CineMAS – A Letter From Al Barzakh / All of Our Heartbeats Are Connected Through Exploding Stars / Fragments From Heaven

7pm A Letter From Al Barzakh dir Waleed Al Madani (2019)

Al Barzakh is a period of time where the dead live between the moment they die and their judgement day. In this short experimental documentary, Al Madani takes the audience to this place, imagining his first moments there, “the moments I start to realise my loneliness, realise that I’m not going to see my mother again, my ocean of thoughts, my fire … and the moment I realise where I am, freed from loneliness”. Arabic with English subtitles.

7.15pm All of Our Heartbeats Are Connected Through Exploding Stars dir Jennifer Rainsford (2022)

In the wake the largest earthquake in modern history, and the devastating tsunami that followed, we meet Yasu, who dives in search of his lost wife; Sachiko, who writes letters to her husband who was taken by the wave; and Satoko, a young woman struggling to overcome her trauma. Backed by scientific research and a staggering score by Teho Teardo, Jennifer Rainsford’s debut feature tells the tale of the interconnectedness of the living organisms on planet Earth. Swedish and Japanese with English subtitles.

9pm Fragments From Heaven dir Adnane Baraka (2022)

Looking for rocks in the vastness of the Moroccan desert may seem absurd — unless they are celestial stones, with the power to change the lives of those who find them. Mohamed, the nomad, and Abderrahmane, the scientist, comb the arid lands looking for meteorites, each for his own reasons. An enigmatic documentary quest into the desert shot, edited, and sound-designed by Moroccan filmmaker Adnana Baraka. Arabic and French with English subtitles.

The CineMAS contemporary Arab cinema series is a mini-festival of independent films curated by Hind Mezaina and presented by the NYUAD Film and New Media Program in partnership with the NYUAD Arts Center. Day tickets are AED 30, weekend (Saturday & Sunday) tickets are AED 50, a full-week pass is AED 150..