Maghreb-Orient Express

Zeina Abirached, Naïssam Jalal, Chawki Amari, Kamel Abdat

The Lebanon, once criss-crossed by a network of railway lines, gradually found itself cut off from its neighbours by geopolitics and war. The last train to run followed the coastline from Jounieh to Tripoli in 1989. The artist Zeina Abirached offers us an opportunity to relive the golden age of the railways that crossed the Mount Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain chains to reach Syria. Her comic strip "Terminus Liban" (Lebanon Terminus) is published in the magazine "XXI - Hiver 2020" (XXI - Winter 2020). Born in Paris of Syrian parents, the composer and flautist Naïssam Jalal moved to Damascus at the age of 19 to study the ney or Arabian flute. In 2011, at the beginning of the uprising in Syria, she created the Rhythms of Resistance ensemble that combines jazz and traditional music. Prize-winner at the 2019 Victoires du Jazz for her album "Quest of the Invisible", she has now released "Om Al Aagayeb". On her return from a series of concerts in New York, she will be performing at the Studio de l'Ermitage in Paris on 29 January 2020. Lyès, Mounir and Tissam, originally from Algiers the three are on the run in an old estate car in the heart of the Djurdjura mountains and a dead donkey in the boot. Bend after bend, breakdown after breakdown; their epic journey is punctuated by existential questions and improbable encounters. After having been published by Barzakh in Algeria "L'Âne Mort" (The Dead Donkey) by Chawki Amari has now also been published by Les Éditions de l'Observatoire. #Connection Paris with the humorist Kamel Abdat, backstage at the IMA Comedy Club. The Arab World Institute passes the mike to fifteen artistes who have been seen on television, on the internet, in major theatres or during open stage performances. #Atmosphere with the guests' cultural favourites.

Guests: Zeina Abirached, author and comic book artist; Naïssam Jalal, composer and flautist; Chawki Amari, journalist, caricaturist, writer and actor; Kamel Abdat, humorist.

Presented by: Mohamed Kaci.
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