Al Jazeera World

An action movie with global stars, fast cars and an exotic location is nothing new.

But the politics behind the scenes of The Misfits, a recent high-octane movie release, reveals its own story - one of producer power struggles, money, influence, politics, and an apparent attempt to tarnish the reputation of a country.

Production on the film began while Qatar was under a blockade by four of its Arab neighbours, including the UAE. When a new Abu Dhabi-based producer took over financing The Misfits, the story, location and focus shifted from a Caribbean crime caper to one involving Qatar and a "terror" plot. Then real political events overtook the fiction, so a watered-down version of the movie was hastily made and released - still with some lingering Qatar references.

This investigation explores the lengths taken to try and alter the public perception of Qatar through the production of an adventure movie. It asks: Why was so much money and effort spent on this project? Who was really behind it? And how much damage can a film like this - even in its revised version - inflict?

Four stories: a Sinai Bedouin who lived through the 1967 Arab-Israeli War; a retired Jordanian spy who worked undercover in the occupied West Bank; the granddaughter of the leader of a bid for independence in a small town in Egypt in 1919; and one man’s recollection of the protests in Tunisia on January 17, 1961, sparked by the filming of the Hollywood movie, The Thief of Baghdad.

In this film, we present witnesses' accounts of these historical stories - each told through a unique and subjective perspective by those who witnessed the events first-hand, or who have had the narrative handed down to them orally.

Each storyteller recounts key moments in history, as they saw it, upfront and personally.

Courage, corruption, culture and competition – all major factors in the life and times of the first women’s football team in Somalia and its inspirational young coach, Shaima Sellal. The government gave the go-ahead for a women’s team in 1994, but it did not take off because of the continuing civil war. Football can be a casualty of the conflict in a "failed state".

But when an enthusiastic, 19-year-old player-coach arrived from Kenya in 2015, she kick-started the team and adopted the name the "Golden Girls". The team grew, and it applied to FIFA for funding to go to South Africa to play in a tournament in 2018 – but the local authorities siphoned off the cash. When Shaima questioned them, she received threats and had to flee back to Kenya.

Now Shaima arrives back in Somalia, firing on all cylinders. In this film, she and her players tell their personal stories of having to fight the prejudices of a traditional, conservative Muslim culture and for recognition by their families and society as a whole. But when they get the backing of the Somali National Women’s Organisation, they finally take off to compete in a tournament abroad. They might lose the final but they gain a lot of kudos and self-belief.

"We’re back again," says Shaima. "The Golden Girls are back again."

Between 2006 and 2011, a high-stakes negotiated prisoner exchange took place between Israel and Hamas, the group that governs the Gaza Strip. During that time, the two sides did not have any direct contact, so mediators from Egypt, Germany and Ireland were involved. At stake were the terms of exchange between one captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, and a large number of Palestinian prisoners.

This film goes behind the scenes of that remarkable five-year operation. Al Jazeera Arabic reporter Tamer Almisshal and his team secured access to those at the centre of the complex negotiations, including a rare interview with senior Hamas leader Marwan Issa as well as former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

It is a story of deadlines, brinksmanship, intelligence and ultimately of deal-making: in exchange for the release of Shalit, Israel released 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. In early 2021, Hamas claimed to hold a further four Israeli prisoners, captured in the 2014 war. While Israel disputed their full claim, it raised the question of whether a new round of prisoner exchange negotiations may be on the cards for these two sworn enemies.

Arabs Abroad: The Designer & the Atomic Scientist profiles two people who have built highly successful, yet quite different, lives in countries beyond their Arab homelands.

The film meets an Iraqi graphic designer living in Germany - a man whose work is seen by millions - and a Palestinian-American atomic scientist whose research with the smallest of particles brings life-changing benefits to people around the world.

Decades after they moved, both remain connected to their roots, each - in their own way - giving something back their region of origin. While stories about migrants and refugees from the Middle East are often simply about their journeys, Arabs Abroad explores what happens after these people arrive at their destination.

Football is hugely popular in Chad but results on the pitch have been disappointing. It has never qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations or the World Cup.

In 2016, the national team was suspended after facing financial problems. That ban was lifted in 2019, the starting point of this film.

Players, coaches, politicians and fans all have conflicting views on how the national football team will find success. The weight of that responsibility now rests on a handful of players, each filled with footballing passion but without the resources they need.

In one of the poorest countries in the world, can the squad find success at last? What will it take to rebuild a team recovering from a ban from the Africa Cup of Nations, largely caused by financial problems? And how will it overcome these economic woes to deliver the wins they need?

Pirate radio: A force for change or a transient subversive movement?

The Voice of Peace and Radio Caroline were pirate radio stations that launched in the 1960s and 1970s, broadcasting from ships anchored outside national territorial waters, in an attempt to challenge the societies around them.

Radio Caroline, moored off the east coast of England, was "The Boat that Rocked" and was hugely popular with young 1960s music fans. Along with other pirate stations of the time, it helped bring about a cultural change in British broadcasting that is still felt today.

The Voice of Peace, based in the eastern Mediterranean, expressed an alternative, pacifist, political viewpoint outside of 1970s Israeli mainstream politics.

This documentary intercuts the stories of these two stations, through a mix of archive, presenter anecdotes, journalistic analysis and historical context. In so doing, it sheds light on both 1960s European pop culture and on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Music offers insights into the songwriter, the performers, the audience and their cultures. In this film, we delve into the stories of four songs from Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Sudan.

From Morocco comes an expression of mourning and loss - Younes Megri is a renowned regional name whose most famous song was picked up by a western pop group. The Algerian song is from the legendary Hamid Cheriet, aka ‘Idir’, who sang in the Amazigh language and achieved a global fan base. The patriotic Tunisian anthem was written by Mohamed Jamoussi, who was close to the country’s first Prime Minister Habib Bourguiba. And from Sudan is a people's song about heroism that dates back to a major flood on the Nile in 1946. All are part of the long North African tradition of songwriting and performance.

We speak with a range of musicians, historians and commentators who explain these songs' fascinating contexts and histories.

A Palestinian boy who was rescued from danger in 1967 grew up to become a major global figure in the Red Crescent and Red Cross, while a Jordanian woman who struggled to get into American medical schools now leads cutting-edge research into rheumatic treatments.

Dr Hossam Elsharkawi was rescued from Gaza during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War; decades later, he has been responsible for rescuing thousands of people from war zones. Jordanian Dr Nadera Sweiss is now also a highly regarded physician based in Chicago. Both doctors not only achieved their goals but have also selflessly improved the lives of thousands of patients and those suffering in conflicts and crises around the world.

We follow both their stories in the latest episode of Arabs Abroad, a series about men and women who have left the Middle East to lead successful careers in other countries.

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"Less is more," so the saying goes.

While many people aspire to earn more, buy more and own more, some are challenging material values and looking to seriously declutter their lives.

The "simple living" movement, also known as minimalism, is about being satisfied with what you have rather than constantly craving more.

In this documentary, a social media consultant in Istanbul persuades his family to follow him on a quest for a less materialistic lifestyle. They visit a self-sufficient rural commune and meet others who have already rejected consumer values - including a former automotive engineer who gave up all his credit cards and an architect-turned-shepherd in the Anatolia Mountains.

As the global pandemic forces us all to adjust to a "life on hold", this film taps into the zeitgeist and asks if we really need so much stuff.