Lebanons Artists in Danger
by Bernard Hage
Caught between the dark waves of economic collapse and explosion, Lebanese artists struggle to stay afloat. Many have already chosen to leave.
Culture
Interview with Tunisian singer Neysatu
Neysatu, the queen of the Tunisian underground music scene, speaks to zenith before her latest concert in Berlin about rediscovering her Amazigh heritage, her musical Africanity, and the perils of performing under Ben Ali’s dictatorship.
Interview with director Waad al-Kateab on For Sama
Syrian journalist and filmmaker Waad al-Kateab talks to zenith about life in Aleppo under siege, taking the Syrian regime to courts, and knocking on doors the world over in pursuit of justice.
Interview with Yumna Al-Arashi on Islam, femininity and the body
by Leo Wigger
Acclaimed photographer Yumna Al-Arashi on her focus on the female body, the beauty of positive Islamic imagery, and her increasing sense of estrangement from photography.
Interview with Meryam Joobeur, director of ‘Brotherhood’
Meryam Joobeur, director of the Oscar-nominated short film, ‘Brotherhood’, talks about how a chance encounter in rural Tunisia spawned a powerful collaboration, the renaissance in Tunisian cinema, and why young people find themselves drawn to ISIS.
Feras Fayyad, director of the Oscar-nominated documentary ‘The Cave’
Feras Fayyad, the director of the Oscar-nominated documentary, ‘The Cave’, speaks to zenith about seeing the future of Syria in his female protagonist, surviving torture in Assad’s cells, and facing discrimination in the USA and Denmark.
Iraqi poet Umar Abdul Nasser on Mosul, Poland and Weimar
Iraqi poet and multimedia performer Umar Abdul Nasser speaks to zenith about performing in a Mosul basement under ISIS, making life-long friends in Poland and finding fresh inspiration in the footsteps of Goethe.
Four Films from The Arab World Nominated for an Oscar
by zenith Staff
No less than four Arabic-language films have been nominated for one of this year’s coveted Academy Awards. We showcase the contenders in 2020, plus a couple of movies that didn’t make the cut.