For those of us spending the summer in the city, every weekend poses the same question: how do we make the most of our days while staying firmly within the comfort of central air conditioning? Thankfully, Jameel Arts Centre has the perfect antidote to summer boredom. Running on alternate Saturdays until 15 August, Jameel’s Summer Cinema returns to screen five thought-provoking films that let audiences travel through time and space without the jet lag.
Curated in collaboration with Hind Mezaina, curator and founder of The Culturist Film Club, the line-up moves across diverse thematic worlds, spanning genres from speculative sci-fi to archival documentaries. “The Summer Cinema series offers a simple and successful formula; high quality auteur cinema on a big screen, gathering a like-minded community who are invited to learn more about the film and participate in post-screening conversations,” explains Nora Razian, Art Jameel Deputy Director and Head of Exhibitions and Programmes.
The programme opened on 20 June with Damien Hauser’s 2025 work of speculative fiction, After the End, which questions what it means to remain human in a world reshaped by technology in 2093. This was followed on 4 July by John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office, a film directed by Michael Almereyda and Courtney Stephens. On 18 July, the desktop documentary Afterlives, by Kevin B. Lee will be screened as part of the initiative.
The later half of the series brings deeply personal and historical narratives to the screen. On 1 August, Lana Daher’s 2025 documentary Do You Love Me offers a journey through Lebanon’s audiovisual memory, composed entirely of archival footage. Hind Mezaina notes that all the selected titles have screened, and in some cases been awarded, at notable international film festivals.
The Summer Cinema closes on 15 August with a screening of Youssef Chahine’s 1954 classic, The Blazing Sun, celebrating the centennial of one of the most critically acclaimed auteurs of Egyptian and Arab cinema. Each session begins with a short introduction by Mezaina and concludes with an informal discussion, allowing conversation to flow and connections between guests to build. Free entry, booking advised. Alternate Saturdays, 7:30PM to 9:30PM. Book Now
