‘Loki’ star Sophia Di Martino to attend Middle East Film & Comic Con

The actress, famous for her role as Sylvie in the Marvel television series “Loki,” will be at the event on Feb. 9 and 10. (AFP)
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Updated 06 February 2024
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‘Loki’ star Sophia Di Martino to attend Middle East Film & Comic Con

DUBAI: British actress Sophia Di Martino is coming to the Middle East Film & Comic Con in Abu Dhabi, which is set to take place from Feb. 9 to 11.  

The actress, famous for her role as Sylvie in the Marvel television series “Loki,” will be at the event on Feb. 9 and 10. 

Di Martino, who is of Italian decent, gained widespread recognition with her breakthrough role in the Netflix series “Flowers.”

Di Martino will be part of an all-star celebrity guest lineup of the 2024 edition, joining US actor Oscar Isaac, British actors and twin brothers James and Oliver Phelps, Mexican actor Iñaki Godoy, New Zealand star Temuera Morrison, American voice actors Troy Baker and Frank Welker and Canadian voice actor Peter Cullen.  

The lineup will also include comic creators Mark Brooks, Carlo Pagulayan, Stephen Segovia and Steve McNiven. 


For one filmmaker, telling Pakistan’s untold stories has become a path to healing

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For one filmmaker, telling Pakistan’s untold stories has become a path to healing

  • Insulting remark pushed Athar Abbas to leave corporate job, find healing in the stories of strangers
  • Abbas’s social media documentaries spotlight working-class lives, mental health stigma in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Mobile phones, data cables and memory cards sprawl across the editing table in Athar Abbas’s modest Islamabad apartment.

It’s an organized chaos the 38-year-old filmmaker fully embraces — a far cry from the mental turmoil that once engulfed him.

Abbas, a former commercial producer, now documents the lives of ordinary Pakistanis in short, emotionally charged videos he publishes on social media. His mini-documentaries — raw, personal and deliberately unpolished — have attracted tens of thousands of followers across platforms, racking up over a million views in the past year.

But Abbas’s foray into digital storytelling wasn’t born of ambition. It was a survival tactic.

He began filming after quitting his job at a construction company, where a senior colleague dismissed his work as “pathetic.”

The insult gnawed at his confidence and spiraled into a depressive episode. Eventually, Abbas turned to the one outlet that had always brought him calm — the camera.

“I picked up my camera and started making stories,” Abbas told Arab News. “And unintentionally, I realized that maybe for an artist, there’s no therapy greater than his art.”

Pakistani filmmaker and content creator Athar Abbas speaks during an interview with Arab News in Islamabad on July 18, 2025. (AN Photo)

Pakistan, a country of over 240 million people, faces a chronic shortage of mental health services.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 24 million people in Pakistan are in need of psychiatric support. Yet the country has only around 500 trained psychologists and 400 psychiatrists, roughly one mental health professional for every 260,000 people.

The stigma around mental illness remains deeply entrenched, especially for men. Talking about emotional vulnerability is often seen as weakness, a perception Abbas says is reinforced in professional environments.

“He feels that his manly personality will be affected,” he said, referring to why many Pakistani men hesitated to express emotions, especially those that communicated perceived weakness.

“So he doesn’t even share that he has a problem with something.”

In Pakistan’s corporate sector, long working hours, harsh managerial practices and lack of mental health policies have contributed to high stress levels.

A 2024 review by the Pakistan Society of Human Resource Management found that most companies lacked formal emotional wellness programs.

Creative professionals, Abbas said, often bore the brunt of toxic leadership.

“If you talk to anyone in the creative field, they will tell you they are distressed because of senior management’s behavior,” he said.

“Unfortunately, it greatly affects mental health.”

A separate 2025 study in the Pakistan Social Sciences Review noted that while some younger professionals are more aware of mental health issues, institutional support remains weak, leaving them vulnerable to burnout and depression.

‘UNTOLD PAKISTAN’

For Abbas, the path to stability came through storytelling.

He launched a series titled Untold Pakistan, filming everything from a street vendor’s hustle to a single mother’s struggle for dignity. In one video, a man named Kamran Ali cycles from Germany to Layyah, Punjab, only to learn of his mother’s death upon arrival.

“Storytelling became a way to survive,” Abbas said.

This combination of screenshots, taken on July 26, 2025, shows stills from short videos by Pakistani filmmaker and content creator Athar Abbas. (Courtesy: Instagram/@athar.abbass_)

His films resist sensationalism. There are no stunts or celebrity cameos. Instead, they dwell in moments often overlooked: fatigue, memory, longing, resilience. The comment sections on his pages are peppered with viewers opening up about their own traumas, some for the first time.

Abbas recalls a message from a young man in Lahore who said one of the videos gave him the courage to speak to his father about something he’d been avoiding for a long time.

“That one message made all the late nights worth it,” Abbas said.

After 15 years of directing ads, music videos and corporate content, Abbas has no interest in going back. His priorities have shifted.

“I didn’t set out to become an influencer,” he said. “I just needed to breathe.”


Saudi initiative Sound Futures seeks to bridge music industry gaps

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Saudi initiative Sound Futures seeks to bridge music industry gaps

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s MDLBEAST Foundation is inviting regional entrepreneurs to take part in the 2025 edition of Sound Futures, an initiative designed to bridge the gap between music-related startups and investors.

The initiative aims to create local jobs, foster entrepreneurship, and accelerate the regional music economy by giving a stage to startups and entrepreneurs in the music and music-tech space to pitch their ideas to an audience of investors and industry experts during the XP Music Futures Conference, which will run from Dec. 4–6 in Riyadh.

“The music and creative industries in Saudi and the Middle East are evolving rapidly, but support systems for early-stage startups still lag behind at the moment … Sound Futures offers a timely platform for founders to gain access to mentorship, exposure, and possibly investment and funding to help bring their ideas to life or scale their businesses,” MDLBEAST’s Bader Assery told Arab News.

Applications are open to startups, budding entrepreneurs and even students from across the Middle East and North Africa region, with a focus on discovering the next big thing in music — innovations that could shape the future of music creation worldwide.

“One great example is Maqam Labs,” Assery explained. “They started with an idea in year one and returned the following year with a working physical synthesizer that brings Middle Eastern scales (Maqamat) into the world of electronic music.”

The initiative aims to “champion early-stage music startups. Whether they’re building tools for artists, fan engagement platforms, or music tech products,” with applications set to close by October.

According to Assery, key challenges faced by music startups in the region include financial concerns, as well as a lack of access to potential industry partners.

“Access is the biggest hurdle we’ve seen so far. Access to capital, the right mentors, industry partners, and even data. Founders also talk about the difficulty of validating their ideas in a market that’s still building its infrastructure,” he said, referencing issues Sound Futures seeks to address.


Saudi Arabia’s Ithra launches open call for $100,000 art prize

Updated 25 July 2025
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Saudi Arabia’s Ithra launches open call for $100,000 art prize

DHAHRAN: Artists across the region are invited to apply for the Ithra Art Prize, with $100,000 up for grabs and the chance to have their work displayed at one of the Middle East’s leading cultural institutions.

The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) announced the open call for the seventh edition, with the head of the museum calling it one of area’s “most generous and influential” art grants.

Artists from across the Arab world can submit their proposals via the Ithra website, with a deadline of Oct. 16. This edition will also, for the first time, recognize five finalists with production grants. Their work, along with the winning commission, will be exhibited at Ithra’s headquarters in spring 2026. 

Launched in 2017, the prize initially focused on Saudi and Saudi-based artists but was expanded in its fourth edition to include contemporary artists of Arab heritage across 22 countries.

Farah Abushullaih, Ithra’s head of museum, told Arab News it served as “an open invitation to artists to speak in their own voice.”

She said: “We’re looking for proposals that reflect depth, authenticity and a clear vision. What stands out is work that is intellectually grounded and emotionally resonant.”

Both new commissions and re-contextualized existing works are accepted, provided they are closely linked to the artist’s ongoing research and creative trajectory. 

Applicants must be aged 18 or older and of Arab heritage or residing in one of the 22 Arab countries. Both individual artists and collectives may apply.

“The prize is about expanding the region’s cultural conversations through bold, original ideas. Ithra is committed to supporting them every step of the way, from conception to creation and beyond,” said Abushullaih.

The Ithra Art Prize has played a pivotal role in advancing contemporary art from the region since its inception. Past winners have displayed their works at leading cultural events including Art Dubai, the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale and the AlUla Arts Festival.

Abushullaih said: “Ithra continually evolves its programs to reflect the changing artistic landscape and needs of the Kingdom and the region. In the case of the Ithra Art Prize, this goes beyond funding; we offer a platform for dialogue, critical thinking and meaningful cultural exchange.”

She added sustaining this impact was an ongoing commitment. “It requires long-term investment in artists’ development, authentic community engagement and creating opportunities for works to resonate, both locally and globally. We want Ithra to be a meeting place for cultures to interact, share, and grow,” she said.

Looking ahead, Ithra is already in discussions to present the winner’s work beyond Dhahran.

“Partnerships and collaborations have always been central to how we develop our programs and extend the reach of the artists we support,” said Abushullaih.

“We are in dialogue with institutions based in Saudi Arabia and internationally to explore ways for the seventh edition of the prize to be seen by a wider audience and experienced in new contexts beyond Ithra.”


‘Imprints in a Changing World’ — highlights from the 9th cycle of Misk Art Institute’s residency program

Updated 25 July 2025
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‘Imprints in a Changing World’ — highlights from the 9th cycle of Misk Art Institute’s residency program

RIYADH: Selected artists from the ninth cycle of Misk Art Institute’s residency program in Saudi Arabia discuss their work.

Sarah Aljohani 

‘When Mud Whispers’ 

 Sarah Aljohani's 'When Mud Whispers.' (Supplied)

A native of the Saudi coastal city of Yanbu Al-Nakhil, Aljohani has extensive experience of restoring and building traditional mud-brick houses, and she continued that practice during her residency, researching various schools of thought about restoring buildings, from remaining entirely faithful to the original to starting from scratch and modernizing, to a middle ground that uses both traditional and modern techniques. The latter is what Aljohani favors. 

“I found this connection between family and these schools of thought in restoration — and a saying we always hear in Saudi culture: that the father is the roof of the house.” The saying alludes, she suggests, to the notion that just as a ceiling protects occupants from the elements, a father protects his family. “But that element was missing for me within my home. I had to go back, to research and understand what the concept of ceilings are in mud-brick houses in order to understand what a father is for a family,” she says. “I asked myself ‘How do I build this missing element in my ceiling? Do I build it in a traditional way like they did before?’ But I’m not a man. So I’m not able to build — in this traditional way — that missing element (of the father).”  

Aljohani’s installation is a representation of the interior of a mud-brick house, but one filled with mirrors and with frames — some empty, some holding pictures or Qur’anic verses, all coated in the same coloring as the mud walls — sourced from Riyadh’s Haraj Bin Qasim market. It is her way of encouraging women to take on leadership roles in their own style.   

Bushra Aljumah 

‘The Sound of Growing Grass Awakened Me’ 

Bushra Aljumah's 'The Sound of Growing Grass Awakened Me.' (Supplied)

The Saudi artist’s mixed-media installation is based around childhood memories of the sunlight striking iron window guards with floral designs, creating an image on the floor. It centers on Najdi architecture — specifically windows and doors.  

“What I found when I began my research is that a lot of it was influenced by India and Spain, but I was sure that there must have been something authentic and native to the people of Najd. So I decided to look into local farmland and the types of flowers that grow exclusively in the Najd area,” she says. Those flowers include Al-Athel, Al-Arfaj, and Calligonum. “I wanted to study the sanctity of agriculture, and how a flower is transformed from a living thing and passed down quietly throughout generations, becoming something fixed within our intangible heritage and a symbol of Najdi architecture,” she says. “This project takes a contemplative look at how things transform, how symbols are created in Najd.” At the center of the work is a metal lantern, adorned with floral designs. As the lantern spins, it reflects the design on the walls, marking the passage of time.  

Gadeer Hamed 

‘Endless Reflections, A Journey Through Sketchbooks’ 

(AN Photo/Abdulrahman bin Shulhub)

In her installation, the Saudi artist invites audiences into her diaries. At the center of the work are 30 sketchbooks, suspended by transparent nylon string, each telling a story from her family history, including her mother’s memory of her childhood in Jeddah’s Albalad, or her father’s memories of wells that were found in his village, Mastorah, into which people used to whisper their secrets.  

The floating sketchbooks are reflected in a large mirror below, symbolizing the illusion of infinity in stories and the continuity of memories. “I used mediums including watercolor and threads because I wanted the materials to be soft, just like the recollection of old memories,” says Hamed. “Thread also represents connection and was also used by my grandmother to sew.”  

Marija Dava 

‘Garden of Forgotten Songs’ 

Marija Dava and her installation 'Garden of Forgotten Songs.' (AN Photo/ Abdulrahman bin Shulhub)

“I’ve been looking (into) how language is connected to the land, and how the land becomes an archive of memory, and how it becomes something tangible, and almost medicinal,” says the Lithuanian multidisciplinary artist. Her research explored ancient ritualistic practices including Ruqyah — the recitation of Qur’anic verses for healing and protection.  

Her resulting installation involved several elements, one of which was participatory — asking visitors to imagine that their language was about to disappear, and to write down a single word they would want to remember. Those words were written on calligraphy paper with ink made from saffron. “The wall becomes an archive of collective memory,” Dava says. The texts were also washed in small ceramic bowls and the water used to irrigate soil. 

“It’s about interconnectedness,” the artist says. “It’s like a full circle — a connection back to the land. That’s something that I really want to highlight in my work, because I see this as a global issue: how we are disconnected from the environment, from nature, from ourselves as well. Yes, technological advancements are great, but they’re also affecting our communication.” 

The studio also featured a wall of objects collected on Dava’s travels in Saudi, as well as a photo series based on the concept of breath. Working from the idea that God breathes life into every soul, the artist inhaled smoke and spoke, capturing the shape it made in an effort to create a visual representation of breath. The images were then silk-screen printed. She also created a sculpture based on the smoke shapes.  

Ayça Ceylan 

‘Sandland Oracle: Codes of the Ancient Future’ 

Ayca Ceylan’s ‘The Sandland Oracle, Codes of the Ancient Future.’ (Supplied)

“My idea occurred to me in a dream,” the Turkish performance artist and environmental writer tells Arab News. In that dream, which occurred earlier this year, she was in the middle of the desert writing a poem in the sand. Part of the poem read: “I am the daughter of the crescent dunes/ Voice of seashells/ Vessel of codes.” Not long after, she saw Misk’s open call for the residency. “I saw the Al-Dahna Desert, which looks like a crescent, and many sand dunes inside that. Ayca, my name, means ‘crescent,’ so the first line appeared in my mind,” she explains.  

During her residency Ceylan created a multi-layered installation in which she reimagines the desert as a living archive. The center of the experience is an AI- and animation software-generated video installation showcasing an abstract depiction of the desert infused with the Arabic letter ‘noon.’ The walls of the room are decorated with sand and 3D-printed seashells modeled after shells found in AlUla.  

“I focused on the wisdom of sands and how ecology, technology, and mythology create collective feeling and a sustainable future,” Ceylan says.  

James Wagstaff 

‘What Will It Cost You If You Don’t Forgive’ 

James Wagstaff's 'What Will It Cost You If You Don't Forgive' (Supplied)

The Muscat-based British artist wanted to focus on the topic of forgiveness in his residency. It’s a theme he’s been contemplating for the past 15 years, both personally and on a community level. “I wanted to explore that in a deeper way during this residency, through different mediums, particularly through everyday objects that we can all relate to, and maybe looking for a shared language,” he says. “So when (people from) different backgrounds and cultures, see the pieces, it will promote dialogue around the topic.” 

The installation features a video of Wagstaff throwing sand at a large fan. The particles disperse in the wind as they fly back at the artist — a symbol of the impact that holding onto anger has. 

“Every single time, (the anger we throw out) blows back and hits us. It’s only damaging and hurting ourselves,” says Wagstaff. The work also includes a sphere with knives welded onto it to show the damage that “unforgiveness” can cause. 

‘Sidr’ 

'Sidr.' (Supplied)

The French-Kurdish artist researched how different plants survive in various climates and landscapes, particularly in the valleys of Riyadh. She focused on the native sidr tree and the acacia, which is imported. She combined this with her interest in ceramics.   

“I created some tiles inspired by farms. I did some research on ceramics, because clay is the first medium we can find in the landscape. I focused the research on glazing with ashes and natural pigments,” Kocabey says. 

Her installation features a charcoal drawing of a valley she visited during the residency, as well as plants that she researched. On another wall hangs a series of her ceramic pieces with different glaze formulations, displaying the diversity of life around us.  

 


Review: ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ sets stage, but struggles to lift off

Updated 25 July 2025
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Review: ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ sets stage, but struggles to lift off

DUBAI: Director Matt Shakman ushers in phase six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” a film that feels more like a promising prologue than a fully developed story. While it lays important groundwork for future storylines — especially a mid-credit sequence that earned big cheers from the audience — the movie never quite finds its own narrative momentum.

Set against a richly realized retro-futuristic palette, “First Steps” follows the titular superhero group — “Marvel’s First Family” — as they face off against the planet-devouring entity Galactus and his enigmatic herald, the Silver Surfer. World-ending stakes aside, the group also has to deal with some heavy personal issues as leading duo Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) discover they are going to become parents.

The ensemble cast is undoubtedly the film’s greatest asset. Pascal brings a nervy, endearing edge, channeling the energy of a distracted genius always trying to be one step ahead of possible disaster. But it’s Kirby who steals the spotlight. She’s in control of every frame she’s in, giving Sue a gravitas that transcends the film’s otherwise uneven emotional beats. The chemistry between Pascal and Kirby is palpable and feels lived in.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach is effortlessly charming and grounded as Ben Grimm/The Thing, while Joseph Quinn delivers perhaps the most charismatic Johnny Storm/Human Torch we’ve seen on screen — cocky and impulsive, but never cartoonish. His dynamic with Julia Garner’s quietly compelling Silver Surfer adds depth to both characters.

Unfortunately, the cast can’t fully overcome a flat script or lukewarm direction. Despite the looming galactic peril, the story feels strangely tensionless. The pacing is off and the sense of wonder that usually accompanies Marvel’s bigger swings is absent. There’s a sense that “First Steps” is more interested in planting seeds for future crossovers than telling a compelling story.

There’s reason to be optimistic, though. If future installments can match the emotional depth of the cast’s performances and the breezy chemistry of its leads, the Fantastic Four may yet go the distance.