Habibi Collective Podcast

In this episode, which is a recorded conversation of a discussion held at the Dazed Live event, London, in October 2021, we discuss the rising power of collectives and how they can provide structure for those working on the margins and outside institutional frameworks. We are delighted to welcome special guests Bolanle Tajudeen of Black Blossoms and Christie Costello of Bare Minimum Collective. Moderator: Róisín Tapponi. Donate! Please consider donating towards our work: Patreon.com/habibicollective. A small monthly donation goes a long way towards paying innumerable costs including: screening fees for filmmakers, MGs, design assets and the endless web costs of developing a streaming service. Habibi Collective operates completely on a volunteer-led basis—is vital that we stay independent. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support

Habibi Collective members Reman Sadani and Isra Al Kassi speak to Rehana Zaman and Sylvia Hong on how to fund and sustain moving image projects, at the Dazed Live event, London, in October 2021. In this episode, we explore questions like: how do you sustain your practice without heavily relying on external funding? How do you benefit from the commercial scene to develop commissions? How can you challenge existing models of funding and commissioning? Extra resources: Art Council England Guidelines. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1V1clsdbNzJvs24goU81KC4_NIgndx2VF/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111094572164427675363&rtpof=true&sd=true SUCCESSFUL FUNDING APPLICATION LIBRARY https://www.thewhitepube.co.uk/fundinglibrary PROPOSAL LIBRARY https://www.thewhitepube.co.uk/project-proposal-library Rehana Zaman is an artist from Heckmondwike based in London. Her work speaks to the entanglement of personal experience and social life, where moments of intimacy are framed against cultural orthodoxies and state coercion. Conversation and cooperative methods sit at the heart of her practice. She has exhibited widely in the UK and Internationally. In 2019 she co-edited Tongues with Taylor Le Melle, published by PSS and was shortlisted for the Film London Jarman Award. She is currently a board member of not/nowhere artist workers cooperative and LUX who also distribute her films. Sylvia Hong is a Chinese-born French director and producer based in London. Co-Director of Skin Deep magazine, a platform for Black and Poc Creatives to work towards justice through cultural production. Previously video producer at British Vogue, she is currently the video commissioner for Dazed Media. Isra Al Kassi is a member of Habibi Collective and co-founder of T A P E collective. T A P E Collective is a curatorial collective that hosts cross-art events with a focus on films and art that explores dual heritage and mixed identities. Her background is in cinema exhibition, audience development, and community engagement which includes programming, fundraising, and commissioning artists and writers. In addition to her work with T A P E she's currently working with BIFA, LFF, and Shasha Movies. Reman Sadani is a London-based Iraqi artist and a member of Habibi Collective. She is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on moving image. Her recent research is focused on the material and personal histories of post-colonial structures. She questions how one can exit and heal from the colonial legacies collectively. Recent screenings and group exhibitions include: Mizna Arab Film Festival (Minneapolis), Aesthetica Short Film Festival, (York), Arab Women Film Festival (Rio de Janeiro), MoMa Modern Mondays (New York), Jerwood FVU Film Awards, Jerwood Arts, London (2020). Donate! Please consider donating towards our work: Patreon.com/habibicollective. A small monthly donation goes a long way towards paying innumerable costs including: screening fees for filmmakers, MGs, design assets and the endless web costs of developing a streaming service. Habibi Collective operates completely on a volunteer-led basis—is vital that we stay independent. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support

A conversation with Tara Violet Niami, a British Australian-Iranian American cinematographer and photographer based in Los Angeles. As a DOP she has worked in narrative film, documentary, music video, and fashion film mediums. Later this summer, her first feature film as cinematographer, Eye Without A Face made in collaboration with her independent filmmaker father Ramin Niami, will be released. In this episode, we talk about Tara's journey from photography to the moving image, perseverance, and much more. Donate! Please consider donating towards our work: Patreon.com/habibicollective. A small monthly donation goes a long way towards paying innumerable costs including: screening fees for filmmakers, MGs, design assets and the endless web costs of developing a streaming service. Habibi Collective operates completely on a volunteer-led basis—is vital that we stay independent. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support

A conversation with Los Angeles based singer and sex educator Rotana about her new educational comedy show, F*D & Blessed. Ahead of the show's release in July, this episode is an exclusive preview into the show which explores sexuality, self-pleasure and more from a curious Saudi girl. Please consider donating towards our work: Patreon.com/habibicollective. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support

A conversation with Iranian photographer, music-video and film director Zhamak Fullad. Zhamak has been mainly working in Canada and Los Angeles. We discuss how she got into the profession, the obstacles she has been facing as a brown woman in the West, and more. Donate! Please consider donating towards our work: Patreon.com/habibicollective. A small monthly donation goes a long way towards paying innumerable costs including: screening fees for filmmakers, MGs, design assets and the endless web costs of developing a streaming service. Habibi Collective operates completely on a volunteer-led basis—is vital that we stay independent. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support

A conversation with Reman Sadani, London-based Iraqi artist and a graduate of the Slade School of Fine Art. In this episode, we deconstruct the meaning of moving-image and discuss the importance of community, navigating the industry after art school, and telling stories throughout varying spaces and mediums.  Speaker bio: Reman is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on film and moving image. Her narratives are often driven by a search for an exit. The physical toll of this constant search manifests in space and performance as the negotiation between the individual and the collective plays out. Recent screenings and group exhibitions include: Jerwood FVU Film Awards, Jerwood Arts, London (2020), Independent Iraqi Film Festival, London (2020), Whole Nine Yards (2020), Soundings, Raven Row, London (2019), A Night of Shorts, SET, London (2018), No Screening, IMT Gallery, London (2015). Most recently her film, Walkout 1, was included in Shasha's March 2021 programme.   Donate! Please consider donating towards our work: Patreon.com/habibicollective. A small monthly donation goes a long way towards paying innumerable costs including: screening fees for filmmakers, MGs, design assets and the endless web costs of developing a streaming service. Habibi Collective operates completely on a volunteer-led basis—is vital that we stay independent.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support

A conversation with Jannis Stürtz, DJ and co-founder of Habibi Funk Records and Jakarta Records. In this episode, we discuss the modus operandi of Habibi Funk, the importance of digitizalisation of records and cassettes, film-score composer Ahmed Malek in post-colonial Algeria, women in music and film, and more. Donate! Please consider donating towards our work: Patreon.com/habibicollective. A small monthly donation goes a long way towards paying innumerable costs including: screening fees for filmmakers, MGs, design assets and the endless web costs of developing a streaming service. Habibi Collective operates completely on a volunteer-led basis—is vital that we stay independent. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support

A conversation with Elhum Shakerifar, BAFTA nominated producer and curator, producing and distributing documentaries through her company Hakawati. In this episode, we discuss the importance of storytelling through documentary film, finding truth and creating a space of reality, raising important questions to audiences, and the future of filmmaking amidst the current climate.  Speaker bio: Elhum is a BAFTA nominated producer and curator, producing and distributing documentaries through her company Hakawati with the core ethos that a good story is all in the telling. Recent credits include winner of the BIFA for Best Documentary winning Almost Heaven (Carol Salter, 2017), BFI/Sundance funded Even When I Fall (Sky Neal and Kate McLarnon, 2017) and Arts Council funded ISLAND (Steven Eastwood, 2017). In 2015, her BIFA, BAFTA and EFA nominated production A Syrian Love Story (Sean McAllister, 2015) won a Cinema for Peace Justice Award, screened in UK and European parliaments and in over 70 countries. Her work has been broadcast internationally and screened at festivals including Berlinale, IDFA and Rotterdam. Elhum is a programme advisor for London Film Festival for films from MENA and Iran, and Film Curator for Shubbak, festival of contemporary Arab culture. In 2017, she was nominated for the Arab British Centre’s Award for Culture and was awarded the Women in Film and TV Factual Award 2017 and was one of Screen International’s 2018 #Brit50 Producers on the Rise. Elhum is also a lecturer at the Free University of Berlin and a research fellow of the Department of Anthropology at Goldsmiths University. Donate! Please consider donating towards our work: Patreon.com/habibicollective. A small monthly donation goes a long way towards paying innumerable costs including: screening fees for filmmakers, MGs, design assets and the endless web costs of developing a streaming service. Habibi Collective operates completely on a volunteer-led basis—is vital that we stay independent.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support

A conversation with Pam Nasr, New York-based Lebanese filmmaker, stylist and art director. In this episode, we discuss the importance of narrative in fashion commercials, what it means to be both in front of and behind the camera, the stress of self-branding, the problem with concept-led projects, the precarious state of the gig economy and the cultural importance of Sex & The City.  Speaker bio: Born and raised in Dubai, Pam moved to Beirut after graduating from London College of Fashion with a degree in fashion styling and photography. She later moved to New York City and pursued an MA in film, and recently made her debut film Clams Casino, which I have had the pleasure of screening on a few occasions. Her visual practice deeply entwines fashion and film, where she can be found both behind and in front of the camera. She most recently worked on Versace Jeans Couture’s 2020 Holiday campaign which she directed remotely from New York. Donate! Please consider donating towards our work: Patreon.com/habibicollective. A small monthly donation goes a long way towards paying innumerable costs including: screening fees for filmmakers, MGs, design assets and the endless web costs of developing a streaming service. Habibi Collective operates completely on a volunteer-led basis—is vital that we stay independent. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support

A conversation with Annemarie Jacir, co-founder of Philistine Films, writer and director. In this episode, we discuss running an independent production company, the importance of fostering a collaborative environment, supporting new voices and thought-provoking storytelling. Speaker bio: Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir has written, directed and produced over sixteen films. One of Filmmaker's 25 New Faces of Independent Cinema and Variety's "Arab New Wave", two of her films have premiered as Official Selections in Cannes, one in Venice and one in Berlin. Her short film like twenty impossibles (2003) was the first Arab short film in history to be an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival and continued to break ground when it went on to be a finalist for the Academy Awards. Her latest film When I Saw You won Best Asian Film at the Berlin Intl. Festival, Best Arab Film in Abu Dhabi and Best Film in Amiens, Phoenix, and Olympia, and garnered a nomination at the Asian Pacific Screen Awards. It was also Palestine’s 2012 Oscar Entry. Notably, the film's production was entirely Arab-financed with all Palestinian producers marking a new trend in Arab cinema. Founder of Philistine Films, Annemarie teaches screenwriting and works as an editor and film curator, actively promoting independent cinema, training and working with fellow filmmakers. Donate! Please consider donating towards our work: Patreon.com/habibicollective. A small monthly donation goes a long way towards paying innumerable costs including: screening fees for filmmakers, MGs, design assets and the endless web costs of developing a streaming service. Habibi Collective operates completely on a volunteer-led basis—is vital that we stay independent. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support

A conversation with Hisham Fageeh, Saudi actor, writer, producer, and comedian. In this episode, we discuss comedy as a tool for activism, its shelf-life, Hisham's experience with cinema in Saudi, the gaps between cultures, capitalism, and more. Speaker bio: Hisham Fageeh is a full-fledged artist who has co-produced and starred in the 2016 film "Barakah meets Barakah." He was previously Head of Content at Telfaz11. Hisham originally gained popularity doing YouTube videos - including "No Woman No Drive," which went viral in 2013 - and has done numerous stand-up comedy shows worldwide. Donate! Please consider donating towards our work: Patreon.com/habibicollective. A small monthly donation goes a long way towards paying innumerable costs including: screening fees for filmmakers, MGs, design assets, and the endless web costs of developing a streaming service. Habibi Collective operates completely on a volunteer-led basis—is vital that we stay independent. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support

A conversation with Butheina Kazim, co-founder of the UAE's arthouse cinema, Cinema Akil. We talk programming, navigating the online and offline market, and constructing a spatial politics for cinema, independently. Speaker bio: Butheina Kazim is the co-founder of Cinema Akil, an independent cinema in Dubai. She has been involved in programming a number of cinema pop-ups, including Focus on the United Arab Emirates, and is the producer of the short documentary film Letters to Palestine, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (2010). She has served on the jury for the iEmmys Asia & Africa Competition, among many others, and is a member of the UAE Academy Award Committee. She has also worked as a project manager in television and radio stations in the UAE at the media conglomerates Arab Media Group and Dubai Media Incorporated. Donate! Please consider donating towards our work: Patreon.com/habibicollective. A small monthly donation goes a long way towards paying innumerable costs including: screening fees for filmmakers, MGs, design assets and the endless web costs of developing a streaming service. Habibi Collective operates completely on a volunteer-led basis—is vital that we stay independent. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support

A conversation with Iraqi feature-length film editor Shahnaz Dulaimy about the many layers of editing. We discuss storytelling, sound, pacing, gender, and more. Speaker bio: Shahnaz Dulaimy is a feature film editor who started her career in the Arab film industry working on Annemarie Jacir’s When I Saw You (2012), Naji Abu Nowar’s Oscar nominated Theeb (2014), and Shahad Ameen's Oscar selected Scales (2019). She studied filmmaking in Rome, and delved into extensive research of film editing theories, and applying them in practice. Shahnaz went on to become the first Avid certified editor in the Middle East, and has been actively cutting films since. Donate! Please consider donating towards our work: Patreon.com/habibicollective. A small monthly donation goes a long way towards paying innumerable costs including: screening fees for filmmakers, MGs, design assets and the endless web costs of developing a streaming service. Habibi Collective operates completely on a volunteer-led basis—is vital that we stay independent. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support

An honest conversation about the Hollywood creative industry with actress Alia Shawkat. We talk about how to self-represent as a queer Arab woman in Hollywood, biracial ‘passing’ and Western privilege and breaking through the role of the ‘ethnic best friend’. Speaker bio: Alia Shawkat is an Irish-Iraqi actress, scriptwriter and artist working in Hollywood. She has appeared in over 45 TV shows and movies, she is known for her TV roles as Hannah Rayburn in State of Grace, Maeby Fünke in the Fox/Netflix television sitcom Arrested Development and Dory Sief in the TBS and HBO Max comedy series Search Party. Selected movies include Whip It, Animals and The Runaway; Shawkat co-wrote and starred in queer indie drama Duck Butter. She is also a painter and is currently writing a pilot for a TV show about her life. Donate! Please consider subscribing to our Patreon on our website. A small monthly donation goes a long way towards paying innumerable costs including: screening fees for filmmakers, MGs, design assets and the endless web costs of developing a streaming service. Habibi Collective operates completely on a volunteer-led basis—is vital that we stay independent. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support

An introduction to the podcast series, outlining various roles in the industry and the material, political and economic conditions that ground our current understanding of regional cinema as an institution. The podcast is free, but please consider subscribing to our Patreon on our website habibicollective.com Habibi Collective operates completely on a volunteer-led basis. This is not a sustainable model - but it is also vital that we stay independent. If you have enjoyed Habibi Collective in any capacity over the past four years, please consider donating, your contribution goes a very long way. Speaker bio: Róisín Tapponi is an Iraqi-Irish curator, film programmer, researcher and writer. She is the founder and programmer of Habibi Collective; Tapponi has curated six regional film festivals including Independent Iraqi Film Festival (IIFF) and Queer MENA Film Festival. She has curated screenings at international institutions such as Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF), and has lectured on cinema at many academic institutions, including Oxford University, Duke University, UC Berkeley and Northwestern University. She previously held a post at The Mosaic Rooms and is currently developing an independent streaming service, Shasha. Tapponi is currently a contributor at Frieze Magazine and has worked as a journalist for seven years, contributing to publications such as The Guardian, Vogue and i-D. She is also founder and editor of ART WORK Magazine, a critical art magazine for cultural workers operating on the margins. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roisin-tapponi/support