An Emirati short film blows the lid off tradition and modern culture
Photo: One of the scenes from Amal Al Agroobi's film, Under the Hat
For Amal Al Agroobi, the content apart, the very act of making movies is about challenging stereotypes. The Syrian-Emirati filmmaker, who made her fiction debut at this year’s Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), trained as a scientist before trading microscopes for film cameras in 2012, and she’s been tackling taboo subjects since.
Under the Hat, which is being presented to buyers as part of the DIFF 2016 Cinetech library, is a short film in Arabic about a muezzin, or prayer caller, who loses his voice and finds a replacement in the frontman of a heavy metal band. Her previous feature, The Brain That Sings, looked at the prevalence and treatment of autism in Emirati children and contributed to improved legislation in the UAE for those with special needs. Even her debut film Half Emirati tackled the social impact of mixed marriages.
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Karim Mansour