“Sawt Cinema to Confront War and Extremism”—this is the bold title chosen by the Yemeni civil foundation Sawt to promote peace, coexistence, and the
rejection of violence among youth and the broader Yemeni society.
The project, launched by Yemeni writer and poet Samah Al-Shughdari, president of the Sawt Foundation, on November 4, 2014, in the capital Sana’a, involves screening a Yemeni, Arab, or international film every Wednesday (from 3:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.) at a café in the city center, followed by an in-depth discussion. The films collectively highlight community-based stories that promote peace.
Project Funding
Al-Shughdari told Irfaasawtak that the idea originated within the Sawt Foundation several years ago, adding: We were unable to secure funding at first due to reasons related to Yemen’s conservative society. But two months before the current war broke out, we submitted the project to the Prince Claus
Fund for Culture and Development, and we received half the required funding.”
She adds: Over the past months, we have discussed many topics—extremism, terrorism, war, and its psychological impact on women and children. One of the most notable films we screened was The Giver, which explored the culture of difference from a deep philosophical perspective.”
A Form of Soft Resistance
According to Al-Shaghdari, one of the key goals of the project is to create “an alternative voice” that acts as a form of soft resistance, aligned with peace and coexistence, and firmly opposed to extremism, fanaticism, and the mobilization dominating the Yemeni scene amid war and the spread of extremist groups. The project also seeks to counteract the culture of conformity and
promote the value of diversity in society.
The foundation aims to sustain the project in order to revive a cinema-going culture in Yemen, where all movie theaters have been closed since 2011 due to instability.
“Visual arts and culture, in general, are the only tools through which ideas can be discussed among different groups to reach balanced and nonviolent, non-extremist, and non-dogmatic understandings,” says Al-Shughdari. She notes that the project has surpassed expectations:
“We started with a small hall that could seat 50 people (to screen documentaries), and by the fourth or fifth screening, attendance exceeded 90. The turnout was truly overwhelming.”
Now the project is nearing its end, with the 19th (and second-to-last) film scheduled for this week. The foundation is currently
searching for a larger venue for its film screenings. Once the country stabilizes, they plan to pressure the legitimate government to reopen a cinema in Sana’a, with the goal of offering daily film screenings to targeted groups, especially youth and university students, according to Al-Shaghdari.
A Society That Loves Peace
For his part, 24-year-old attendee Mohammed Abdul-Mughni told Irfaasawtak:
“The significance of this initiative lies in its timing—it emerged as a tool to counter war, authoritarianism, and terrorism. The films promote love, peace, and coexistence.”
Abdul-Mughni added that after every screening, he promotes the event through social media: “There’s real interest in watching these films. People want to move from war and conflict to peace. In the end, this is a society that loves peace.”
Source: Ghamdan Al-Daqeemi – Irfaasawtak | March 2016
