It was 2011 and we were preparing for TEDxDar. Behind schedule as always, we needed to get Bi Kidude, this iconic figure on our stage. We wanted to hear her voice and her story in an intimate way. We wanted to experience her magical presence, her Diva, on the small stage, away from the large […]
I’ve been in Dubai for the past month working on an documentary on the life of late South African political activist and Mandela confidante Fatima Meer (we shot it in South Africa but the production company is based in Dubai) and I have to say, this is one interesting place. Once you get away from the bling, the giant malls and the indoor ski slopes, Dubai can actually be a city of gems that might surprise you.
One of the things that impressed me the most during several visits to the Arabian/Perisan Gulf over the past couple of years were clear signs of African influence on the Peninsula. It made think a lot about constructed notions of African vs. Arab identity, and the cultural fluidity that exists throughout the Indian Ocean in general.
