Making of “Emirati Expressions”

As the third edition of the “Emirati Expressions” exhibition recently concluded at Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi, creative lab takes you behind the scenes in the making of the documentary with the same name.

The film was created by creative lab and produced and directed by Fatima Al-Yousef, a former twofour54 intaji and one of the 10 local artists participating in the project. With the help and support of the creative lab team, she learned how to produce and direct the documentary.

“I had no experience in script writing or producing film. My experience is photography. So I had my fears taking on a project like this one. But I was put with a great group at creative lab, who helped her from the beginning to the end, and they started the development  phase and came up with the shortlist, storyboard and everything. The experience as a whole was just very exciting and beneficial,” says Al-Yousef.

Her film follows the exhibition, documenting the photographers involved in the visual project and the creative process they went through to capture their pictures. “Emirati Expressions” reflects on ‘movement of thoughts’, and especially on the Emirati cultural heritage.

Under the artistic direction of renowned photographer Stephen Shore, the exhibition brought together 10 Emirati artists practicing in the medium of photography. Some of Shore’s photographs of Abu Dhabi, commissioned by TDIC, as well as the works of photographer JR, known for his larger than life photographic installations in public places, and Tarek Al Ghoussein, photographer and professor at the American University of Sharjah, were also showcased in the exhibition.

These artists involved in the project were Afra Al Daheri, Afra Bin Daher, Alia Al Shamsi, Ammar Al Attar, Fatima Al Yousef, Hadeyeh Badri, Lateefa Bint Maktoum, Maitha Demithan, Mira Obaid Al Qaseer and Salem Al Qassimi.