Cinema Akil
Warehouse 68, Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz Industrial District Dubai, UAE
Cinema Akil, Dubai: Sudanese Film Group
Cinema Akil ist die erste und einzige unabhängige Kino-Plattform in den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten, die dem Publikum Filme aus aller Welt und aus allen Jahrzehnten präsentiert. 2014 als nomadisches Kino gegründet, eröffnete es 2018 seinen ersten festen Standort in Al Quoz, Dubai. 2023 eröffnete Cinema Akil im 25hours Hotel Dubai eine saisonale Außenstelle. 2022 wurde die erste Arab Cinema Week in den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten ins Leben gerufen. Cinema Akil ist Mitglied des Network of Arab Alternative Screens (NAAS).
Cinema Akil 25hours präsentiert ein Programm mit frühen Kurzfilmen der Sudanese Film Group (Eltayeb Mahdi, Ibrahim Shaddad und Suliman Elnour), die vom Arsenal restauriert wurden. In den späten 70er- und frühen 80er Jahren gab eine Gruppe von Filmemachern, die in der Filmabteilung des Kulturministeriums arbeiteten, das Magazin Cinema heraus. 1989 gründeten sie die Sudanese Film Group (SFG), um unabhängiger vom Staat agieren zu können. Seit Ausbruch des Krieges 2023 leben ihre Mitglieder in Kairo im Exil.
Das Programm entstand in enger Zusammenarbeit mit dem Goethe-Institut Gulf Region.
Cinema Akil is the first and only independent cinema platform in the United Arab Emirates, presenting films from around the world and from all times to audiences. Founded in 2014 as a nomadic cinema, it opened its first permanent venue in Al Quoz, Dubai, in 2018. In 2023, it opened a seasonal branch at the 25hours Hotel Dubai. The first Arab Cinema Week was launched in the United Arab Emirates in 2022. Cinema Akil is a member of the Network of Arab Alternative Screens (NAAS).
Cinema Akil 25hours presents a program of early short films by the Sudanese Film Group (Eltayeb Mahdi, Ibrahim Shaddad, and Suliman Elnour), which have been restored by Arsenal. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a group of filmmakers who were then working in the film department of the Ministry of Culture published the magazine Cinema. In 1989, they founded the Sudanese Film Group (SFG) in order to operate more independently from the state. Since the outbreak of war in 2023, SFG's members have been living in exile in Cairo, Egypt.
The program was developed in close cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region.
Program:
AL DHAREEH (The Tomb)•Eltayeb Mahdi•Egypt 1977•16'
A man claims to be able to heal people. An alleged tomb of a pious sheikh is the setting of the story. His followers arrive from near and far to get healed and in that process lose a lot of money. Even after the fraud has been exposed his followers are still convinced of his powers.
WA LAKIN ALARDH TADUR (It Still Rotates)• Suliman Elnour•USSR 1978• 18'
Suliman Elnour’s graduation film depicts every-day life at the time in a school in the fifth province in Yemen. There are no formalities, no boundaries between students and teachers, criticism and self-criticism are important means of communication and the support of girls’ education is of high significance.
ARBA’A MARAT LIL ATFAL (Four Times For Children) •Eltayeb Mahdi•Sudan 1979•20'
The film depicts everyday life at the time in facilities and schools for children with physical or mental disabilities. We see children in class being taught art, woodwork, speaking, and other things, but also the hustle and bustle in the schoolyard, as well as physiotherapy and how they learn to use walking aids.
AL HABIL (The Rope)•Ibrahim Shaddad•Sudan 1985• 31'
Two blind men are making their way through the desert accompanied by a donkey. Connected by a rope, sometimes the two men decide where to go, and sometimes the donkey dictates the way.
JAMAL (A Camel) • Ibrahim Shaddad• Sudan 1981• 13'
A report from the life of a camel, most of which plays out in a dreary, small room — a sesame mill. Blindfolded, the camel runs in circles, driven to do so by its owner. For a short while it is allowed to relax in the courtyard before it reluctantly returns to its work in the dark room without any sunlight.
AFRIKA, DŽUNGLI, BARABAN I REVOLJUCIJA (Africa, The Jungle, Drums and Revolution) •Suliman Elnour USSR 1979 •12'
The film examines representations of Africa in Soviet society. Children’s drawings that deal with Africa, interviews with inhabitants of Moscow, and archival material depicting Africa from Soviet archives broach the issue of those representations and the stereotypes connected to them.
Cinema Akil is a neighborhood living room for cinema: the Gulf’s first independent arthouse with a permanent home in Alserkal Avenue. Born nomadic, it grew by meeting audiences where they are and carried that curiosity into a year-round program. We champion films from the Arab world, South Asia, and the broader Global Majority alongside repertory gems, pairing screenings with conversations, food, music, and design. Our curatorial approach is dialogic and iterative: context comes first, and each program is an invitation to linger, argue, and return.
Arsenal on Location’s focus on cinema as social and cultural practice resonates with our daily work. We understand cinema as communal care, a civic ritual that builds publics. Together we hope to share methodologies, activate archives, and co-create experiences that travel between Berlin and Dubai: workshops, itinerant screenings, and living post-screening forums that foreground translation, memory, and the right to access moving images.
The Goethe-Institut is the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany with a global presence. With a network of 151 institutes and liaison offices in 98 countries around the world and 12 institutes in Germany, the Goethe-Institut acts on behalf of the German Government to implement its cultural relations policy. We facilitate international cultural exchange, promote access to the German language, and support the unimpeded development of culture and science.
The Goethe-Institut Gulf Region operates three locations (Abu Dhabi, Dubai/UAE and Muscat/Oman) and offers the opportunity to get in touch with the diversity of German Culture.
Apart from offering German language courses from beginners to advanced students, the Institute is organizing cultural events in the Gulf Region in co-operation with local partners to strengthen mutual understanding, which makes the Goethe-Institut a partner for everyone taking an active interest in Germany, the German language, and its rich culture.
Key partners currently include the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT / Cultural Foundation), Alserkal Avenue, Cinema Akil, and Sima Performing Arts in Dubai, the Sharjah Performing Arts Academy (SPAA), the Sharjah Museums Authority and the Ras Al Khaimah Arts Festival. The Goethe-Institut Gulf Region is also an active member of the EUNIC clusters in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait.