Vulture
JOURNALISM: A savage novel punctures war correspondent hero myths, exposing careerism, entitlement, and the fixer who does the real work.
Middle East
Cinema Kawakeb
HISTORY: Inside a crumbling theatre in Amman, refugees guard reels and memories while century-spanning archives map the road from declarations to today’s Palestine.
Generation Gaza: Among the Israelis in India
ISRAEL: Among Himalaya backpackers, Israelis process 7 October, Gaza memories, and identity crisis—numbed by drugs, haunted by politics, searching elusive peace.
The Bibi Files
CORRUPTION: Alexis Bloom’s gripping exposé of the web of lies apparently woven by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to avoid corruption charges shows how one man’s fear of jail has led to war and instability in the Middle East.
Pragmatism and repressive politics
TURKEY: This autumn, we met two intellectuals in Istanbul about today’s Turkey – and attended a major conference there on political economy. Here, we look at the use of power, freedom of expression, the media, militarisation and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s political pragmatism.
Movies on War Festival returns for 14th edition, focuses on Gaza and Middle East
The #Movies on War# film festival returns to Elverum, Norway, from 13 to 17 November for its 14th annual edition.
«Justice is something worth living for»
PALESTINE/ISRAEL: How is it to be a Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory? We spoke to Francesca Albanese about Israel’s war against Gaza, genocide, antisemitism, and impunity – from her specialisation on international law. She talks about political, legal, psychological, and epistemic violence – coming from how Israel, with Western acquiescence, has been threatening the Palestinians for decades.
Living in limbo
Living in exile is hard, as we can experience in Mohamed Jabaly’s award-winning Life Is Beautiful. Despite the hardships, this film is a feel-good story celebrating solidarity and friendship.
Why are the youth in Iraq protesting?
IRAQ: In Iraq, the youth don’t trust the politicians or the parties. We met the director and producer of Baghdad on Fire, which addresses the bad governance of their country’s leaders and the mobilisation of the youth who really fight for change.
When violence becomes the only way
POWER: According to Hannah Arendt, the use of violence, weapons, and bombs renders us politically voiceless. Can her particular analyses of power teach us anything about the violence being perpetrated from and in Gaza today?
The military ambitions of oil states
WEAPONS: There are a number of developments in the three oil states of Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar, which Jean-Loup Samaan explores in his latest book. These are the three oil states that account for 17 percent of all arms purchases worldwide. Saudi Arabia wants to become a nuclear power in order to stand up to Iran.
«I relish being a stranger in a strange land»
MDOC: Modern Times Review spoke with photographer and filmmaker Maythem Ridha on his experiences as an Iraqi in the UK, journey to film and photography, favourite Middle Eastern films, and more.