Just south of the Emirate of Fujairah, located along the Gulf of Oman, lies the town of Kalba. It really isn’t much more than a little fishing village, but this tiny exclave of the Emirate of Sharjah had always intrigued me. Several years ago, I would regularly be in the area for photographic and film work — taking advantage of Fujairah’s unique status as the only Emirate of the UAE that is almost totally mountainous — and would always find my way down to Kalba for a fuel stop. Numerous pickup trucks, colourful, and yet almost becoming consumed by their surroundings, lay seemingly randomly scattered by this beach. Their function was a complete mystery, but they bore the scars and heavy patina of decades of hard labour and the constant proximity to corrosive salt water. It was the desire to uncover the purpose of these trucks that lead me back to Kalba in the summer of 2014. This is when I learned their role as part of the Daghwah fishing method. Thanks to the kind fisherman and the help of Saif Matar, I came to know more about the history, process and challenges that the Daghwah fishermen now are facing. This is their story. // Official Selections American Documentary Film Festival, US, 2015 Athens International Film & Video Festival, US, 2015 Brooklyn Film Festival, US, 2015 Big Apple Film Festival, US, 2015 Madrid International Film Festival, Spain, 2015 Tenerife International Film Festival, Spain, 2015 Green Caravan Film Festival, UK, 2015 Tutti Nello Stesso Piatto Film Festival, Italy, 2015 // Nominations Best Short Documentary - Tenerife International Film Festival Best Director of a Short Documentary - Tenerife International Film Festival Best Cinematography in a Documentary - Tenerife International Film Festival Best Editing of a Documentary - Tenerife International Film Festival Scientific & Educational Award - Tenerife International Film Festival Best Producer of a Foreign Language Documentary - Madrid International Film Festival // Credits Director & Editor: Moe Najati Producer: Menimienai Saifu Executive Producer: Tony Lehal Director Of Photography: Asif Limbada Music: Chris Elliott, Dominik Johnson, Alex Tschallener, Ed Watkins and Rob Lord. Sound Recordist: Kamran Kalson & Zeeshan Tahir. Sound Mixing: Chris Mallari Color Grade: Azin Samar Thanks: Saif Matar and his team. Umar Farooq Filmmaster MEA Essa Sheikh Charbel Reaidy Montage James Davison
Just south of the Emirate of Fujairah, located along the Gulf of Oman, lies the town of Kalba. It really isn’t much more than a little fishing village, but this tiny exclave of the Emirate of Sharjah had always intrigued me. Several years ago, I would regularly be in the area for photographic and film work — taking advantage of Fujairah’s unique status as the only Emirate of the UAE that is almost totally mountainous — and would always find my way down to Kalba for a fuel stop. Numerous pickup trucks, colourful, and yet almost becoming consumed by their surroundings, lay seemingly randomly scattered by this beach. Their function was a complete mystery, but they bore the scars and heavy patina of decades of hard labour and the constant proximity to corrosive salt water. It was the desire to uncover the purpose of these trucks that lead me back to Kalba in the summer of 2014. This is when I learned their role as part of the Daghwah fishing method. Thanks to the kind fisherman and the help of Saif Matar, I came to know more about the history, process and challenges that the Daghwah fishermen now are facing. This is their story. // Official Selections American Documentary Film Festival, US, 2015 Athens International Film & Video Festival, US, 2015 Brooklyn Film Festival, US, 2015 Big Apple Film Festival, US, 2015 Madrid International Film Festival, Spain, 2015 Tenerife International Film Festival, Spain, 2015 Green Caravan Film Festival, UK, 2015 Tutti Nello Stesso Piatto Film Festival, Italy, 2015 // Nominations Best Short Documentary - Tenerife International Film Festival Best Director of a Short Documentary - Tenerife International Film Festival Best Cinematography in a Documentary - Tenerife International Film Festival Best Editing of a Documentary - Tenerife International Film Festival Scientific & Educational Award - Tenerife International Film Festival Best Producer of a Foreign Language Documentary - Madrid International Film Festival // Credits Director & Editor: Moe Najati Producer: Menimienai Saifu Executive Producer: Tony Lehal Director Of Photography: Asif Limbada Music: Chris Elliott, Dominik Johnson, Alex Tschallener, Ed Watkins and Rob Lord. Sound Recordist: Kamran Kalson & Zeeshan Tahir. Sound Mixing: Chris Mallari Color Grade: Azin Samar Thanks: Saif Matar and his team. Umar Farooq Filmmaster MEA Essa Sheikh Charbel Reaidy Montage James Davison