Got my back

I enter into all that's around - let it flow through me
tension flow out
stay out - no mirrors behind me
reflect back,  my mirror - a foil shield
deflect, protect, tear away

Planet of Snail

'Though no star has glistened in my eyes, I have never doubted that they are shining bright in space.'


Planet of Snail has got to be one of my favourite films at this year's Dubai Film Festival. The director, Seung-Jun Yi, takes 2 key characters, Young-Chan and Soon-Ho, and presents the snail-paced tender moments of their routine days.


Seung-Jun Yi presents 2 key messages; one on love and another on the inner self; both offering generous and transparent treatment. The protagonists 'being' and relationship is so genuinely endearing, its beauty glows from the inside out. Their faces are enchanting to view. There is no need for a screenplay. All activity and emotion, whether, love, humour or sadness evolve organically.


Perhaps some of the most endearing moments are when Soon-Ho uses a gentle finger-braille system of touch, devised by the Japanese deaf and blind professor Satoshi Fukushima, to communicate with her husband.  


See the tralier.


Some of the key moments include a tree-hugging  scene where Young-Chan uses his hands to feel the tree's energy. Soon-Ho, upon seeing her husband hugging a tree, responds to his request to join him by smiling widely and saying, "You know this is embarrassing", but wraps her arms around him and the tree to share in the experience.


In another scene, a blind friend states that Young-Chan is so lucky to have someone to guide him, feed him and help him dress, to which Young-Chan immediately responds that no partner can be  a partner unless one is willing to give. It is not about taking, but what one is able to give to a relationship....I felt he was saying that the deepest level of meaning in a relationship is when one is able to accept and embrace one's reality and learn to love oneself and grow. Only then can we achieve a level of profound giving that can be embraced by another.


Another beautiful moment is Young-Chan's response to the sensation of rain.


'When I feel like crying I walk out in the rain. So let's feel the rain.'


And yet another is the teamworking effort displayed to change a lightbulb.


The very human aspects of our existence are reflected in Young-Chan's sculptures and are often humorous. We see an honest human with much humanity in him than perhaps that found in other 'complete' human beings.


I'm closing my eyes for a while to see the most precious things. I'm closing my ears to hear the most beautiful sounds..

'Tremendous sincerity' - Lita Cabellut

I am absolutely enthralled with the work of Lita Cabellut. Her portraits are underpinned with a strong personal, emotional and historical backing, drawing on her own personal identity, that of life's struggles and those of other female artists who had the strength and courage to create despite the tough roads they encountered. Through art all these women learnt to elevate themselves from the physical and the psychological to an intellectual and spiritual level that enabled them to create with 'tremendous sincerity' as in the words of Cabellut. 


Cabellut has developed her own technique and compositional decisions in the face of critics who denounce the value of her work as it does not belong to this century. I recall that many too denounced the work of Lucien Freud some years ago. Too many new renaissance / classical revivals I hear them say, but listen not - for the works are powerful statements of an era, perhaps reinterpreted in the aftermath and in the light of an individual's life; however, through technique, process and story-telling they feel organically evolving; they are contemporary pieces as they engage an audience in the 'now'. If I am able to feel both the strength and the vulnerability in these portraits, is it a surprise that it speaks to us? If it stops us in our tracks and makes us pause isn't this what matters?  I feel an authentic force in these powerful images, but I believe we are only just seeing the tip of Cabellut's authenticity and prolific style. I very much look forward to seeing more of her work. I am very inspired.

'Art is a tremendously powerful medium. It is impossible to protect yourself from it. If we close our eyes, it will come in through our pores. Art is beauty, poetry and is something that humanity will always be influenced by. It is an electric shock for our intellects and our souls.' Lita Cabellut

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/la-perla-negra-a-tribute-to-frida-kahlo-2258369.html

Coco 11 - Mixed Media on Canvas 250 x 200 cm

Artist: Lita Cabellut 

Currently on display at Opera Gallery - DiFC, Dubai

Untapped potential

As educators we are always being called upon to be sharing good practice with our colleagues. It often doesn't happen and if the act of sharing is imposed on us, educators often become resentful, turning the task into an onerous one with negative feelings producing short-lived outcomes.

Imagine for a second that all educators could tap into the energy that already exists via the use of online collaborative tools and transform their own thinking by adding more depth and breadth to the processes that already happen within the four walls of a building. We would feel the sparks and be witness to an explosion of learning that perhaps has been unmatched since the invention of the Gutenberg press.

The age of collaborative learning is upon us - not created by formal institutions but by the people creating the technologies and the users demanding them. Stop to think of the untapped potential in education. Students are collaborating online anyway - researching, finding, sharing, collaborating and blogging. A generation of creators and creative users are out there working beyond the confines of a building. Sharing becomes a natiurally ocurring phenomenon. Sharing and exchanging evolves organically.

Holding a vision for sharing good practice between educators is necessary in order to widen teachers' perspectives on curriculum planning and delivery. Turning this into a reality has been difficult to implement in many institutions for a number of reasons a) teachers who deliver good or very good lessons might not necessarily deem the lesson to be extra-ordinary and worth sharing as they believe every other member of staff has a range of good and very good lessons b) many teachers focus on delivering and the learning that happens in their classroom as their core attributes rather than talking about what they are doing (they are 'doers' and not 'talkers') c) the process has to be an organic one (self-directed) and not ‘imposed’. So therefore, how could we better motivate and create the right conditions for this to happen?

Let's take a look at the virtues of online blogging, or social networking communities such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, DeviantArt, Etsy, Tumblr. One unifying aspect that stands out in my mind is that people use the sites to share experiences, findings, thoughts, activities and produce outcomes. These sites provide a platform for people to do their own thing which others observe. Individuals might not always share in the exchange but they do regularly observe to see what their colleagues are up to. I have also witnessed that the act of sharing has a positive impact on people’s activities. It is as if conscious observation is stored in the subconscious, the sources from which are later drawn upon in an individual’s work. It seems therefore, that the platform encourages an organic and self-directed kind of openness, transparency, communication, development and growth in a natural and fluid manner. People inspiring people.

To give an example Facebook is being used as a collaborative tool to motivate, inspire, recruit and maintain students' energy levels in a debating club. It has resulted in students performing very well in local and international competitions. Likewise in a yearbook club, its corresponding Facebook page is used by students working in a team to ensure every activity is being written about and photographed in a timely manner, as would be the case in any publishing facility.

Extending the concept of sharing, writing itself can be enhanced through collaboration. Isn't this how we work in a 'real' environment? We draft words, bounce ideas, redraft, send them off to someone for proofreading and get feedback before completing the final version? Wikis and forums all provide the necessary tools to enable writing to develop. Schools and universities could be doing so much more in helping their students extend their reading and writing skills. What better way to stretch students' abilities to read, analyse and discuss other than online, an environment native to many students? There is an awful lot of growth and development happening outside of the school which could be transferred into formal learning environments and it is this energy we need to be tapping into if we want to be moving forward.

Sadly, I feel that education in general is still very far behind the development and progress being made in the ‘virtual’ world. Management Information Systems would make a huge difference as this is a space where good practices could be observed. Despite the data-driven digital containers that we see and sometimes despise, communication between all parties would be greatly enhanced if the right package were to be chosen. A second place we need to be looking at is the web-site and the VLE. It is important that departments take ownership of their pages and keep the calendar and events pages regularly updated. VLEs such as Moodle are also relevant in helping to develop hubs of learning. If all departments were encouraged to use Moodle, all would observe how students are being engaged and how their close involvement in a subject’s activities online can spill over into the ‘real’ world. This would not come as a directive but via the Senior Management Team's efforts to become real users and share and cascade good practice. 

Fast internet connections are necessary pre-requisites to enable efficient and effective use of Management Information Systems, websites or VLEs and it is most definitely in these areas that I see much can be achieved in helping educators to exploit the potential for real learning to be taking place. But this too is dependent on implementing the right systems into place and for Senior Management to be using them. Vibrant online learning is hard to achieve without the involvement of all. But together, an organisaton can grow. Observing good practices and sharing them in a transparent environment leads to further development. As long as the institution knows what it wants to achieve, finds the systems that will match its vision and uses them at all levels of an organisation, huge progress can be made. The understanding, commitment, passion and drive, however, must come from a Senior Management Team willing to learn, speak and act in a single and united voice.

What then are we waiting for...

Making movies...

Just over 3 years ago a group of keen writers and film aficionados pulled all their skills together to film a chapter of Paulo Coelho's book, The Witch of Portobello.

Nabil Alaihi, a Bedouin living in the desert of Dubai, age unknown, recounts his relationship with the mysterious and enchanting Athena, the Witch of Portobello. We've just made it public for the world to see for the first time since it was shortlisted for the DIFF in 2008.

This is an amateur production...we did it purely through an enthusiasm to create, whilst sharing skills, passion and drive to reach our objective under the artistic visions and directions of Maitha Bin Demithan. No specialist equipment was hired and we operated on a 0 budget with volunteers. The Emirati Film director, Waleed el Shehhi kindly supplied the Sony cameras and the film was edited at the English College, Dubai on minimalist equipment in the College's music room!!!

The film is an attempt to present Nabil Alaihi through the eyes of the people who inhabit the Gulf region. The physical presence of ‘being’ found in a harsh but beautiful desert landscape embraces an element of surrealism and it is the cultural, emotional and spiritual layers found in the respectful and colourful Bedouin lifestyle of the Emirati people, the local inhabitants of Dubai, which are recreated with authenticity.

Through the character of Nabil we have been able to promote Dubai from a local perspective. We wanted to show the world through the visuals, the soundscapes and the meanings they give, that the desert way of life in its simplicity and hardships can stop and make us pause to think and enjoy all that a given culture in its natural environment can provide. Tourists are not often given a chance to see the real Dubai and we feel this is a chance for us, even though small, to convey the message and to show the spirit of the desert from an Arab perspective, from people who live and work here and are part of the region.

Credits

Director: Maitha Bin Demithan

Assistant Director: Rawdha al Shafar

Producer: Buthaina Al Marri

Assistant Producer: Hend Bin Tamin

Screenplay writers: Maitha Bin Demithan, Ania Sikora

Storyboard Artist: Amnah Belhoul, Maitha Bin Demithan, Maryam Lootah

Cinematography: Maitha Bin Demithan

Location Manager: Maryam Al Shafar

Sets/Props Team: Latifa Al Gurg, Mada Al Suwaidi, Elsie Gilmour, Nada Ibrahim, Hessa Tamim

Equipment Manager: Noor Belhoul

Costume/Makeup Artist: Maryam Lootah

Art Advisor: Isabelle Hemphill

Production

Director of Photography: Waleed al Shehhi

Photography: Maitha Bin Demithan, Buthaina al Marri

Lighting: Ahmed Hasan Ahmed, Hend Bin Tamin

Audio: Aasem Abdulrahman, Hend Bin Tamim

Film Editor: Maryam Lootah, Buthaina al Marri, Rawdha al Shafar, Ania Sikora, Paul Sikora

Sound Mixer/Editor: Ania Sikora, Paul Sikora

Equipment Advisor: Dhahi Khalfan, Osama

Cast

Nabil Alaihi: Robert H Edwards

Athena: Elise Bailey

Viorel: Abdulla al Shirawi

Desert Soul: Grainne O’Mahoney

Calligrapher: Salah Sherzad

Sheikh: Ahmed Khaled al Mansouri

Sheikh’s entourage: Abdukraoof Bahadori, Jack Brear,

Omar Harb

Investor: Armelle Mansard Tainsh, Piers Tainsh

German Tourist: Oliver Miocic

Tourists: Gulden Bailey, Megan Cousins, Yolande Cousins, Thalia de Sa, Bryony Gale, Emelie Mard, Magali Moulin, Eddie Smith, Jo Whiteford

Special thanks to:

Dubai Ladies Club

The English College, Dubai

Latifa School for Girls

We know it has its faults, but we embrace them all and move ahead taking with us what we have learnt...



Nabil and Athena in Dubai


Now I want to go and make another movie...Let's start writing...

Sleep

Give unto into the silence
As heads rest and bodies separate
From the soul
A short rest for the mortal
A temporary state of being , elevated
Toward a future that awaits
Stillness is it found
With empty hands we come
With empty hands we leave
With empty hands we go to sleep
But hearts brimming and rivers overflowing
Raining petals that have touched
Moved the mountains, melted peaks
Impervious to wind
Not a flutter, we float
Nothing is hidden, everything is bare
And all touched can be seen
Silence O centre us, grow on us, soften us
Return and lighten mortal hours

Water

What remains of the night sky without its stars
What’s left of water without its oxygen
What’s left of an ocean without its water
Where is the moon without its tide
No night of day, nor day of night
No fire, no energy, no life, a lid
A mountain of salt more than pepper
O night wrap your blanket around me tight
Imprint your stars within my skin
O ocean engulf me whole, take me into your womb
Help me breathe the water of my own existence
Beyond the surface crests