The Nightingale’s Prayer: One of the Best Egyptian Films Ever Made
The Nightingale’s Prayer – or Do’aa el Karawan – is an icon of Egyptian Cinema’s Golden age. Mayra Nassef writes about its strong female characters and its pioneering feminist themes that address gender inequality and cultures of shame.
Daftar Digest
We select the best from the Arab world each month, and put it in your inbox.
Curated Recommendations
Every time a guest joins us on one of our podcast series, they leave us with breadcrumbs to further explore some of the topics that they covered in the episode. Browse through some of the best recommendations for films, books, and music from the Arab world.
Staff Pick: Podcast Episode
Sonja Mejcher-Atassi
We did a deep dive into this episode of our This Is Not a Watermelon podcast with the author of "An Impossible Friendship: Group Portrait, Jerusalem Before and After 1948," professor Sonja Mejcher-Atassi.
Tsawwar
Tsawwar is a visual series enclosed monthly in our Daftar Digest and explores the stories behind a photograph taken in the region or by an Arab photographer.
Listen, Read, Watch: Palestine
Recommendations for what to Listen, Watch, Read list from Palestine, featuring Lana Lubany, Karim Kattan and Lina Soualem.
Listen, Read, Watch: Morocco
Recommendations for what to Listen, Watch, Read list from Morocco, featuring Bab L’Bluz, Laila Lalami, and Asmae El Moudir.
Listen, Read, Watch: Syria
A curated Listen, Watch, Read list spotlighting works from Syria. Featuring an album by TootArd, a novel by Khaled Khalifa, and a documentary film by Taim Karesly.
Listen, Read, Watch: Egypt
A curated Listen, Watch, Read list spotlighting works from Egypt. Featuring an album by Dina El Wedidi, a book by Nawal El Saadawi and a film directed by Ayten Amin.
Listen, Read, Watch: Saudi Arabia
A curated Listen, Watch, Read list spotlighting works from Saudi Arabia with Moayad Alnefaie’s Bath Al Shaer, Abdulrahman Munif’s Cities of Salt and Yallah Yallah Beenah.
Listen, Read, Watch: Iraq
A curated Listen, Watch, Read list spotlighting works from Iraq. Featuring an album by Natik Awayez, poetry by Nizak al-Mala’ika and Maysoon Pachachi’s 2021 film Our River….Our Sky.
Listen, Read, Watch: Resistance
A curated Listen, Watch, Read list spotlighting works of resistance from Palestine. With work by Riad Awwan, Tawfiq Zayyad and Rakan Mayasi.
Listen, Read, Watch: Algeria
A curated Listen, Watch, Read list from Algeria, featuring work by Dahmane El Harrachi, Mohammed Dib and Mounia Meddour.
George Khoury & The History of Arab Comics
Inspired by our conversation with Georges Khoury, a brief dive into the history of iconic Arab comics such as Samir and Sindbad. Cover image via Ebay.
What To Read & Watch to Understand What’s Happening in Sudan
After our conversation with Aida Abbashar, we wanted to continue educating ourselves about the current situation in Sudan. We hope this watch and read list acts as a good starting point for getting to grips with what’s happening in Sudan.
QUARTERTONES MIXAPE“I want to represent some of the music of today that will be the past archive of tomorrow." DJ, producer and composer Jihed Khmiri (aka Pan-J) compiled an all-Tunisian mixtape for us this month.
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