On Monday 16 November, the Frontline Club hosted a screening of the documentary Yallah! Underground, a vibrant look at a diverse groups of Arab artists and musicians using culture to challenge the status quo. The film is set in the years prior to and during the Arab spring, and focuses on artists from Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. The film was followed by a Q&A with director Farid Eslam, via Skype.

The film puts its soundtrack at the forefront, and uses music to weave its way through different Arab cities, swiftly moving its focus between the individual artists’ discussions over the struggle between individuality and tradition. Freedom of expression and thought are common themes that are mentioned regularly, particularly in relation to the events of Tahrir Square in Egypt.

Eslam had spent a lot of time in the Middle East, mostly filming on commercial projects, and explained that his motivation for this project came from the desire to provide a different presentation of Arabs. He commented that Western perspective often sees Arabs being “closely connected to violence, frustration, aggression, which is only a fraction of the reality.”

“Most people want the same thing all over the world: to live in peace, freedom and to raise their families. It’s important to remind people and ourselves from time to time that we’re talking about just normal people, and it’s sad that we live in a time where we actually have to be reminded of this simple fact and simple truth.”

One audience member was curious about the absence of Syria from the film, considering its presence of underground artists. Eslam explained that he was keen to include Syria, and had tried to feature artists in Damascus and Jeddah. However, due to the escalation of the situation, “it became impossible.” Eslam did manage to film some Syrian artists in the Golan Heights, but this was not included in the film.

Eslam explained that he was able to film such a diverse group of people partly due to limited and sporadic funding, but also due to a large network of artists to draw from. Most of the artists filmed did not make it into the film; the total footage for the project was extensive, and probably enough to “make five more films.”

Will be discovering Egyptian hip hop today after watching Farid Eslam's 'Yallah! Underground' @frontlineclub last night. What a great film!

— Josephine Casserly (@JoCasserly) November 17, 2015

He found it very easy to meet artists: “Basically, you meet one artist and he points you to ten new ones.”

While a lot of his research was carried out on social media, he was also able to spend a lot of time talking directly to artists and people connected with the alternative scene.

Information about Yallah! Underground can be found on the film’s website and Facebook page. Yallah! Underground will have its first screening in an Arab country next month in Dubai.

On 21 February 2012, Russian feminist punk group Pussy Riot performed a 40 second ‘punk prayer’ on the altar of Moscow’s most esteemed cathedral. Through this act they openly challenged Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church, setting in motion one of the greatest show trials of recent times.

In Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, filmmakers Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin closely follow the trial, which sees three members stand accused of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”. Through incredible access to the legal system, they show the courtroom where Nadia, Masha and Katia sit incarcerated in a small booth, articulately defending their actions.

Interviews with family members, archival footage, and baby pictures also make the three women come alive as individuals. The film illustrates the clash between those determined to challenge an oppressive status quo and those who are equally determined to maintain it.

Directed by Mike Lerner & Maxim Pozdorovkin
Duration: 2012
Year: 86′

This screening is in partnership with BBC Storyville, the BBC’s international feature documentary strand.

By Nicole Hunt

This week begins and ends with big trials, with German businessman Gerhard Gribkowsky’s high-profile corruption trial kicking things off in Munich on Monday. The former BayernLB risk manager is accused of accepting a £28m bribe during the 2006 sale of the bank’s shares in Formula One holding company SLEC. The shares were sold to CVC Capital Partners; Bernie Ecclestone, who runs F1 on behalf of CVC, is expected to testify on Gribkowsky’s behalf during the trial.

In other big testimony news, British lawyer David Mills is scheduled to testify at Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s bribery trial in Milan, where Berlusconi is accused of paying Mills £350,000 in exchange for favourable testimony in court cases in 1997 and 1998.

On Tuesday, a Paris court is expected to rule on whether former News of the World reporter Neville Thurlbeck and his employers, News Group Newspapers, breached French privacy and defamation laws by publishing his 2008 article about former FIA president Max Mosley’s sex life.

Moving away from the courts for the mid-week, the annual EU-China Summit takes place in Tianjin, with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton leading the EU delegation and human rights and trade expected to dominate the agenda.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) releases its State of the World Population 2011 report on Wednesday, five days before the world’s population is set to hit seven billion.

Wednesday is also the first of two interesting days at the European Parliament, as MEPs vote on the EU’s 2012 draft budget in Strasbourg. The budget controversially includes a 4.9 per cent spending increase while the euro zone debt problems increase and member states are paring back domestic spending.

On Thursday, the Parliament’s Conference of Presidents unveils the winner of this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, which last year went to Cuban dissident Guillermo Harinas Hernandez, who was unable to collect his prize in December because he was not allowed to leave Cuba. This year’s nominees include five Arab Spring activists (nominated jointly), including: Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi, whose self-immolation on 17 December 2010 was the catalyst for the region’s pro-democracy protests; Egyptian youth activist Asmaa Mahfouz; Libya’s longest-serving prisoner of conscience, 77-year-old Ahmed al Zubair Ahmed al Sanusi ; Syrian activist Razan Zeitouneh; and Syrian cartoonist Ali Farzat.

Irish voters go to the polls to elect their President for a seven-year term, as well as to have their say in two referendums on constitutional amendments, one of which would allow a reduction in judicial salaries while the country tries to cut costs. A by-election also takes place in Dublin West, following the death of former Finance Minister Brian Lenihan on 10 June.

The three-day Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting begins in Perth, Australia on Friday. The Queen, who is wrapping up an 11 day visit to the country, official opens proceedings.

Italy holds the last of three bond auctions this week, hoping this month’s offering of three and 10 year bonds will garner more interest than previous auctions, which have received a lukewarm response as the country’s debt rating has been downgraded.

In Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad celebrates his 55th birthday.

Israel’s social justice movement, which held sporadic protests in the summer and set up a tent city on Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard, has called for mass demonstrations on Saturday to protest rising living costs in the country.

Kyrgyzstan’s long-awaited presidential election takes place on Sunday. Following widespread rioting in April 2010, President Kyrmanbek Bakiyev’s leadership collapsed, and Rosa Otunbayeva’s interim government took over. Elections were initially scheduled for October 2010, but were later put off for a year as Otunbayeva officially took over as President; she is not permitted to run in this election.

Local elections also take place in Colombia, where the mayoral race in the capital of Bogota where former Mayor and Green Party candidate Enrique Peñalosa leads polls. Unsuccessful Presidential candidate Antanas Mockus, who abandoned his own mayoral bid, has thrown his support behind Independent candidate Gina Parody, but it remains to be seen whether his backing will be enough to put her ahead of Peñalosa.

Bahrain’s Royal Commission of Inquiry into political unrest earlier this year is due to issue its findings. The Commission includes Egyptian UN war crimes expert Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni, Canadian ICC judge Philippe Kirsch, British human rights lawyer Nigel Rodley, Iranian lawyer Mahnoush Arsanjani and Kuwaiti law expert Badira al Awadi.

Finally, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak could return to court in Cairo, depending on the outcome of a 22 October Appeals Court hearing. If the court rules against a motion requesting that Mubarak’s trial venue and judge be changed, his murder trial is scheduled to resume on Sunday. However, if the court approves the motion, the trial is likely to be delayed while a new venue and judge are arranged.