Arts and Culture in the Mideast

Minister of Culture Wages Campaign Against Egyptian Artists

Do you remember the very first time you went to the movies? Do you remember that feeling of excitement mixed with awe, when you would hand the ticket to the cinema worker, who would lead you to your seat? Little by little you would leave the world you came from to enter a magical world unraveling on the screen before your eyes.

Pakistan's Movie-Makers Dig Deep To Revive Film Industry

On the fifth take, everything appeared to have come together. The script monitors confirmed that the two actors had got their lines right, the woman in charge of the set was pleased with how the crumbling apartment in a Karachi slum had been dressed, and the camera operator was content with the shot.

READ MORE AT The Guardian

Bold, Bawdy and Brilliant: Black Watch Offers Rare Glimpse of Scottish Infantrymen’s Deployment in Iraq

“It’s a buzz, you’re in a war, but you’re not really doing the job you’re trained for but it’s not like they’re a massive threat to you or to your country, you’re not defending your country. We’re invading their country and fucking their day up." ~ Cammy's dialogue from Black Watch

In May, the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) opened its highly-anticipated production of Black Watch — an artfully choreographed piece of stagecraft that explores the culture of war and its effect on those who serve. Written by Gregory Burke, directed byJohn Tiffany and performed by actors from theNational Theatre of Scotland, the play chronicles the storied Black Watch — Scotland’s 300-year old infantry—and their military exploits in Iraq. The script is based on actual interviews with Black Watch soldiers who were deployed to Iraq in 2004 to relieve an American unit.

Parkour life: Iranian Women Get Physical

On any given Friday, groups of young women across Iran can be seen jumping from rooftops, scaling the graffitied walls of apartment blocks, and catapulting themselves over stairways. They are not being chased by riot police, but merely practising their parkour moves, especially the ground roll, tricky to execute while wearing a headscarf.

READ MORE AT The Guardian

Shohreh Aghdashloo, From Tehran To Hollywood

Iranian American actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, who earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in "House of Sand and Fog" (2003), writes about her life journey from Tehran under siege to Hollywood in her new memoir, "The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines," which hits bookstores on Tuesday.

READ MORE AT The Los Angeles Times

Empress Noor Defies Purdah and Patriarchy to Become One of India’s Most Powerful Rulers

Legend has it that India’s Noor Jahan once killed four tigers with six bullets. And some historians contend that she was behind the original design of the Taj Mahal. But what may be even more extraordinary about Jahan is that she was able to overcome the oppressive tradition of purdah (or female seclusion) and a deeply entrenched patriarchal system to enshrine her place in history as the Mughal Empire’s only empress.

Reza Aramesh on Bringing His Images of Violence to NYC Nightclubs

In his first U.S. exhibition, the Iranian-born, London-based artist Reza Aramesh has brought his highly political works into what would initially seem, to those unfamiliar with his work, to be unlikely venues. In co-organization with his local representative Leila Heller Gallery, Aramesh created site-specific installations of his works at five NYC nightclubs: ranging from Bobby Rossi’s members-only celebrity gastropub No. 8 in Chelsea to the edgy, hole-in-the-wall Bossa Nova Civic Club in Bushwick. On view since May 10, “12 Midnight” closes tomorrow.

READ MORE AT Blouin ArtInfo

Vote4Zahra: A Virtual Candidate for Iran’s Elections (Part Two)

This is part two of our interview with Zahra’s Paradise author and co-creator Amir Soltani. Click here to read part one.

Aslan Media contributing writer Roxanne Rashedi recently had a chance to chat with Zahra writer and co-creator Amir Soltani about Zahra’s Paradise, her virtual presidential campaign and the issues and dialogues he hopes her character inspires: