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The Citizen
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Of Soul & Joy empowers Moroccan orphans through photography workshop
Alberton's Of Soul & Joy (OSJ), a pioneering vocational programme rooted in photography as a means of youth empowerment, has extended its global footprint with a transformative workshop in Morocco. The workshop was aimed at enriching the lives of underprivileged children through the power of visual storytelling. The week-long workshop, which concluded on May 18, took place at the Dar Al Atfal Sidi Bernoussi orphanage in Casablanca. This vital institution, founded in 1986, cares for approximately 260 vulnerable boys, offering them shelter, education, and a path towards independence. The initiative was supported by Rubis Mécénat and Vitogaz Maroc, organisations committed to social impact through cultural engagement and sustainable development. Led by acclaimed South African photographer Jabulani Dhlamini, in collaboration with Moroccan artists Marouane Beslem and Abdelhamid Behlamidi, the workshop introduced children aged 11 to 12 to the fundamentals of photography. Through a blend of technical instruction and creative exploration, the young participants were encouraged to view the world around them through a new lens both figuratively and literally. Jabulani said that photography is a universal language as it goes beyond barriers of language, ethnicity, and creed. 'It's a unifier, enabling individuals from diverse backgrounds to creatively tell their stories. What's truly powerful is that, through photography, these children can communicate with the world, and their stories will resonate with anyone, anywhere,' Jabulani said. The culmination of the workshop was a public exhibition held on May 17, where the children's work was proudly displayed. Featuring photo prints, wallpapers, and archival pieces, the exhibition offered a moving testament to the children's newfound voices and creativity. Curated by Jabulani, Beslem, and Behlamidi, the showcase highlighted the power of photography to give visibility to marginalised youth and foster intercultural dialogue. Dar Al Atfal Sidi Bernoussi, with ongoing support from Vitogaz Maroc, has recently undergone significant refurbishment to improve facilities, including its kitchen, bathrooms, and dormitories. These enhancements have created a more nurturing environment for the children, many of whom come from difficult or disadvantaged backgrounds. The Morocco initiative is the latest chapter in OSJ's growing legacy of photographic education and social upliftment. The programme has produced several internationally recognised alumni, including Tshepiso Mazibuko, whose exhibition Ho tshepa ntshepedi ya bontshepe garnered dual accolades at the 2024 Rencontres d'Arles festival in France. Another standout, Vuyo Mabheka, received the Special Jury Prize at the Biennale Images Vevey in Switzerland for his impactful series Popihuise. As OSJ continues to expand its reach, the Morocco workshop stands as a powerful example of how art can be a tool for empowerment and connection. By equipping children with the skills to document their world and share their stories, the programme not only nurtures future photographers but also instils confidence, creativity, and a sense of belonging on a global stage. For more information about Of Soul & Joy and its international workshops, visit At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Egypt Today
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Egypt Today
Islam Mubarak stars as a Nubian woman alongside screen legend Youssra in BANAT FATEN
Islam Mubarak. Fresh off winning a Special Jury Prize at California's Hollywood Arab Film Festival for her outstanding performance in Karim El Shenawy's THE TALE OF DAYE'S FAMILY, rising Sudanese actress Islam Mubarak continues her meteoric rise, joining the cast of the highly anticipated Egyptian feature film BANAT FATEN, starring iconic actress Youssra in their first-ever collaboration alongside Bassem Samra. Directed by Mohamed Nader, who also co-wrote the script with Amina Mostafa, this eagerly awaited feature, set to hit Egyptian cinemas soon, also features Huda El Mufti and Mustafa Shehata. While filming BANAT FATEN, Islam Mubarak is also juggling ASAD ASWAD, a major historical epic from MOON KNIGHT director Mohamed Diab, which notably features superstar Mohamed Ramadan alongside British-Lebanese actress Razane Jammal. Mubarak recently captured audience attention during the last Ramadan season with her role in the series ASHGHAL SHAQQA GEDDAN, appearing in the first two episodes, which generated widespread engagement across social media and showcased her impeccable acting talent and ability to leave a lasting impact on viewers. She also starred in the 2024 feature THE TALE OF DAYE'S FAMILY, which had its world premiere at the Red Sea International Film Festival and screened at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, as well as in Yasser Faiz's Sudanese short BOUGAINVILLEA.
Los Angeles Times
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
In the riveting, interior ‘April,' a doctor who helps women in need is targeted
In writer-director Déa Kulumbegashvili's disquieting second feature, a strange creature is on the loose. We glimpse it in the first moments of 'April' — this naked, human-like being whose body resembles a sagging skin bag. Possessing no eyes, no mouth and no face, with an almost alien lurching gait, that nightmarish figure will reappear every so often, its return always upsetting and unexplained. Remarkably, the creature is only slightly more unknowable than the film's fascinatingly opaque main character. To call 'April' an abortion drama is accurate and yet that description only barely brushes against this movie's blending and subversion of genres. Set in the country of Georgia, the movie (which won a Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival) stars Ia Sukhitashvili as Nina, an expert obstetrician who, as the story begins, witnesses a tragedy. Kulumbegashvili plunges us into a delivery room as an expectant mother struggles to give birth, the filmmaker's camera shielding us from nothing as the hospital staff desperately try to extract the child. Soon after the baby is declared dead, Nina is blamed by the woman's husband and Nina's unsmiling supervisor (Merab Ninidze) launches an investigation into what went wrong. But Nina's concern extends beyond the possibility of losing her job. It's an open secret that Nina privately performs abortions for those in the impoverished outlying villages. Technically, abortion is legal for up to 12 weeks in Georgia, but in this conservative, patriarchal society, it's nonetheless practically verboten. Any investigation into Nina could expose her clandestine activities and ruin her career — not to mention her ability to help more women, either to bring life into this world or terminate it. Such a setup suggests the potential for a thriller, but Kulumbegashvili (who previously cast Sukhitashvili in her 2020 feature debut 'Beginning') is after something slipperier. And that starts with her conception of her protagonist, whose inner life she refuses to illuminate. Often shown on-screen in the middle distance or the background, her expressions always muted, Nina drifts through this slow-burn crisis without any palpable urgency or alarm. Emotionally, Sukhitashvili remains at arm's length, her character's actions inscrutable. One night, Nina drives into the countryside, picking up a random stranger and offering him a blowjob. Has she done this before? And if so, what's provoking it? The answers are left as teasingly cryptic as the shocking outcome of that nocturnal interaction. By stripping away genre conventions, 'April' eschews traditional storytelling to zero in on far more existential matters — namely, the oppressive gloom descending on Nina. Filmed in a boxy aspect ratio that visually imprisons her in her circumstances, the movie uses tracking shots as hints into its character's mindset. When the stoic Nina is off-screen during a scene, we occasionally hear her elevated breathing, proof of the silent stress choking her. This brilliant narrative stroke weaponizes even the film's most tranquil interludes, creating the sense that we're watching these moments through her eyes. Cinematographer Arseni Khachaturan's images of sumptuous Georgian landscapes — vibrant red flowers dotting an impossibly lush field — are undercut by the anxiety within the person soaking in those sights. Kulumbegashvili's realist style — the writer-director filmed actual births — emphasizes antiseptic hospital hallways and the cold procedural quality of Nina's work. (The process of delivering a baby is depicted as straightforwardly as performing an abortion.) Nina's demeanor is equally stark. Preferring to be invisible, she goes about her business assisting pregnant women while sporadically conferring with David (Kakha Kintsurashvili), a sympathetic colleague heading the fateful investigation. Nina and David were once lovers, a fact he has never gotten over. Seated across from each other, David finally asks, 'Why didn't you marry me?' Tellingly, Nina is once again off camera when she slowly answers: 'It would never have worked out. There's no space for anyone in my life.' We hear her, but we don't see her. Indeed, Nina often seems just out of reach. 'April' portrays her devotion to serving women in need as a noble but deadening calling, one that has caused her to withdraw into herself, perhaps as a coping mechanism to shut out the rage and helplessness she feels. With utter naturalism, Kulumbegashvili and her star dramatize a cruel, sexist reality that's as unescapable as that inexplicable creature that repeatedly invades the story, its faceless presence a chilling, surreal metaphor for a society preying on Nina and her patients. Not quite a thriller and not quite a horror movie, 'April' is all the more haunting for never pinning down the roots of Nina's retreat from life while dedicating herself to improving the lives of others. Near the film's end, she's scolded for her illegal activities, prompting Nina to offer a terse, weary reply: 'If it's not me, it'll be someone else.' Once again she's not on camera, but her voice of conscience reverberates.
