The Ajnabee's Guide to Life

Cinema is undeniably the most far-reaching vehicle we have at our disposal, to truly change the world. Beyond written words, television, visual art and music, it is through the multisensory, overwhelming medium of film that we can better understand our fellow humans, while also enriching our own culture and broadening our mind. Transformers and Die Hard franchises need not apply.

I deeply believe that Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation has done more to encourage our current diplomatic dance with Tehran than any UN council or “peacekeeping” mission could ever dream of achieving. And it’s because the future of our relationship with Iran (and the Middle East, North Africa region as a whole) lies not in our judgment of it, but our understanding of the country, and all its human contradictions…

(READ IT ALL ON THE HUFFINGTON POST)

While it’s important to realize that any exercise routine can create strain on joints and muscles, is the alternative — sitting on a couch, eating chips and drinking beer — a better solution? Of course, choosing the right yoga guide may be the most important decision one makes in the quest for a better body and quieter mind, and a teacher who concentrates on stretching, breathing and strengthening, not acrobatics and pushing students to the limit while turning their bodies into human pretzels, is ideal.

Now more than a year has gone by since the first unrest in Egypt’s Tahrir Square and our attention span has dwindled, turned to more visible media headlines like Syria’s issues and the global economy. Yet the unrest continues in the Arab world and in his latest documentary, filmmaker Petr Lom reconvenes at Tahrir Square, going back with five individuals who helped shape the revolution with their personal stories. The resulting Back to the Square is at once haunting and eye-opening and is filmed in a crisp, clear manner that makes for great viewing while also enlightening its audience to the present truths of Egypt.

Italian researchers recently announced that two-thirds of all humans now live under skies polluted by artificial lights. As a New Yorker, I know I haven’t seen more than a handful of stars on any given night and the sad thing is, I didn’t remember what I was missing until I watched The City Dark.

Miral tells the story of a Palestinian girl (Freida Pinto) growing up around the 1st Intifada — a term which in the novel Miral is poetically translated as ”raising your head up, rebelling to keep your dignity”. Despite the atmosphere of repression that surrounds her, Miral’s winning future is secured through her father Jamal’s (Alexander Siddig) unfaltering love, her mentor and teacher Hind Husseini’s (Hiam Abbass) passion for education and insistence for elegance in the face of strife and her mother Nadia’s (Yasmine Al Massri) self sacrifice.