Maha Al-Saati

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Maha Al-Saati
مها الساعاتي
Fantastic-fest-fear-audibly-maha-alsaati-qa-sep-2017.png
Maha Al-Saati at Fantastic Fest 2017
Alma materSimon Fraser University
OccupationUniversity Professor, Filmmaker

Maha Al-Saati (also known as Maha Zeini Al-Saati,[1] Arabic: مها الساعاتي) is a Saudi-based filmmaker,[2][3] university assistant professor[4][5] and graduate of Simon Fraser University[6][7] who has taught both in Vancouver, Canada and Saudi Arabia.[8][9] She is a TIFF filmmaker lab 2020 alum[10] and recipient of the Share Her Journey award.[11][12][13] Her style is experimental and says to be inspired by 90s MTV music videos.[14] Her research covers the representation of architectural spaces,[7] education through the use of film,[5] and the influence of religion and culture on media.[6]

Her film Hair: The Story of Grass is about the beauty standards regarding body hair in the Arab World. It critiques the treatment of the mentally ill, gender roles and the culture of consumerism.[15] This film has won Al-Saati the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) residency award of 2021[16] and has played at Fantastic Fest[17] and Slamdance Film Festival.[18][19] Her feature film "A Trip to Disney" is about a woman who travels from Saudi to Disney World, Florida only to find out she is abandoned by her prince.[20] Its themes explores themes of capitalism and commercialization that is disguised through fairytales. The film is told in a comedic tone, and has received development support from El Gouna Film Festival.[18]

Al-Saati collaborated with American electronic opera composer Alice Shields on making the film Cycle of Apples.[21][22] The film was also featured by The Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI) screening at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[23] Her film, "Fear: Audibly" is about a girl's fear of the trumpet of doom which will end the world. The film reflects a religious period in Saudi Arabia between the 1980s and 1990s. Its dependence on sound is influenced by the Islamic restriction on visual depictions, often depending on oral narrations distributed through cassette tapes. She is influenced by Slavoj Žižek's Psychoanalytic description of sound as a disembodied entity floating unnaturally like a ghost.[24][14]

References[]

  1. ^ Teodorescu, Adriana (2019-03-13). Death within the Text: Social, Philosophical and Aesthetic Approaches to Literature. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5275-3122-2.
  2. ^ "Creators – Studio 300". Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  3. ^ ISCM (2019-07-31). "Shields, Alice". ISCM. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  4. ^ "Dr. Maha Al-Saati | Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University". www.iau.edu.sa. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  5. ^ a b Janak, Edward A.; Sourdot, Ludovic A. (2017-03-01). Educating through Popular Culture: You're Not Cool Just Because You Teach with Comics. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-1-4985-4918-9.
  6. ^ a b Teodorescu, Adriana (2019-03-13). Death within the Text: Social, Philosophical and Aesthetic Approaches to Literature. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5275-3122-2.
  7. ^ a b Al-Saati, Maha Zeini (2013-07-22). The architectural image: space, movement and myth (Thesis thesis). Communication, Art & Technology: School of Interactive Arts and Technology.
  8. ^ Adlakha, Siddhant (2017-10-04). "Fantastic Fest Shorts: FEAR AUDIBLY And The Mysterious Emotions Of Sound". Birth.Movies.Death. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  9. ^ "Dr. Maha Al-Saati | Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University". www.iau.edu.sa. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  10. ^ "Industry - Fest20 - Filmmaker Lab". TIFF. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  11. ^ "TIFF's 2020 Industry Conference promises candid conversations and exciting perspectives". TIFF. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  12. ^ Kay, Jeremy. "Toronto adds climate activism films, special events to roster". Screen. Retrieved 2020-09-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ "Entertainment-TIFF". CANADIAN MEDIA. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  14. ^ a b "Maha El Saati, the fantastic UFO from Saudi experimental cinema". KAWA. 2019-02-11. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  15. ^ Acosta, Enrique (2019-09-26). "Hair: The Story Of Grass | Film Threat". Retrieved 2020-06-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ "2021 HFPA Residency Fellows Announced". www.goldenglobes.com. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
  17. ^ Fantastic Fest. "HAIR: THE STORY OF GRASS". Fantastic Fest. Retrieved 2020-11-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ a b Aftab, Kaleem (2020-10-30). "'Altered Carbon's' Dina Shihabi to Star in 'Hajj to Disney' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2020-11-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ^ slamdance2019.eventive.org https://slamdance2019.eventive.org/films/5c1014dfb19808001cf06d12. Retrieved 2020-11-20. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (2019-10-01). "Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Festival Announces Projects in Development". Variety. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  21. ^ "Creators – Studio 300". Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  22. ^ ISCM (2019-07-31). "Shields, Alice". ISCM. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  23. ^ Meneghello, Aurora. "In Focus: Arab Cinema". Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI). Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  24. ^ Adlakha, Siddhant (2017-10-04). "Fantastic Fest Shorts: FEAR AUDIBLY And The Mysterious Emotions Of Sound". Birth.Movies.Death. Retrieved 2020-06-02.


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