature and humans as its central theme. It tells these stories in a poetic, almost mythical style,” he said.

In “River Returns,” the boy’s journey to the mountain pool is not just a physical one, but a spiritual and emotional quest, too.

The film captures how natural disasters can be viewed as manifestations of spiritual unrest, a concept in Japanese folklore that seemed to resonate with Saudi audiences.

The film’s breathtaking cinematography beautifully contrasts the serene landscapes with the looming, furiously violent storm, underscoring the dynamic between the gentle and the destructive forces of nature.

“The meaning of the narrative is ultimately left to the viewer — whether they experience sadness, love or the echo of an ancient tale,” Masakazu shared. “In the end, it becomes a transmission of culture, a passing down of folklore, all leading back to a shared emotional core. At the same time, I’m interested in how people respond — how a non-Japanese audience might engage with it.”


Quirky abaya brands reveal the changing face of Saudi fashion

Quirky abaya brands reveal the changing face of Saudi fashion
Updated 22 April 2025
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Quirky abaya brands reveal the changing face of Saudi fashion

Quirky abaya brands reveal the changing face of Saudi fashion
  • Designers repurpose traditional looks to highlight individuality
  • Saudi girls, women express themselves, while retaining modesty, tradition

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s streets are increasingly seeing women dressed in vibrant and daring colors, patterns and fabrics as abaya designers make more creative choices.

Once considered a garment to hide behind, abayas have become a form of artistic beauty that Saudi girls and women use to express themselves, while retaining modesty and tradition.

Today there is an influx of brands specializing in quirkier designs whose aim is to make women feel both comfortable and unique in their clothing choices.

Reem Al-Bayyat, founder of Mad Since 1982 (Instagram: madsince1982), told Arab News that “every piece tells a story; no two look the same.”

Mad Since 1982 weaves together different pieces of fabric printed with Al-Bayyat’s illustrations. As a collage artist, she never combines the same fabrics in the same way twice.

“It is a story, but also a risk and an adventure, whether things will work out or not … all my friends ask me how I dare to put the fabrics together in this way,” she said.

With a passion for ready-to-wear, Al-Bayyat’s goal is to make wearable, everyday pieces more beautiful and elegant.

“I want it to be close to the hearts of the people wearing it, I want them to feel special.

“That is how I was inspired to created Hadaweh.”

Hadaweh, Mad Since 1982’s recent modest wear creation, is an original clothing concept that can be worn in multiple ways for different occasions.

Al-Bayyat has been working for years with handmade block printing companies in India that use natural colors and fabrics, and occasionally imports fabrics with patterns she creates herself.

“My next step is having my own printing lab in my atelier,” she said.

Al-Bayyat, a former professional photographer who focused on fashion, draws inspiration from both local and international cultures.

“I have a lot of freedom when I’m working without any fear,” she said.

Another Saudi abaya brand exhibiting similar principles of individuality is Lamya’s Abayas (Instagram: lamya.abayas), founded by Lamya Al-Sarra.

Al-Sarra’s abayas are colorful and full of life, designed to reflect the personality and confidence of the women wearing them.

“I would describe Lamya’s Abayas as timeless, elegant, and effortlessly stylish. Each piece is designed to make a statement, while still feeling versatile and wearable,” she said.

“I love playing with bold colors, interesting cuts, and unexpected details that set each design apart.”

As a child, Al-Sarra spent her time sketching dresses and different looks in a notebook, and although that dream did not follow her through university, she found herself returning to her roots when the idea of starting her own abaya brand came to fruition.

Unimpressed with the designs available in stores, Al-Sarra decided to create her own.

“I kept designing pieces that felt true to me, and soon enough, people started stopping me to ask where my abayas were from. I’d tell them, ‘It’s mine. I designed it.’”

The hobby that she practiced for friends and family quickly became a full-fledged business.

Al-Sarra favors self-expression when choosing colors and designs, especially through vibrant summer tones.

The garments are meant to spark joy and represent individuality, helping people feel confident in their clothing.

“I believe your surroundings shouldn’t limit how you express yourself. Whether you’re wearing something bold, trendy, or completely unique, it should always reflect you,” she said.

Al-Sarra uses a variety of different fabrics for different looks and occasions — linen, for example, for light and breathable wear in summer, richer textures like velvet or tweed in winter, and taffeta and katan for more formal or structured looks.

Celebrating both family and sustainability, Moja Majka (Instagram: mojamajka) is a slow fashion abaya brand founded by a mother and daughter that is built on values of authenticity, as well as cultural and natural connection.

Sarah Basaad and her mother Sureyya Barli launched Moja Majka in 2012 to answer their need for more colorful garments that use organic and airy fabrics.

“It is an extension of our characters,” Basaad said.

Going for timeless rather than trendy, Moja Majka takes inspiration from both Turkish and Saudi cultures, since Barli is of Turkish descent.

The brand’s textiles are completely organic linens, cottons, and silks, some woven in Turkiye.

“We support local artisans and artisanal work,” Basaad said.

The brand is focused on bringing back long-forgotten artisanal work. “We collect antique handcrafted pieces and fabrics that are no longer able to be reproduced in our time, she said.

“Our kaftans are not a victim of trends, but a classic to pass onto your loved ones.”


Thousands rock at music shows in Jeddah after F1

Thousands rock at music shows in Jeddah after F1
Updated 22 April 2025
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Thousands rock at music shows in Jeddah after F1

Thousands rock at music shows in Jeddah after F1
  • Jennifer Lopez, Usher lit up the stage on Saturday and Sunday
  • This is cultural tourism via entertainment, says MDLBEAST CEO

JEDDAH: The past two days were filled with high-speed thrills and electrifying musical performances as the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2025 took over the city.

The after-race concerts, held at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, were headlined by global music icons Jennifer Lopez and Usher, who lit up the stage on Saturday and Sunday night.

The party began right after a thrilling qualifying race, when Lopez stepped on stage. Wearing a dazzling black skintight catsuit, the 55-year-old icon made a bold and unforgettable entrance for an adoring crowd.

From the opening beats of “Get Right” to the final fireworks of “On the Floor,” Lopez delivered a show packed with powerhouse vocals, explosive choreography, and pure star energy.

The Bronx-born singer, who has sold over 80 million records and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, treated fans to a string of hits including “Jenny from the Block,” “Ain’t It Funny,” “I’m Real,” and “Love Don’t Cost a Thing.”

“This is an incredible place with an incredible backdrop for F1,” Lopez told the crowd, glowing with excitement. “It feels good to be back out here. I love the energy here. I am feeling myself a little bit here.”

In an emotional moment, the singer told the crowd: “Love is feeling safe, love is secured, that’s what love is.”

JLo graced the stage in a series of stunning outfits, changing into a red suit, followed by a golden one, and finishing the show in pink.

The audience responded with roaring applause, with many in tears.

“JLo brought the energy, the heart, and the glam,” said Reem Al-Sharif, a 29-year-old from Jeddah. “When she talked about love, I really felt that. She’s not just a performer, she’s a storyteller.”

Ramadan Al-Haratani, CEO of MDLBEAST, said: “This is what cultural tourism through entertainment looks like. The music doesn’t just support the race weekend, it transforms it.”

The following night, Usher, the king of smooth R&B, delivered a thrilling performance that brought the Grand Prix to a stylish and electrifying close.

Dressed in an edgy all-black ensemble, Usher commanded the stage with his signature swagger.

The Grammy-winning artist took fans on a journey through two decades of hits, from the crowd-hyping “Yeah!” to slow jams including “Nice & Slow,” “U Got It Bad,” and “My Boo.”

His charisma, vocals, and iconic dance moves had fans on their feet all night.

“This was my first time seeing Usher live, and it was worth every second,” said Talal Saleh, another concertgoer. “His connection with the crowd, the performance, everything was perfect. He even brought some nostalgic 2000s magic to Jeddah.”

Lina Al-Mansour, who attended both concerts, said: “The entire experience felt like a music festival and a Formula 1 race rolled into one. It was world-class entertainment right here in Jeddah.

“I never imagined seeing JLo and Usher in my hometown.”

The concerts also featured supporting acts including Major Lazer and Peggy Gou, who kept the crowd hyped between the headliners.