Words and pictures too!

THE trendy Words BookstoreCafé has started a new chapter in its cultural life with the introduction of special movie nights, writes Stan Szecowka.

And one of the star turns of Bahrain’s Spring of Culture will be making an appearance too hoping to inspire Gulf filmmakers to develop their skills.

Located at the popular Palm Square shopping and eating out destination off Budaiya Highway in Saar, the venue will screen Saudi director Haifaa Al Mansour’s award-winning film Wadjda.

“We have had a great response from a very diverse crowd to our AfterWords CineClub,” said Rana Aljalahma, who owns the enterprise with Eileen Abuhamad.

Moe Ramadan, one of Words BookstoreCafé’s Arabic story-time readers for children who visit every Saturday for a literary session, and an integral part of the team, ran a film club at university and suggested the duo delve into movies.

So far the venue has screened 5 Broken Cameras, Persepolis, Searching for Sugarman and during the festive season held a children’s movie marathon featuring Eloise at Christmastime, The Muppet Christmas Carol and Elf.

Both Rana and Eileen share a passion for the arts and live close to each other in Janabiyah. Eileen is married to mechanical contracting company owner Issam Abuhamad and has two children. Rana is married to Saudi businessman Raad Abduljawad and has three children.

Over a few coffee mornings the words flowed, the ideas developed and the business concept evolved. Eileen, who runs the Studio Collection designer store in A’Aali Mall, already had extensive retail experience and Rana, embarked on an intensive ‘running a bookshop’ workshop in the US, before the outlet opened. They also receive ‘invaluable’ help from Tamkeen, which offers support programmes for Bahrainis and enterprises in the private sector.

Rana said: “We are really looking forward to having director Haifaa Al Mansour for the screening of her award-winning film. The date will be confirmed shortly.”

Haifaa’s debut feature Wadjda received the Satyajit Ray Foundation’s 16th annual feature film award, which was presented to the director on International Women’s Day (March 8) in London.

The first feature film to be shot entirely inside Saudi Arabia, Wadjda, set in Riyadh, is the story of a 10-year-old heroine who wants to ride a bike so that she can beat her friend, Abdullah, in a race. In a country where girls can’t go out alone, and need the consent of a male guardian for everything, this is a tall order.

Haifaa’s filmmaking started when she was employed at a petrol company in Saudi Arabia and it was while she worked in the company’s communications department that she began learning how to make videos. Short films about life around her followed, and a documentary, Women Without Shadows (2005) about the hidden lives of women in the Middle East, was screened at the American Embassy. She met her husband, a US diplomat, there, and when he was posted to Australia, she completed a master’s degree in film studies from the University of Sydney.

Although she received official permission, filming in Saudi Arabia had its challenges. She had to hide in a van, and directed her actors via walkie-talkie.

Haifaa is aware that conservative Saudi society can be unforgiving to people who fall out of step with it, but insists it is also undergoing changes and stresses that it is important to capitalise on them and push forward.

She is keen for her film to be seen in Saudi Arabia, and this movie has reignited a debate again about whether the kingdom should have cinemas.

Thousands of Saudis cross the causeway to enjoy movies in cinemas in Bahrain, as well as bookstore-cum-cafes too.

Meanwhile, the venue’s book clubs and reading events are continuing to thrive. Every Saturday an English story-time is staged at 10am and an Arabic version starts at 11am.
 
“We have a Kids Book Club for ages nine to 13 and a Body Mind Spirit Book Club that meets once a month,” added Rana. “We have had visiting authors and chefs and our cook book demonstrations are extremely popular.” 

These are exciting times for Words BookstoreCafé as this week it has started sponsoring GulfWeekly’s popular puzzle page offering readers the chance to win a free cup of coffee.

Now called WordsPlay, all the questions will be literary based, so readers are invited to put on their thinking caps and turn to Page 17 to enter. Send your answer to editor@gulfweekly.com by noon on Sunday.

One correct entry drawn will be contacted by Words BookstoreCafé and the reader has simply to bring a printout of the correspondence to claim the prize.

* Haifaa will also be giving a lecture in Arabic on ‘Cinema in the Gulf region, the voice of women and the young generation’ at 8pm on April 14 at the Shaikh Ebrahim Centre for Culture and Research as part of the Bahrain Spring of Culture 2014 activities.