Satwa Stories is a spoken word piece/photo-novella that was created and produced by
Mahmoud Kaabour
Mahmoud Kaabour (in Arabic محمود قعبور) (born March 11, 1979) is a filmmaker, writer, and public speaker from Beirut.
Education and occupation
He is the founder and managing director of Veritas Films, a UAE based company that speci ...
and
Denise Holloway. It was presented at
Pecha Kucha
PechaKucha (Japanese: ぺちゃくちゃ, IPA: etɕa kɯ̥tɕa ''chit-chat'') is a storytelling format in which a presenter shows 20 slides for 20 seconds per slide. At a PechaKucha Night, individuals gather at a venue to share personal presenta ...
in June 2008 at The Third Line Gallery in
al Quoz
Al Quoz () or El Goze in Emirati Arabic is a district of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Al Quoz is located in western Dubai. It is bordered to the north by Al Wasl, Business Bay, and MBR City, to the south by Al Barsha and Dubai Hills, to ...
in
Dubai
Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
,
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
.
The project is a poetic exploration of the hidden gems and iconic characters of the
al Satwa
Al Satwa () or simply Satwa, is a community in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, comprising high-density retail outlets and private residential dwellings. It is situated southwest of Bur Dubai and borders Jumeirah to the north. E 11 (Sheikh Zayed Ro ...
neighborhood in Dubai.
It is a sequence of 20 artistic photographs, overlaid with a spoken word performance by
Mahmoud Kaabour
Mahmoud Kaabour (in Arabic محمود قعبور) (born March 11, 1979) is a filmmaker, writer, and public speaker from Beirut.
Education and occupation
He is the founder and managing director of Veritas Films, a UAE based company that speci ...
and live music.
[ In the words of Kaabour, it is “a form of celebratory archive before Satwa gets buried. There is no shame in progress, but it’s important to keep track of the cycle of development, whether its through architecture or photographic records.”]television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
series entitled ''My Neighborhood'," which explores Dubai neighborhood by neighborhood through documentary film encounters to tell the stories of the real people who live and work in the city. The series is currently in development.
Artists
Mahmoud Kaabour is the founder and managing director of Veritas Films, a production company based in the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
. Denise Holloway is a Canadian film-maker who has been based in Dubai since 2003.[ The project was made possible with the collaboration of photographer Siddharth Siva and double-bassist Nabil Amarshi.
Pecha Kucha Night was a format conceived by Tokyo architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham. It is a forum for creative public exhibition which is replicated globally in approximately 100 cities.
]
References
External links
Performance of Satwa Stories in June 2008
Veritas Films
Culture in Dubai