“Mari-Cha” Lion
Biography of Nujoom Alghanem
Nujoom Al Ghanem is a UAE writer, poet, artist, and film director. She is the founder and Director General of Dubai-based Nahar Productions since 2009. Last year, she participated in a solo work in UAE National Pavilion at Venice Biennale in Italy. In 2017, she had the first contribution with four other artists in the same Pavilion.
She has eight collections of poetry and more than twenty feature films, documentaries, and art films. She is member of Board of Trustees of the “International Prize for Arabic Fiction” and was member of Board of Directors of “Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage”. She currently holds the position of cultural and artistic consultant for several cultural and educational institutions. She was selected to be jury member of several major film festivals regionally and globally. Her films won significant international awards. Last year, she was awarded the Emirates Pride Medal for contribution to enriching the cultural and human heritage in the UAE under Mohammed Bin Rashid Award for Excellence in Government Performance.
She has a master’s degree in Cinematography in 1999 from Griffith University in Australia, and bachelor’s degree in Production and Direction in 1996 from Ohio University in the United States.
"My enemies were deceived by my silence” By: Antarah ibn Shaddad al-Absi
My enemies were deceived by my silence, they thought I had forgotten my folks
How do I ignore the lords of my folks whom I was raised by the grace of their generosity?
If the enemies' horses turned to them, I will be there for my people whenever they call
With a sharp deadly sword, and a spear whose sharp tip leads to absolute death
My heart is stronger than iron, but iron may worn away, not my heart, it never worn out
In the midst the fierce grinding battlefields, I was born, suckled the milk of war
I drank the blood of my enemies from their skulls, and I was not quenched
There is no portion for the spear in my body, nor for the sword in my members
There is a house for me, rises high above the orbit of the skies, in front of which other houses fall apart of the magnificence of its greatness.
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