Zaineb Al Hassani

Glasgow Film Festival - Cary Grant's Glasgow

17 Feb 2010

He scaled Mount Rushmore, romanced some of Hollywood’s most revered screen starlets, and was the epitome of suave for over thirty years. The debonair Mr Grant is no longer with us, but if you’re wanting a night out befitting his image, Glasgow can…

Glasgow Film Festival - A guide to Glasgow’s indie culture

17 Feb 2010

Glasgow’s many low-lit corners provide safe haven for the city’s cool crowd. One such place, within range of the CCA and GFT, is Variety (401 Sauchiehall Street), an effortlessly cool and tiny bar which pulls in a wide mix of customers eager to sample…

Glasgow Film Festival - A guide to Glasgow’s FashionArtFilm hotspots

17 Feb 2010

Glasgow has always been a hit with the cutting-edge fashion pack, and the style of the city percolates through into its inhabitants. Not far from Cineworld in the city centre, Che Camille (Argyll Chambers, 34 Buchanan Street) is an inspiring…

Wolfmother

15 Jan 2010

Psychedelic rockers The Black Angels kick off proceedings with their shambolic, Tesco-value take on ‘The Velvet Underground’. Still, their lack of anything remotely resembling talent only makes the wait for tonight’s headline act all the more…

Neon Indian

Captains Rest, Tue 1 Dec 2009

17 Dec 2009

Playing the opening night of their first European tour, Alan Palamo’s most recent outfit paid great homage to the synth-pop sounds of the 80s on debut LP Psychic Chasms. Songs like ‘Deadbeat Summer’ and ‘Shouldn’t Have Taken Acid With You’ show the…

The Noisettes

2 Apr 2009

POP Originally signed to Side Salad Records, this London trio started off life as a post-punk revival band but if tonight’s showcase of their soon-to-be-released album Wild Young Hearts is anything to go by, have changed their directon rather…

Isle of Skye tour

1 Mar 2009

This Midgie writer is not a morning person. But I am a welly boots, fleecey jacket, two-pairs-of-socks and thermal underwear person. Because, even as spring begins to blossom in Scotland, at this tiny hour in the morning extra layers are still…

Floatariums

8 Jan 2009

‘I usually take sessions twice a month,’ says an amiable Roger Tyler, co-owner of Glasgow’s Willow Trading Rooms, and home to Glasgow’s only flotation tank. ‘Flotation tanks,’ he explains, ‘provide a unique experience for each person, the feeling of…

Arabian Nights

Middle East International Film Festival

15 Dec 2008

What follows is a short blog by Zainab Al Hassani who went to this year's Middle East International Film Festival, which took place between 10-19 October 2008 in Abu Dhabi.

Sans Trauma - Rushing Your Dragon

11 Dec 2008

Electronica/Acoustic Rushing Your Dragon comes across a bit like the Delia Smith of the music world: largely inoffensive and pretty mundane. There's no harm in listening to the six track EP (Sans Trauma's debut effort) but there's also little gain.

Brave Story

30 Oct 2008

Based on a novel by prolific Japanese authoress Miyuki Miyabe, Brave Story is a tale of love, friendship, and the sacrifices people must make in order to do what is right. Eleven-year-old protagonist Wataru meets Mitsuru, a lone figure who tells our…

Soldier Blue

30 Oct 2008

Originally released in 1970 at the tail end of a period of huge social, political and psychological change and based on the massacre of Cheyenne Indians at Sand Creek in 1864, Soldier Blue is as relevant today as it ever was. Predominantly a love story…

Halloween Special - Parties

16 Oct 2008

In the background, Jamie Lee Curtis is having trouble with some guy called Michael, toffee apples litter the floor, and the smell of rotting pumpkin fills the air. All hail Halloween, the one night of the year when it is acceptable to dress as a walking…

O’Death

16 Oct 2008

GOTHIC COUNTRY A little bit barnyard hoedown, a little bit like being at a Bat Mitzvah on speed (or so I’ve heard at least) and a whole lot of fiddle, O’Death have made it abundantly clear that they are not like anyone else currently peddling their…

Burlescapades! Valentine Venetian Masked Ball

14 Feb 2008

BURLESQUE The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Fri 15 Feb ‘Some of the acts will have a Valentine’s theme, some a Venetian, and others a bit of both. We even have a pillow fight,’ laughs burlesque performer and Burlescapades! organiser Lily White. ‘It’s not…