Showing posts with label basel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label basel. Show all posts

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Picts from Switzerland - Part 2

Pictures from the Switzerland Premiere - Oct 12, 2008



Ticket from the Zurich screening





Arnold Hottinger speaking to his fans at the cinema in Basel


The gentleman on the left is a former classmate of Prince Amyn, the Aga Khan's brother. He and Prince Amyn were in the same year at school together and they still keep in touch.



The cinema in Basel


The Basel audience waiting for the show to begin.


The Berne audience waiting for the show to begin.

Islam Expert Prof Shulze and I after our Q+A period discussion at the Berne screening.

We realized that we actually had traveled together to Delhi, India in 2004 for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture which he was on the Master Jury of.

REINHARD SCHULZE is a German linguist and historian, professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Berne, Switzerland, and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. He studied Islam, Latin languages, Arabic, and linguistics at the University of Bonn, and went on to teach at the Universities of Bochum, Bonn, and Bamburg before joining the University of Berne in 1995. Professor Schulze is interested in both the historical development and spread of Islam, and in its contemporary understanding and practice. His most important and recent work is “A Modern History of the Islamic World” (NYU Press, 2000), and he has published widely on the topics of social, economic, and political studies of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, including “The Birth of Tradition and Modernity in 18th and 19th Century Islamic Culture”, “International Islamic Organizations and the Muslims in Europe”, “Mass Culture and Islamic Culture Production in the 19th Century Middle East”, “The Forgotten Honor of Islam: The Muslim World in 1989”, and “Is there an Islamic Modernity?”.

Monday, October 13, 2008

From an audience member in Switzerland

After the premiere in Zurich, I met Countess Leila Ganji. Her stories of interacting with the Aga Khan's captivated the imagination of over a dozen people who circled around us as she shared her photos and experiences.

Below is an email from her friend.



Oct 12, 2008

Dear Shamir,

Today the Countess Leila Gangji and I were fortunate enough to have met you after seeing your most moving and inspiring film.

Leila showed you some photographs - and here they are.

This is:Prince Karim, with an Ismaili from South Africa and Countess Leila Gangji in East Africa 1954

This is the late Aga Khan (Golden Jubilee) and Countess Leila Gangji's husband - (who was the personal advisor to the Aga Khan) - Count Abdulla Hasham Gangji


Please let me know when you will show your film in Geneva as Leila Gangji and I would like to come and see it again. Leila used to live in Geneva, and so knows the whole Ismaili community there.

Best wishes
Margie

Sunday, October 12, 2008

The Switzerland Premiere - WOW

Switzerland Premiere - Oct 12, 2008
Day 2 of my trip here
Locations: Zurich, Basel, Bern
Screening Numbers: 1, 2 and 3

What a great day.

Its 2am and I just got back to Zurich. This will be a quick post as there is a television interview planned for tomorrow morning.

The premieres went fantastic. Just even numbers wise, for example in Zurich, we had 350 people at that screening. That's quite big! (There are only about 10 Ismailis in Zurich)**. The questions were thoughtful, the audience was engaged, I couldn't be happier. Thank you to all those who spread the word. Thank you to all those who attended. Thank you to the panelists. Thank you to Sara Leu/Docufactory for bringing the film to Switzerland. No, this isn't an Oscar acceptance speech (but thank you to my tailor, my agent, and my hair stylist too. :) )

Many people came up to me after the screenings to tell me about previous experiences they have had with the Aga Khan, his father and/or his grandfather. They were all so happy to have heard about this film and that a film was made on the Ismailis. They brought more than just stories, they brought photos too - especially to show and share with me. Oh and by the way, these were mainly non-Ismailis who were coming up to me with the anecdotes and picts.

What was really interesting was how the Zurich-based group of 10 Ismailis, who meet every week for prayer, found three more Zurich-based Ismailis whom they never knew existed (!) - and vice versa. The small community is a little less smaller and they were very happy. The known jamat here has now increased by 30% and they joked that it should be large enough for them to have their own jamatkhane*!



*Ismaili place of worship, comparable to a mosque

**Updated Oct 31, 2008: another friend there said there is more like 30 Ismailis in Zurich

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Switzerland - Landed

Switzerland - Day 1 - Oct 11, 2008

I took a Friday night/Sat early morning red-eye flight into Zurich. I was sad to leave Beirut as it is one of my favorite cities in the world. It is nice to be back in Switzerland though. Everything works, is on time and one does not need to haggle with taxi cab drivers over pennies because of principle. ("My foreign accent doesnt mean you can charge me triple!") Switzerland and Lebanon are worlds apart on the surface - even a Lebanese cab which costs triple the going rate is still significantly cheaper than a Swiss taxi on the meter!

The first time I went to Switzerland was to go ice climbing and canyoning. None of that natural beauty on this trip this time: tomorrow are the Switzerland premieres of AN ISLAMIC CONSCIENCE in Zurich, Basel and Bern and then I will be leaving soon thereafter.

In the country's papers, I saw a few articles on the film in them - from the translation that was given to me, I am told it was good overall.

I met up with Sara Leu, who is helping with the screenings, tonight. She took me out for some fabulous schnitzel. After this, I was hosted by an Ismaili and the small Zurich jamat. Most had not seen the film and were looking forward to seeing it on Sunday. They have many questions they tell me.

Till tomorrow...

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Switzerland Premieres - October 12th

Join us October 12th for the Aga Khan Film's release in the German part of Switzerland. The film will be screened in English audio with German subtitles. Please spread the word.

SWITZERLAND PREMIERE SCREENINGS:

Zürich, Oct 12th, 12:15pm Uhr Arthouse Le Paris
Q+A: Islam Expert and book author Arnold Hottinger discusses with producer Shamir Allibhai

Basel, Oct 12th, 17:00 pm, kultkino camera
Q+A: Islam Expert and book author Arnold Hottinger discusses with producer Shamir Allibhai

Bern, Oct 12th, 20:30 pm, Kino Movie
Q+A: Islam Expert Prof. Reinhard Schulze discusses with producer Shamir Allibhai

Tickets available at the door.

German:

Wer ist der Aga Khan? Wer sind die Ismaeliten? Muslime und Nicht-Muslime entfernen sich immer mehr voneinander. Was haben die Ismaeliten dazu zu sagen?

Liebe Alle

Der Dokumentarfilm "THE AGA KHAN & THE ISMAILIS" entstand unter der Regie von Emmy Gewinner Bill Cran und wurde bereits in mehreren Ländern gezeigt. Nun kommt der Film in die Deutschschweizer Kinos und wir möchten Sie herzlich einladen, bei den Premièren am 12. Oktober mit dabei zu sein.

Wir leben in einer Zeit, in der der Islam sich selbst und den Westen hinterfragt. THE AGA KHAN & THE ISMAILIS geht den Dingen auf den Grund. Diskutieren Sie mit uns!

Premierenveranstaltungen

Zürich, 12. Oktober, 12.15 Uhr Arthouse Le Paris
Islam Experte und Buchautor Arnold Hottinger diskutiert mit Produzent Shamir Allibhai

Basel, 12. Oktober , 17.00 Uhr, kultkino camera
Islam Experte und Buchautor Arnold Hottinger diskutiert mit Produzent Shamir Allibhai

Bern, 12. Oktober, 20.30 Uhr, Kino Movie
Islam Experte Prof. Reinhard Schulze diskutiert mit Produzent Shamir Allibhai