The Lebanese director Nadine Labaki's tragicomedy "Caramel" deals with the everyday lives and desires of five women. In the process, she exposes a society in which beauty and virility are the main currency. Fritz Göttler has seen the film
Carsten Niebuhr was the sole survivor of the "Royal Danish Arabia Expedition." The German mathematician and cartographer is today regarded as the first scientific research explorer of modern times. By Friedhelm Hartwig
As impossible as it may seem, a feature film about a family in Kabul that opens a literary café catering to artists and poets has been shot on location in Afghanistan. Despite death threats from the Taliban, the Afghan-American director and activist Sonia Nassery Cole succeeded in completing her film The Black Tulip. Homeira Heidary reports
An Israeli soldier almost turns into a Palestinian underground fighter. This remarkable transformation is the subject of a novel by the Tunisian-French author Hubert Haddad. The motif may have something to do with the author's dual allegiances – Haddad is an Arab Jew. Kersten Knipp reviews his novel "Palestine"
Sahira is Berlin's most successful Hip Hop singer. She has already sung for Bushido, established her own label "Imanimusic," and has now completed her second album. She sings about German youth, her faith, Palestine, and true love. Nimet Seker met the singer at her studio in Berlin