Cinema in Yemen: 'Nothing is impossible'

*In a historic Oscars entry, movie by Yemeni director Khadija al-Salami will vie for best foreign language film award. 

*My latest piece published in Aljazeera English. 

Yemeni film director, Khadija al-Salami. Photo courtesy: L'Express.

For the first time in the country's history, Yemen has entered a film into the Academy Awards competition in the category of best foreign language film.

It was announced last week that the dramatic feature film, I Am Nojoom: Age 10 And Divorced, would be among 85 entries vying for the Oscar.

"I was happy to hear the news, even though I have no expectations whatsoever," director Khadija al-Salami told Al Jazeera over the phone from Canada, where she was promoting the film.

"It is a tough competition, but let's hope this news at least gives war-torn Yemen some positivity and encourages young Yemeni filmmakers to dream big."

Shot in 2013, prior to the ongoing war in Yemen, and released in 2014, I Am Nojoom is Salami's debut drama feature film. She has previously made 25 documentaries about Yemen, with a heavy focus on women's issues.

Salami both wrote and directed the film, inspired by her own personal experience of being forced into an arranged marriage at the age of 11 - which led her to attempt suicide, and ended in divorce - and by the story of Yemen's youngest divorcee, Nujood Ali.

'I Am Nojoom' film trailer. 

"My belief in the importance of empowering our women and enforcing a law that criminalises this practice is what drove me to do this film," said Salami, whose movie has so far earned 18 international awards.

"But mainly, it was important for me to tell a story based on a mix of my own story, Nujood's story and many other girls' stories suffering from this practice. And as I am touring around the world releasing the movie, my initial understanding of how child marriage is a global problem is increasingly being confirmed."

The latest official statistics suggest that more than 50 percent of Yemeni girls are married before the age of 18. There is no law in the country banning the practice - a problem that reaches far beyond Yemen's borders: "Globally, there are around 15 million female children being married every year," Salami noted. "The film speaks to many girls across the world." 

Ironically, I Am Nojoom is making global headlines at a time when Yemen's cinema scene has largely faded.

The country once boasted a vibrant cinematic culture, having gone through many phases since the early 1900s. In 1910, moviegoers in Yemen flocked to mobile cinema shows in Aden, and in the ensuing years, Bollywood films were widely exhibited in the city's cinema halls.

During the 1970s, the film scene gained strength, with around 50 cinema halls emerging in Aden, including Radio Cinema, Popular Cinema and Cinema Hurricane. In Sanaa, severalcinema halls showcased both Arab and Western films.

"In the mid '70s, north Yemen's late president, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, had a vision for the art scene to develop - part of his nation-building strategy," Yemeni art critic Ahlam Mohammed told Al Jazeera.

Yemen's cinematic scene peaked after the reunification of northern and southern Yemen in 1990. In the years that followed, several cinema halls opened in major cities, showing foreign and locally made films.

"Despite the early '90s being marked by several conflicts, the unification contributed [to] the film culture of both north and south Yemen in the coming years," Mohammed said, noting that Yemen's culture ministry provided support to local Yemeni filmmakers - particularly to those working on films with an "anti-terrorism" message.

But the growth did not last long. Economic problems bumped the film industry to the bottom of the government's priority list, while the rise of conservative forces further curbed cinematic growth.

"When we, the actors and filmmakers, sought the state's support, government officials used to state clearly that it was not the right time to support films, as they had more important issues to deal with," actor Adnan Alkhadher, a cast member in I Am Nojoom, told Al Jazeera. "We had terrible support in funding cinema, whether in the north or the south."

Amid this backdrop, the outbreak of Yemen's 2011 uprising offered a sign of hope for filmmakers.

Yemeni filmmaker, Sara Ishaq. Photo courtesy: Oscars. 

"The uprising represented a moment of courage for many Yemeni filmmakers and a time when their voices were validated, as Yemen received great attention during the Arab Spring," said Yemeni filmmaker Sara Ishaq. "I was and still am impressed by the rise of art and film in Yemen in the wake of the uprising."

Ishaq directed the first Yemeni film to be nominated for an Oscar, the documentary Karama Has No Walls (2012), which was set during the uprising.

Salami, meanwhile, says that she has made efforts to ensure that residents of war-torn Yemen would be able to see her film, arranging screenings in local forums and community centres.


I Am Nojoom has faced some criticism for portraying stereotypes about Yemen and "exploiting" the issue of child marriages in an effort to please a Western audience - accusations that Salami vehemently rejects.

"This debate is not only another reminder of why, until today, Yemen has no law against child marriage - but it also reflects the status of women's rights in Yemeni society," she said.

As she begins thinking about her next project - a love story that she hopes to shoot inside Yemen once the war comes to an end - Salami says that she is optimistic about the future.

"Nothing is impossible," she said. "If you put your heart into something, the sky is your limit." 

Yemeni Photographers Fight Despair and Trauma of War

My latest feature published on Middle East Eye about what I discovered at the recent photography workshop at The Yemeni Salon in Jordan.

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Abdulrahman Jaber used models to pose as war-weary Yemeni bride and groom for his 'Situation'
series of images (Courtesy of Abdulrahman Jaber)

It is nearly one year since the Saudi-led coalition began their bombing campaign in Yemen and Yemenis are constantly trying to find new ways to express their feelings about the tragedy unfolding in their country.

For Yemeni photographers who had to leave their homeland, they are not only turning to their photographic craft to cope with the pain of longing and separation from their families and loved ones, but they are also creating alternative narratives about the reality of what it now means to be Yemeni. A narrative that goes beyond the headlines and one which tells the stories of the people on the ground and those forced into the diaspora.

This relationship between the war and displaced Yemeni photographers was the topic explored at a two-day workshop in Jordan last month run by the Yemeni Salon Organisation. Founded in 2012 by myself and my colleague Hana al-Khamri, the Yemeni Salon organisation is a diaspora group focusing on cultural and media empowerment projects about Yemen.

As a Yemeni who has been in self-exile in Sweden for the past five years, I prepared myself for the discomfort of seeing how the diaspora is expanding – a sign of how tragic the situation in Yemen is – and how we are finding ourselves in a position where we must be the voice of our people. I knew the workshop would be emotionally exhausting as it addressed heartbreaking stories about the conflict and subsequent displacement.

The work of the photographers certainly presented a very different view of the situation in Yemen compared to the narrative presented in mainstream media.

Despite being scattered around the world, the photographers' work showed how the war impacted each of them - and revealed their resilience. Among the five Yemeni photographers exhibited, two of them - Abdulrahman Jaber and Yasmin Al-Nadheri - had a particularly deep impact on me; so let me present their work.


My father’s last days

When Yemeni photographer and designer Abdulrahman Jaber decided to leave Yemen after the war broke out last year, little did he know that he was about to face the most difficult experience of his life: the death of his father while he was abroad. His passion for photography was to play an important role in how he fought the agony of the deeply felt loss.

Jaber’s interest in photography goes back to before the war. “I’m a designer who’s a shy photographer,” said Jaber. Jaber’s modesty is admirable, given that his photography and design work in Yemen have been receiving great attention since 2005. His particular brand of photograph is usually characterised by it's stylishness and simplicity. When the revolution erupted in 2011, Jaber was one of the first local photographers who rushed to Change Square in Yemen's capital Sanaa. It would be rare to see him without his camera, as so much of his time was taken up capturing inspiring moments from the epicentre of the revolution.

Following the armed clashes in Sanaa at the end of 2011, Jaber was inspired to showcase how the people of the city were attempting to forget about the seemingly constant hail of bullets and the sound of gunfire, and to just go on with their lives.

"I was struck by how it was becoming the norm that you would be at a wedding with loud celebratory music being played and dancing people swirling around while you could hear the sound of gunfire echoing just outside as different groups were clashing. The people at the wedding weren’t panicking nor would they stop the wedding party,” explains Jaber, they just carried on.

That is how his series of photographs titled Situation was born, depicting the strong desire of the people to continue their normal lives, despite what was going on around them.

Abdulrahman Jaber tries to show the reality of a wedding day in a Yemen at war. Togetherness and tradition combined with the unavoidable elements of the war raging on the streets of Sana'a (Courtesy of Abdulrahman Jaber)

The artist tries to depict how Yemeni's continue living their lives despite war (Courtesy of Abdulrahman Jaber)

Brides are supposed to be the happiest on their special day, yet in his 'Situation' series of photos Jaber depicts brides in Sana'a as being worn out by the fierce armed fighting that does not pause for their big day (Courtesy of Abdulrahman Jaber)

A portrait of the groom in Jaber's 'Situation' series. He wears a soldier's hat to symbolise the
violence in the city which rages on (Courtesy of Abdulrahman Jaber)

As the war raged around him, in March 2015, Jaber turned his camera to his private life and made the brave and candid decision to document and share one of the most poignant events in his life - the death of his father. 

“Due to the deteriorating security situation and the worsening health care services, it was extremely difficult to obtain the crucial medical assistance for my father, especially when he needed it the most,” says Jaber.

In the course of Jaber’s father being medicated at home and increasing numbers of visits to the hospital, Jaber made the decision to document his father’s last days. Jaber explains: “I created a journal of photographs of him while I was in Sanaa and when I left to go to Turkey, my brother, Suhaib, continued taking the photos. It was just a few weeks after I left that I received the devastating news that my father had passed away.

"I had to share the photographs. I called the collection of his final images My Father’s Last Day. While the pictures certainly say volumes about the harsh reality of life in Yemen, I think sharing these pictures is a way to celebrate the memory of my beloved father too.” 

A portrait of Jaber's late father, Hassen Mohammed Jaber during the last days of his life (Courtesy of Abdulrahman Jaber)

Jaber's father often got daily check-ups from one of his sons (Courtesy of Addulrahman Jaber)

After a struggle to get him the help he needed, Jaber's father was admitted to
hospital for treatment (Courtesy of Abdulrahman Jaber)

Following the struggle to get Jaber's father admitted to hospital, family members always
 made sure to surround him with love and support (Courtesy of Abdulrahman Jaber)

Jaber's father in his funeral shroud before being laid to rest. Photo taken by Suhaib Jaber (Courtesy of Abdulrahman Jaber)

Jaber's father is now buried in Sana'a (Courtesy of Abdulrahman Jaber)

The truthfulness and sincerity in this series are so strong because it also mirrors a greater picture of many Yemeni families losing loved ones due to the deteriorating health services.

Jaber today is trying to make sense of his new place in Turkey and he continues to immerse himself in more design and photography work.

Photography beyond borders

Social activist Yasmin al-Nadhri attributes her recent interest in photography to her lifelong passion for art and fashion. When she left Sanaa to go to Egypt for work just days before the war broke out, she had no clue that she would be leaving Yemen for good and would end up utilising photography as means to relate to the war in her country.

Her scheduled flight back to Sanaa coincided with the exact day that the Saudi-led coalition began its air strikes against Yemen; all flights home were cancelled.

With just the few clothes she had with her, al-Nadhri found herself stranded in Egypt. Due to the war and the increasingly tense security situation, she decided that going home was not a safe option and has not been back since.

During her travels for work going between Egypt, Germany, and Jordan, she kept a close eye on developments in Yemen through social media networks and has contributed to photography projects and initiatives taking place inside the country, including the #YemeniWomenBike (2015) and #YemenCoffeeBreak campaigns.

Her belief in the urgency of enhancing women's rights in Yemen compelled al-Nadhri to participate in the Yemen Women Bike campaign with photos not only intended to support the campaign but also to amplify women’s voices in the light of the war.

Despite her frustration of being stranded in Egypt, al-Nadhri created a photography collection depicting a Yemeni female in a modernised version of Yemeni women’s traditional outdoors-outfit known as sitar, while biking near the pyramids in Cairo.

“The context of Yemen at war inspired me to take this photo,” explains al-Nadhri, “seeing my country from far away being devastated by the war broke my heart. Yet, all the while our women and girls are fighting for their rights. I needed to show my support. I took the photo in Egypt hoping to show another side of the war and show that even stranded Yemenis want to show their connection to their homeland.” 

A photo of Yasmin al-Nadhri in a modernised version of Yemeni women’s traditional outdoors-outfit known as sitar - taken for the #YemeniWomenBike campaign (Courtesy of Yasmin al-Nadhri)

When it came to the #YemenCoffeeBreak campaign, al-Nadhri again had the urge to participate in the campaign, despite being in Jordan. She went to the Amman Citadel and took a photo depicting a woman holding Yemeni coffee in the palms of her hand.

Al-Nadhri used the great resemblance between the Citadel and the throne of Queen Bilquis in Yemen’s Marib city. “While Yemen is increasingly becoming polarised and divided, more so each day, coffee was one of the few things that still united the people. Coffee was actually a message of peace for many of us who participated in the initiative,” al-Nadhri says.

“With both photos I thought it was important to show the role of photography in supporting and uniting our community; more specifically to show that photography goes beyond borders.” Al-Nadhri made the decision not to show her face in the photos to emphasise that the images could be timeless and conceptual.

A Yemeni woman at the Amman Citadel holding Yemeni coffee in the palms of her hand (Courtesy of Yasmin al-Nadhri)

Spanish artist Pablo Picasso once said: “Art is the lie that enables us to realise the truth.” The alternative narrative created by these photographers for what is taking place in Yemen is artistic, but it also seeks to tell a different truth. Between fiction and non-fiction, their work has empowered the photographers to fight despair and trauma.