MEN OF WORDS

Film and Q&A with director Johanne Haaber Ihle about her film in 2009 and living and working in Yemen in 2011, experiencing the coming of the Arab Spring. (22 mins, 2009, A Student Film from the Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology; commendation Wiley-Blackwell Student Film Prize, RAI Film Festival 2011)

”Men of Words” explores how the ancient tradition of exchanging poetry on the Arabian Peninsula is still used as a means to discuss social and political issues in contemporary Yemen. The film was recorded in the summer of 2009 and indicates some of the issues of poverty, unification and corruption, which led to massive uprisings in Yemen in 2011. The film captures a glimpse of everyday life and the importance of oral persuasion, verbal art and performance in a country struggling with political violence and instability.

Johanne Haaber Ihle holds a BA degree in Arabic from the University of Copenhagen, and a MA degree in Visual Anthropology from the University of Manchester. “Men of Words” is her graduation film, and reflects her general interest in the combination of film, language, and performance. In 2011, Johanne Ihle worked on a film project in a Somali refugee camp located in Southern Yemen and experienced the coming of the Arab Spring first hand.

For further information or booking a place please contact:
RAI Film Officer, Susanne Hammacher, film@therai.org.uk
Free for RAI Members and Fellows – Tickets: Pay as you please