Photography
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"Iraq's Invisible Beauty"Pictures, not words
"Iraq's Invisible Beauty" is a documentary film depicting the journey of the late Iraqi photographer Latif al-Ani, who gained international acclaim as one of the pioneers of photography in Iraq and the Middle East. By Shady Lewis Botros
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Saudi Arabia's cultural revolutionArtists, but not individuals in the Western sense
"Saudi Vision 2030" foresees the accelerated modernisation of Saudi Arabia – and that includes the country’s culture. Huge amounts of government funding are being poured into the arts, while exchange with the West is welcomed. These new freedoms do, however, have their limits, as Joseph Croitoru reports.
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Controversy at Berlin's Biennale art showAbu Ghraib torture photos in the spotlight
A French artist has used photos of torture from Abu Ghraib for an oversized artwork at the Berlin Biennale. Reactions from fellow artists have been mixed, with some criticising and others praising the work. Christine Lehnen reports
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Marianne Manda's "Der Atem Kairos"Portraying Cairo's everyday heroes
In this unusually beautiful book of images and text, published in German and Arabic, artist Marianne Manda presents her own unique take on the megacity of Cairo. In over fifty portraits, she offers a touching insight into the lives of those who inhabit this metropolis of millions. By Volker Kaminski
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Saints of IslamCapturing the light of sages
For over fifty years, British photographer Peter Sanders travelled across the Middle East and further afield, seeking out the saints of Islam. His work uncovers a little-known world. By Marian Brehmer
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Kashmir conflict"An entire people is traumatised"
Twenty-eight-year-old photojournalist Masrat Zahra documents the situation in India-administered Kashmir with her camera. In this interview with Elisa Rheinheimer, she talks about life in a state of emergency, conservative Kashmiri society and her own family's reservations about what she does
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Iranian artist Farzaneh Khademian's "Peephole"Women living "life without a life"
In her latest exhibition in Japan, Farzaneh Khademian depicts figures who seem detached from their surroundings. In interview with Qantara.de, the Iranian photographer and painter explains the impact of photography, migration and gender-based inequality on her paintings. By Changiz M. Varzi
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Berlin's Human Rights Film FestivalThe Moria Film School – "...and here we are"
German actress Katja Riemann has made a short yet impressive documentary about a special project in Moria. In her directorial debut, she shows how young refugees learn the basics of filmmaking. The film, part of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin programme, can be streamed until 3 October. Rene Wildangel reports for Qantara.de
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Prostitution in the Shah's IranShahr-e No – "the neighbourhood of the sorrowful"
Drawing on the history of Tehran's Shahr-e No red light district, Nasrin Bassiri describes how prostitution functioned in Iran before the Islamic Revolution. The neighbourhood would end up being destroyed in August 1980, six months after Khomeini came to power
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On the death of Indian photojournalist Danish SiddiquiThe man who captured humanity
In India and beyond, there has been great sadness at the loss of the renowned Reuters photographer Danish Siddiqui, whose images captured the human face of South Asian news. He died while on assignment in Afghanistan. By Natalie Mayroth
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"Syrien – ein Land ohne Krieg"Syria, as it once was
Many people now only associate Syria with war. In an attempt to counteract these associations, photographer Lutz Jakel and journalist Lamya Kaddor have put together a book of photography from pre-war Syria. By Marian Brehmer
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Syrian photographers document a decade of war
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has compiled moving documents of contemporary history with a collection of images by Syrian photographers who have recorded daily life in the ongoing war. By Friedel Taube and Goran Cutanoski