Ble Mae Bilaadi?
Aisha Naamani x Hanan Issa
Dance + Poetry Film Collaboration
The dichotomy of dual heritage. A juxtaposition of having homes and families in locations where safety is reliable, as well as in places where the political climates are temperamental and unstable. An exploration into diaspora, and what it means to belong within the ambiguous in-betweens.
Locations filmed // City of Cardiff, The Senedd / Welsh Government, Butetown, Grangetown, Cardiff Bay + Cardiff Bay Barage.
Supported by // National Dance Company Wales, Literature Wales + The Plethu Project
Choreographer // Aisha Naamani
Poetry // Hanan Issa
Dancer // Aisha Naamani
Narration // Hanan Issa
Dramaturg // Lee Fletcher
Videographer // Josh Attwood
Editing // Jonathan Dunn
BLE MAE, meaning where is in Welsh, and BILAADI, meaning country in arabic, translates to: Where is country?
Ble Mae Bilaadi? was commissioned by the Plethu Project, a cross-artform collaboration platform.
Hanan and Aisha connected on how they both long for their Middle Eastern cultures, and fear that that history will be destroyed through the adversity of war.
Hanan Issa is a Welsh, Iraqi poet (National Poet of Wales), and Aisha holding dual heritage Welsh and Lebanese. The work explores the juxtaposition of having homes and families in a familiar, white and westernised Wales, as well as in Iraq and Lebanon, where the political climates are considered unpredictable and dangerous.
Whilst doing what they can to preserve their Arabic identities, the project explores what it means to be Welsh, and living in Wales, as a woman of colour in in 21st century.
The film was selected to represent culture in Wales during her late Royal Majesty's visit to the Senedd, Welsh Government 10 year Anniversary in 2021, as well as studied and explored by secondary schools in South Wales.Dock Festival.
"Diaspora is strange. You spend half your life translating your pain into the language that caused it."
– Karim Wafa-Al Hussaini
"Deeply moving. And deeply nostalgic to those who experience life as both the insider and outsider simultaneously."
– Wales Arts Review
"Hanan Issa trying to remember the Arabic for cardamom as Aisha Naamani looks wistfully out over Cardiff Bay."
– Lyndsey Winship, The Guardian
Ble Mae Bilaadi?
Aisha Naamani x Hanan Issa
A Dance + Poetry Film Collaboration
The dichotomy of dual heritage. A juxtaposition of having homes and families in locations where safety is reliable, as well as in places where the political climates are temperamental and unstable. An exploration into diaspora, and what it means to belong within the ambiguous in-betweens.
Choreographer // Aisha Naamani
Poetry // Hanan Issa
Dancer // Aisha Naamani
Narration // Hanan Issa
Dramaturg // Lee Fletcher
Videographer // Josh Attwood
Editing // Jonathan Dunn
Locations filmed // City of Cardiff, The Senedd / Welsh Government, Butetown, Grangetown, Cardiff Bay + Cardiff Bay Barage.
Supported by // National Dance Company Wales, Literature Wales + The Plethu Project
BLE MAE, meaning where is in Welsh, and BILAADI, meaning country in arabic, translates to: Where is country?
Ble Mae Bilaadi? was commissioned by the Plethu Project, a cross-artform collaboration platform.
Hanan and Aisha connected on how they both long for their Middle Eastern cultures, and fear that that history will be destroyed through the adversity of war.
Hanan Issa is a Welsh, Iraqi poet (National Poet of Wales), and Aisha holding dual heritage Welsh and Lebanese. The work explores the juxtaposition of having homes and families in a familiar, white and westernised Wales, as well as in Iraq and Lebanon, where the political climates are considered unpredictable and dangerous.
Whilst doing what they can to preserve their Arabic identities, the project explores what it means to be Welsh, and living in Wales, as a woman of colour in in 21st century.
The film was selected to represent culture in Wales during her late Royal Majesty's visit to the Senedd, Welsh Government 10 year Anniversary in 2021, as well as studied and explored by secondary schools in South Wales.Dock Festival.
"Diaspora is strange. You spend half your like translating your pain into the language that caused it."
– Karim Wafa-Al Hussaini
"Deeply moving. And deeply nostalgic to those who experience life as both the insider and outsider simultaneously."
– Wales Arts Review
"Hanan Issa trying to remember the Arabic for cardamom as Aisha Naamani looks wistfully out over Cardiff Bay."
– Lyndsey Winship, The Guardian