F I L M S
Shorts, essays & films by Danish Farhan.
B E D O U I N S O F T H E W I N D
A film by Danish Farhan
A poetic, observational documentary that follows a revered camel breeder and racer from Dhaid. Through a lens of quiet intimacy and cinematic storytelling, the film captures his life, his camels, and the timeless rhythms of a disappearing Bedouin tradition.
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Among the nomads of Mongolia, on horseback through the wide-open steppes — their stories whispered in wind, their silence louder than words frames this short film, coming soon.
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Experimental short film of dramatic overlanding across the surreal landscape of Al Qua in Abu Dhabi. Filmed Black Abra's incredible drive through a crimson sunrise.
F R O M T H E E A S T
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In the eyes of a people, what first appears so seemingly distant is often closer to us than we imagine. The isolated village of Barbakele lends a glimpse into moments on a day celebrated for love, confidence and wealth.
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Negombo transforms with each shifting angle of light from the sun, bringing to focus the ordinary lives of its people, calmly going about their day, so instrinsically connected to the ocean they inhabit.
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The calmness of lonesome fishermen, fresh off their boat turns into a rapturous chaos of cutting, chopping and selling. A seemingly ordinary morning, all but extraordinary to an outsider looking for emotions in the midst of bustle.
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No view visible in the same way from one moment to another, a foggy morning in Ramboda turns the climb and descent across the mountain belt into a hundred stories of nature unraveling its beauty.
E S S A Y S O N F I L M
21 Things I Learnt Living with Bedouins for 100 Days
For a hundred days in the desert village of Dhaid, I wanted to be a stander-by alongside my Bedouin friend as he went about balancing life between two opposite worlds.
Read on Medium.com
April 10, 2025
June 21, 2025
July 5, 2025
Storytelling is a Continuum of Memory
The Bedouins of Dhaid and the Nomads of Mongolia. They wear different names. They wrap themselves in different fabrics, But they slowly begin to feel like different verses in the same poem.
Read on Medium.com
Bedouins of the Wind — finding the tone for Dubai’s indie film
Only in the making of this audacious film, did I start to realize how much of an impact the films I watched growing up, were having on me to this day. I started to think about this long and hard.
Read on Medium.com
February 5, 2025
October 22, 2024
Last of the Bedouins — why a film on Dubai’s desert culture
The usual headline by fly-by-night tourists and expats alike is always the same: Dubai is beautiful, but there is nothing real, no culture. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Read on Medium.com
March 13, 2025
Footprints of Bedouins — defining culture in modern Dubai
There is a moment in my film Bedouins of the Wind where the desert swallows the last light of day, and all that remains is the faint outline of a camel caravan moving through a dusty road.
Read on Medium.com
A Dubai-raised, self-taught filmmaker, photographer & cultural observer.
A university drop-out but also an honorary doctorate recipient, Danish’s work is a study of the in-between: where truth lingers before words claim it.