On the 25th of October, I went to the Sidr Film Festival that took place at the Abu Dhabi New York University. We were there for two of the three days.
On the first day, Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan was there. She gave a speech which included a verse from the Holy Quran – “All living beings roaming the earth and winged birds soaring in the sky are communities like yourselves.” It made me reflect on how animals, like humans, work best together. After the speech, I was excited to finally see the films.
The first film, ‘Co-Creating with Nature: The Art of Circular Design’, showed us Reema Al Mheiri’s journey as she utilises unwanted fish scales. When she discovered the amount of fish scales thrown away, she was shocked that nobody had discovered a way to use them. She was determined to find a way to recycle fish scales. The architect came up with a very creative way make floor lamps. She was inspired by the migration of the oysters as they float upwards at night making a glistening light that is seen on the surface of the water. So, she named her lamp, Tibrah, which means in Arabic, the location of the oysters. I thought it was really interesting how she decided to use fish scales as an art material and how she thought of making luxury floor lamps with it.
The second film, ‘Wrought’, showed how microbes transform matter into rot, ferment and compost. Using lots of micro shots, the film shared the interesting process of decomposition. The entire film made me ponder about the fact shared – that it is humans who decide what is rot and what is not.
The films I watched were an incredible experience and made me see that humans are destroying but slowly rebuilding, the universe.
Follow R&S UAE
Follow R&S UAE