Photos from Night School 2025 Film Programme: Unravelings

Daybreak Express (D. A. Pennebaker)

Golden Jubilee (Suneil Sanzgiri)

Coast (Francisco Dias)

The Instability of Clouds (Zazie Ray-Trapido)

Just like last year, here’s a post with photos and thoughts from the film screening event I worked on for this year’s edition of Night School at Jameel Arts Centre which took place on January 25.

A collaboration with Todd Reisz since 2022 where I curate a selection of films responding to each year’s theme of Night School that he leads at Jameel Arts Centre, and to me now feels like an annual ritual.

This year’s theme was Lifelines. We titled the film night Unravelings and showed the following films:

Daybreak Express (D. A. Pennebaker, 1953, USA, 5 min)
Golden Jubilee (Suneil Sanzgiri, 2021, India and UK, 19 min)
Coast (Francisco Dias, 2023, Portugal, 13 min)
The Instability of Clouds (Zazie Ray-Trapido, 2024, USA, 15 min)

Like each year, the screenings were followed by a discussion where Todd and I respond to each film, share our thoughts, and invited audience members to share their thoughts too. The discussion included comments and observations about our relationship with our cities, how we navigate in them, and thinking of the theme Lifelines as “taking time as requisite for taking care: of a place, of an object, and of life around us.”

In my introduction I shared an annecdote from last year’s Il Cinema Ritrovato where I mentioned words from the opening remarks by Gian Luca Farinelli that resonated with me - about how what happens inside cinema spaces can say a lot about what’s happening in a city, the importance of watching films that may be confrontational and showing multiple views of the world, and the significance of physically watching films together that can allow us to to look at and talk to each other after.

I shared these words because that’s what I think Night School does too, Todd Reisz annually brings together speakers, Night School participants and audiences for the public events to think and talk about Dubai through different lenses and practices.

For me, these film screenings are ways to open up conversations about our home city in ways that may be difficult to do so in other environments and to have discussions that feel accessible and relatable.

D. A. Pennebaker’s Daybreak Express made us think about how we can still find ways to see a city through new eyes and different perspectives. But also how to keep up with a city skyline that is constantly changing.

Suneil Sanzgiri’s Golden Jubilee helped us reflect on how to remember a place or a family home you have never visited, something many in Dubai can relate too because of its large diaspora population.

Francisco Dias’ Coast addresses the dangers of coastal erosion and having to leave your home because it is no longer safe to live in. The coastal line in Dubai has changed significantly in the last decade, but mostly because of property development. This has impacted families that had to relocate and even some of the existing seaside villas have lost their privilege of an ocean view because of commercial developments that have blocked these views. I tried to reflect on what is the last act one can do before leaving a home for good, and where to go if you don’t have an alternative place to call home.

Zazie Ray-Trapido’s The Instability of Clouds is the one that made me think of Dubai the most, mainly because of the real estate character, many like him exist in Dubai. The film also made us think of the countless gated communities in Dubai and we wondered how often do people in these gated spaces engage with the city outside that bubble. But also how people in gated communities are creating their own histories, memories and human connections in these mostly polished and expensive environments. We also reflected on being priced out of suburban areas (after being priced out of living in city centres), where’s the next alternative. Of course the fire in the film which is set in Southern California made us think of the recent fires in Los Angeles, some still burning, and how that has been reported and also another example of the dangers of climate change.

A lot more was said and discussed, but I hope this gives you a sense of how film nights like these are very meaningful to me and to people in Dubai who are hungry to have these kinds of interactions and discussions.

Thanks again to Todd Reisz for inviting me back to do this, and huge thanks to Uns Kattan, Giacomo Pietro Lamborizio, Yazan Yacoub, Jannah Hernandez from Jameel Arts Centre for their care and support.

The following photos were taken by my brother Khalid Mezaina (pics 1-16) and Giacomo Pietro Lamborizio (pics 17-24).

Below the photos you will find a music playlist (YouTube and Spotify) I made for the night featuring songs about trains, cities, sea, home, and human connection.