THE WAY® Studio Discuss Brief

Short film · 2026

Al Rawy الراوي

In 1960s Sharjah, a young girl listens to her grandfather tell of a pearl diver saved by the friend holding his rope. When he gives her a notebook, she promises to keep his stories alive.

Running time6 min 36 s
LanguageEmirati Arabic, English subtitles
Commissioned bySharjah Institute for Heritage
Premiere25 September 2026, Sharjah

Teaser

The film

A story about who holds the rope.

Years after the night she made that promise, the girl takes her grandfather's place in the majlis. Children gather to listen, and the tale that first taught her the meaning of trust passes to a new voice.

The film was commissioned by the Sharjah Institute for Heritage for the 26th Sharjah International Narrator Forum, whose theme this year was friendship. A diver placing his life in the hands of the man on the rope became the image the whole story turns on.

The granddaughter listening, Al RawyThe grandfather telling the story in an old Sharjah courtyardThe granddaughter as a storyteller, reading from the notebookPearl divers working on the dhow deckThe diver, close up

Production

Two days. A heritage house and a working dhow.

Shot on location in Sharjah on 14 and 15 September 2026, all on Steadicam, so the camera could stay with the performers and carry the girl's everyday world into the stories she hears.

Three actresses play the granddaughter at 10, 20 and 50. We finished picture, sound, music and grade on 22 September, two weeks after the first shoot day.

On set

The director and crew at work on the Al Rawy setThe director and crew at work on the Al Rawy setThe director and crew at work on the Al Rawy setThe director and crew at work on the Al Rawy setThe director and crew at work on the Al Rawy setThe director and crew at work on the Al Rawy setAl Rawy crew setting up in the majlis of a Sharjah heritage houseAl Rawy crew setting up in the majlis of a Sharjah heritage houseAl Rawy crew setting up in the majlis of a Sharjah heritage houseAl Rawy crew setting up in the majlis of a Sharjah heritage houseAl Rawy crew setting up in the majlis of a Sharjah heritage houseAl Rawy crew setting up in the majlis of a Sharjah heritage houseAl Rawy crew setting up in the majlis of a Sharjah heritage houseAl Rawy crew setting up in the majlis of a Sharjah heritage houseAl Rawy crew setting up in the majlis of a Sharjah heritage houseAl Rawy crew setting up in the majlis of a Sharjah heritage houseAl Rawy crew setting up in the majlis of a Sharjah heritage houseAl Rawy crew setting up in the majlis of a Sharjah heritage houseAl Rawy crew setting up in the majlis of a Sharjah heritage houseFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontFilming Al Rawy on a dhow off the Sharjah waterfrontAl Rawy crew lighting a stage sceneAl Rawy crew lighting a stage scene

Set photography includes work by @kashash.art.

Credits

Crew

Director
Youssef Akef
Writer
Aisha Rashid Al-Hissan Al-Shamsi
Producer
Maria Farraj
Executive producer
Sherief Akram
Director of photography
Nadine Yasser
1st assistant director
Rawan Ghanem
Editor
Dareen Arafa
Music
Nihad
Production sound
MHD Kheir Ali
Art director
Bahaa Elsehnawi
Costume stylist
Nadda Aly
Production company
The Way Studio
Production services
Red Pepper Films
Funded by
Sharjah Institute for Heritage

Cast

Grandfather
Saleh Ahmed
Granddaughter, age 10
Noora Mohammed Saif Ali Saif Almansoori
Granddaughter, age 20
Meera Almidfa
Granddaughter, age 50
Salama S. Almazrouei
Majlis owner
Masoud Saif Muftah Al Manei
Diver
Hamad Ali Alseiari
Al-Seeb
Mohammad Naser Alseiari

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