Under the title “Eternal Threads,” the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo hosted a textile exhibition that included an artistic dialogue between ancient Mexican traditional textiles and costumes and ancient Egyptian costumes made of linen.
The exhibition, which was held in the Egyptian Textile Hall at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, was opened by Dr. Al-Tayeb Abbas, CEO of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, and Hector Ortega, Acting Ambassador of Mexico in Cairo, according to a statement from the museum on Sunday, and will continue until mid-November. The exhibition highlights the rich human and cultural heritage that brings together Egypt and Mexico, by presenting an artistic and cultural experience that explores the connotations of textiles, fashion and photography, as a universal language that expresses the identity, memory and beliefs of peoples throughout the ages.
Dr. Al-Tayeb Abbas stressed that the exhibition reflects the depth of cultural relations and cooperation between Egypt and Mexico, and embodies the role of the museum as a platform for dialogue and communication between civilizations. Its role is not limited to displaying archaeological collections and introducing the history of Egyptian civilization, but rather extends to introducing different cultures and highlighting the human commonalities between peoples.
He added that “textiles are among the most important evidence of the development of human societies, because of the connotations they carry that reflect the identity of peoples, their beliefs, and their craft skills that have been passed down through generations through the ages,” noting that the exhibition presents a distinct cultural and artistic experience of dialogue between Egyptian and Mexican heritage, by linking the place of linen in ancient Egyptian civilization and the symbolism of the traditional “hubil” dress in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
For his part, Ambassador Hector Ortega expressed his happiness in cooperating with the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in organizing this exhibition, stressing that the exhibition “represents an important opportunity to introduce one aspect of Mexican cultural heritage, and to highlight the meanings that traditional textiles carry related to identity, belonging, and collective memory.” He pointed out that “combining Egyptian and Mexican heritage in one artistic experience confirms the ability of culture and arts to transcend geographical boundaries and create common spaces for dialogue and understanding between peoples.”
The “Eternal Threads” exhibition presents a visual and cultural dialogue between two geographically different civilizational experiences. While the Mexican “hubil” dress expresses life, belonging, and the continuity of cultural traditions, linen in ancient Egyptian civilization is linked to the concepts of death, resurrection, and immortality.
The exhibition is enriched with a collection of photographic works by contemporary Egyptian artist Ayman Lotfy, through which he presents an artistic and creative treatment of textiles.
Sayed Abu al-Fadl, director of the museum display at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, says: “Long before humanity learned to write its history, it had already begun to weave it,” explaining that in this context, the Mexican Embassy in Cairo presented the “Eternal Threads” exhibition at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, to establish a dialogue between two ancient civilizations through one of the oldest forms of human creativity: weaving.
He added to Asharq Al-Awsat, “The exhibition is curated and supervised by curator Mafalda Boudeb, and (Eternal Threads) is not just an exhibition about textiles, but rather a meditation on memory, continuity, and the hidden threads that connect one culture to another separated by oceans, and united by a common vision that what is created with dedication and sincerity can transcend the limits of time.”
At the heart of the exhibition stands the Huipil dress, which is an authentic traditional garment embroidered and woven by indigenous women in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. The Huipil is much more than just a garment; It is a living archive in which generations have embroidered the feelings of love, sadness, origins, dreams, and the quiet history of entire communities. Every thread carries a life memory, and every piece of fabric turns into an emotional feature through which identity breathes.
“The exhibition creates a poetic dialogue between the Mexican wibel dress and the Egyptian linen that accompanied the human spirit on its journey towards immortality. Although they originated in two different geographies, the traditions reflect the same profound event: that memory can inhabit matter, and that beauty can become a form of immortality,” according to the museum’s display director.
He explained: “The exhibition includes exceptional selections of Oaxaca textiles and natural dyes extracted from the personal collection of Maestro Remigio Mestas, one of the most prominent guardians of the indigenous textile heritage in Mexico, in addition to wonderful works generously lent by Mrs. Gloria Amt Mann, and her collection is an enrichment of this encounter between the two ancient civilizations.”
From the space of the novel, where words expand to build mysterious worlds and evoke fears, to the cinema screen, which summarizes stories in images and movement, Saudi novelist Osama Al-Muslim is embarking on a new experience with the film “The Hell of the Passers-by,” adapted from his novel of the same name, in his first experience writing a feature-length film.
The film will begin its journey with its world premiere at the Cairo International Film Festival next Friday, before launching its commercial screenings in Saudi Arabia on November 19, then it will begin showing in a number of Arab countries.
Regarding this experience, Al-Muslim reveals to Asharq Al-Awsat that “writing for cinema is very different from writing novels, especially with regard to the method of narrating events, building scenes, and the rhythm of the story... In the novel, I have a wide space to explain, detail, and delve into the depths of the characters, whereas in cinema, you have to say a lot in the fewest possible words, and leave the picture to do the telling.”
Sacrificing some scenes
When asked about the most difficult thing he faced while converting the novel into a screenplay, he answers: “I think the biggest challenge was preserving the spirit of the novel while re-presenting it in a different cinematic language. Not everything that is suitable for reading is necessarily suitable for watching, and some scenes that appear effective on paper may not achieve the same effect on screen.
He added: “I had to deal with the text with some detachment, and not cling to all its details just because I wrote it. In the end, the goal is not to transfer the novel literally, but rather to present a good film that preserves the identity of the original work.”
When asked about his having to dispense with scenes he was attached to in the novel, he answers: “Absolutely!” This is normal in any film adaptation process. There are scenes and details that may be dear to the writer, but they do not serve the cinematic rhythm or do not fit with the new structure of events.
Al-Muslim believes that one of the most important things a writer must learn when moving to cinema is the ability to give up some of what he loves for the benefit of the work as a whole. Adding: “Sometimes deleting a good scene is the best decision to make a better movie.”
The imagination of the writer and director
In his experience with director Hanaa Al-Omair, Al-Musallam highlights the importance of the creative partnership between the writer and director, especially in works that rely on an atmosphere of ambiguity and tension, where the image becomes an essential element in shaping the viewer’s sense of the story.
When asked about the most prominent addition that Al-Omair made to “The Hell of Passers-by,” he refers to her visual vision and her ability to transform the written atmosphere into a tangible world on the screen. He continues: “The director is not supposed to be just an executor of what the author wrote, but rather to be a creative partner who provides his own reading of the work.”
He also praises Al-Omair's experience and artistic vision, noting that she gave the film her directorial stamp, especially in building the atmosphere and dealing with tension and ambiguity, two elements he sees as essential in this type of story.
Regarding the extent to which the film - in its final version - matches the image he imagined while writing, he says: “I did not expect it to be completely identical to what I imagined, and I did not necessarily want it to be. The image that forms in the writer’s mind while writing remains a very personal image, and when the work is transferred to cinema, it becomes the product of a collective imagination in which the director, actors, and the rest of the team participate.”
He continues: “There were scenes that were very close to what I imagined, and others that were different, and some of the differences were beautiful and surprising to me. In the end, I do not measure the film’s success by the extent to which it matches my imagination, but rather by its ability to provide a cohesive and influential cinematic experience.”
Actor with writer's hat
Osama Al-Musallam had previously had short acting experiences in front of the camera. When asked about the possibility of repeating this in “Hell of Passers-by,” he answered: “Yes, I have a short appearance in the film, but it is closer to an honorary participation than to a real acting role.”
Then he continues by saying: “I do not consider myself an actor, and I do not aspire to compete with people of this profession in their field, but I sometimes enjoy these small participations, especially when they are in a work that is directly related to me... and perhaps it will be fun for viewers to try to discover the character through which I appear.”
Testing the Arab audience
With the launch of screenings of “The Hell of the Passers-by” in a number of Arab markets, Al-Muslim finds himself facing a test that goes beyond his usual audience of readers, especially since his novels have achieved wide spread in the region, which gives the film a potential audience base before it reaches the theaters. When asked about how to deal with readers’ expectations towards the film, he says: “I appreciate readers’ trust and love, and I realize that this trust is accompanied by high expectations, but I always try not to allow these expectations to turn into pressure that restricts creative work.”
Al-Muslim acknowledges the importance of realizing that the novel and the film are two different experiences, and that the reader who loved the novel may carry in his mind a special perception of the characters and events that is difficult for any film to match completely. He concludes his speech by saying: “I hope that the audience enters the cinema hall with the mentality of a viewer, not a reader who is looking for a literal correspondence with what he has read. Above all, I hope that they will enjoy the experience, whether they are readers of the novel or those who are getting to know the world of “Transient Hell” for the first time.”
Iranian director Mohsen Rabiei said that his film “I Just Want to Talk to My Mother” was born from a personal experience he lived when he was unable to communicate with his parents in Iran due to the war and the internet outage, before he found in Iranian actress Rehana Parsa’s concern for her mother an entry point into a story that intersects with the suffering of many Iranians residing outside their country.
Rabiei added in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat via Zoom that the film was formed from feelings that the work team actually experienced, explaining that its heroine’s crying, fear, and inability to reach her mother were real experiences that accompanied the making of the work, which made him see the film in a space between fiction and documentary, as its story is based on a reality that was not separate from what its makers lived outside of filming times.
The events of the movie “I Just Want to Talk to My Mother” revolve around an Iranian actress who lives in Istanbul, and is heading to a job meeting that might change her career, before her day is turned upside down with the inability to contact her mother, who lives alone in Tehran, in light of the war and restrictions on the Internet. She kept moving around the city and communicating with friends and acquaintances, searching for news that would reassure her, but the repeated attempts without an answer doubled her fear, and made checking on her mother her only concern.
The film, which is a joint Iranian-Turkish production, will have its world premiere during the 30th session of the “Tallinn Black Night Film Festival” in Estonia. It is written and directed by Mohsen Rabiei, and stars Rehana Parsa.
Rabiei recalled the circumstances that led him to the idea. His elderly parents live in Iran, and they sometimes need medicines that he buys from Istanbul and sends to them. Therefore, communication with them represents an essential part of his monitoring of their lives and their health needs, but the Internet outage during the war deprived him of this connection, and made him face a concern that resonated with other Iranians living in Türkiye and different countries.
He explained that his project with Parsa began in a different way, as they met in Istanbul before the war, and they were preparing to work on another scenario, before events imposed a new course. During their discussions, he found her crying because of her inability to communicate with her mother, so the power of this moment seized him, and the fear it carried did not need explanation, and he began to think about building a film that would start from her experience, and expand on what others live away from their families, according to what he said.
He pointed out that “the close relationship between Parsa and her mother gave the idea additional weight, because her mother represents the person closest to her, and the father’s absence from her life makes checking on her more urgent,” pointing out that the experience of waiting is repeated among people who left their country, then found themselves unable to reach their loved ones when crises occur, and the interruption of communication may extend for long periods that increase their feelings of fear and helplessness.
Regarding the choice of the title, Rabiei said that he derived it directly from the sentence that Parsa said while crying: “I just want to talk to my mother,” pointing out that she accurately expressed a need that in those moments overshadows everything else. The desire to hear the voice of someone we love becomes the priority, while questions related to the parties to the war and its details recede in front of her, because what a person is looking for at that time is news that reassures him about his family.
The Iranian director stopped at the heroine's trip to a work meeting with Netflix, which reflects part of the motives for leaving and searching for opportunities outside the country, noting that leaving the country is linked to the desire to build a better life and achieve professional, social, and financial progress, and that, like his heroine, he was not looking for an ideal life, but rather for a small amount of hope that would allow him to look to the future.
He added, “This ambition explains the difficulties the heroine endures being away from her mother and her country, but it constantly collides with what is happening there. Distance does not free her from anxiety, and events redirect her life even while she is in another country, and from here the desire for progress intersects in her journey with fear for those she left behind, and the date of work that holds the promise of the future becomes surrounded by questions that she cannot ignore about the fate of her mother.”
Rabiei described the atmosphere of making the film as being charged with tension, as it is one of the rare works in which there was no smile behind the scenes of filming, because the participants were living in the same conditions that it deals with, stressing that this closeness to the experience made separating the story from reality difficult; The tears and anxiety that appeared were based on real feelings, and on a common desire among the work team to reach their families and hear their voices.
