Episode 32: Arab causes and art on international fronts

In this week’s episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Maan Jalal discuss Cate Blanchett’s Jean Paul Gaultier's custom dress at this year's Cannes Film Festival, and whether it was a sign of solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

Maan then talks about the exhibition of Syrian artist Khalid Akil entitled The Infinite & The Finite now on show at Ayyam Gallry in Alserkal Avenue until June 25. The exhibition is Akil's first foray into painting from the medium of photography where he explored concepts of the infinite through large immersive paintings that experiment with colour, form and process.

Enas and Maan then discuss their thoughts on Netflix’s original film, the Arabic romcom Honeymoonish, starring Egyptian actress Nour Al Ghandour, Kuwaiti actor Mahmoud Boushahri, and directed by Lebanese filmmaker Elie El Samman. Honeymoonish is the first non-English film to hit number one on the streaming platform’s weekly Top 10, plays with modern western tropes of the romcom genre while adding its own Arab twist.

Finally, the hosts share their thoughts about part one of season of Netflix’s Bridgerton. Maan is a big fan of the show he has some qualms on how far the series has deviated from the essence of the series of novels by Julia Quin while Enas is not interested in the genre of regency era-romance.

However, they both discuss how Bridgerton has impacted pop culture and reframed the notions of diversity and character representation on the screen.

Listen to the full conversation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major podcasting platforms, and watch the full episode on YouTube.