Survival, multiculturalism, plastic islands. Musician Grey Filastine recounts his adventure aboard the Arka Kinari, which set sail in 2019 and spent much of last year adrift in the Pacific because of the pandemic.
The music of the Arab Spring in a documentary
Farid Eslam captured the music of the Arab uprisings in a film where the lives, dreams and hopes of Middle Eastern underground artists meet.
They come from Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. They play hip hop, rock, electronic and folk music. They’re far away from each other, yet they’re united during the so-called Arab Spring, and they are also well aware of the political message they can convey through music. Alternative artists of the Arab world met German director of Afghan origin Farid Eslam between 2009 and 2013 to talk with him about their job, concerns and hopes in a period of tumultuousness and instability in the Middle Eastern country.
These are the stories included in Yallah! Underground, a documentary that portrays a new generation of Arabs, an underground cultural movement that is progressive and liberal. The film is a five-year journey from Beirut to El Cairo, from Amman to Ramallah, through oppression, revolution and more.
The many uncertainties and dreams that surrounded them in the aftermath of the uprisings pushed them to be even more motivated. Kazamada, Lumi, Maii Waleed, Arabian Knightz, Hiba Mansouri, Asfalt and others use art to cry for freedom. They have fought to be able to express themselves freely and now they’re beset with disillusion and hope for a better future.
“My main intention was to show a western audience a different image of contemporary young Arab culture. A lot of people just don’t know the difference between a Muslim and an Islamist”, Farid Eslam said. “As a second-generation immigrant kid in Germany – he told the National in an interview – it was shocking that even my perception was biased: it was what most westerners think of the region, an image very related to violence, aggression and fanaticism”.
During his journey, Eslam meets personalities such as Lebanese musician Zeid Hamdan, imprisoned in 2011 after that his song General Suleiman was considered libelous by the then president Michel Suleiman. Or Jordan-based Palestinian rapper Ostaz Samm, who in a clip was shown dividing the opinions of the judges on Arabs Got Talent.
Culled from 800 hours of footage and interviews to more than seventy musicians (more than a dozen of them appear in the film), Yallah! Underground has already been projected in over twenty intenational festivals.
Siamo anche su WhatsApp. Segui il canale ufficiale LifeGate per restare aggiornata, aggiornato sulle ultime notizie e sulle nostre attività.
Quest'opera è distribuita con Licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale.
Music plays a key role in the Black Lives Matter movement. A journey through the most powerful beats in support of the struggle against racism in the US.
Ennio Morricone passed away at the age of 91. We remember the life and works of one of the most important soundtrack composers of the 20th century.
The 50th anniversary of the Moon landing on 20 July has awakened the fantasy of many. Here’s the perfect playlist of musicians who have let themselves be inspired by the universe and its celestial bodies.
N’we Jinan is a Canadian record label that gives First Nations students their voice back by allowing them to create their own music in mobile recording studios.
The Australian songwriter, who became famous with Follow the Sun, is back with Walk Away, a new and powerful ode to freedom. He’s about to set off on a world tour. Our interview with Xavier Rudd.
Three teenagers from New Zealand sing in the Maori language about abuse at the hands of British colonisers. Thanks to their thrash metal music, young people are being attracted to native culture.
There’s no room for anger, resignation, or desire for revenge in this playlist. There’s just the moral obligation of retracing and telling the stories that can’t go lost and forgotten all over again. We do so through music.
Le canzoni più belle del 2017 secondo LifeGate Radio. Con questa playlist lanciamo la nostra collaborazione con Spotify Italia che vi farà ascoltare la musica migliore, selezionata.