An unexpected heatwave at the end of May did not stop the masses from attending what is quickly becoming one of the premiere events in Los Angeles for Middle Eastern and North African diaspora communities.
Between East, an entertainment and media company focusing on Middle Eastern and North African art and identity, held its second annual In Between festival on May 31, bringing together creatives across multiple industries from the MENA region and its diaspora communities for inspiring panel discussions, a wide-ranging marketplace highlighting small businesses, and musical performances by up-and-coming artists.
The event this year also included the announcement of Rolling Stone MENA soon launching in the region, adding to the anticipation and excitement around the festival.
At the heart of the event were conversations surrounding critical components of identity and what it means to represent the Middle East and North Africa across these creative fields.
Lena Khouri, the founder of Between East, says that her inspiration for creating and hosting such an event came out of a need to create spaces for people like herself to see others from the community be successful in these creative endeavors.
Khouri, herself part of the Palestinian-Jordanian diaspora in Los Angeles, envisions Between East solidifying itself as a global media company championing the stories from the Middle East, North Africa, and its diaspora communities.
“I really feel like the way to create stories that are going to authentically connect with people that are outside of our culture, and that are part of our culture, is in doing so in collaboration with artists and creatives,” Khouri says. “The same way that media and entertainment are so powerful in making people believe that we are terrorists or whatever it is that they put us out to be, we can use that exact same medium to change the perception and shift the conversation in a way that gives us the platform where we can be can be celebrated for who we actually are.”
Panelists across music, food, filmmaking, and fashion spoke about the need for spaces like In Between to ensure collective collaboration and unity among the entire MENA community, whether in the region itself or in any of its global diaspora communities.
Among the panelists included Sev Ohanian, the founder of Proximity Media and a screenwriter and film producer with multiple box office credits to his name, including this year’s breakout hit “Sinners” starring Michael B. Jordan and written and directed by Ryan Coogler.
Ohanian, himself Armenian American, emphasizes that, despite attending fancy major movie premieres all across the globe, it is events like the In Between festival that have a closer place to his heart.
“I genuinely have chills on my body when I walk through this space,” Ohanian says with a smile on his face. “It feels homegrown. And you can help it feel that in the energy, in the air, and certainly in the people.”
Throughout the various panel discussions, cultural titans including Yasmine Rasool, founder of Waastaa; Charbel Hayek, chef and restauranter; and Cheb Moha, founder of the fashion brand Shabab International, all spoke about the importance of exporting authentic representations and depictions of Middle Eastern and North African culture globally as a uniting regional force that also celebrates the cultural nuances within each country in the region.
Moha, the Iraqi clothing pioneer, flew from Dubai to participate in the In Between festival both as a panelist and as one of the vendors in the marketplace with Shabab International.
The marketplace featured local vendors selling anything from food and beverage to clothing to small gifts, all emphasizing their roots and ties to their homes in the Middle East and North Africa.
Shabab’s unique set-up for the marketplace featured an inflatable igloo for participants to enter and check out the brand’s latest offerings.
“I feel like at this moment, where we come from is at the forefront of a lot of things that are happening globally,” Moha explains. “To have a moment where we can express our vision through fashion or clothing, whatever it may be, I think it’s nice to export that and not just consume what the West has to offer, but also export instead of just importing culture.”
The jam-packed festival concluded with riveting musical performances by Iraqi-Syrian artist Wafia and Moroccan DJ and producer Yasmina.
For Wafia, the Australian native whose musical career spans over ten years, events like the In Between festival serve as a reminder of how far creative spaces in the Middle East, North Africa, and its global diaspora communities have come.
“There wasn’t a lot of representation when I first started,” Wafia candidly shares. “I remember thinking, I got to do this for no one other than my sisters. At the very least, my sisters need a frame of reference of what we can be—and that we don’t all have to look like doctors and lawyers.”
Wafia says that the In Between festival and similar events are a testament to the community and the strong desire to be seen.
“It’s just crazy that this event even exists,” she says. “It’s beautiful that this is a reminder that we can come together, we can cheer one another on, and we can celebrate one another. I think this is a beautiful way to highlight all of our talents and achievements in our different creative fields.”
