Join us for a screening of Under the Open Sky, followed by a short Q&A with Director Sonum Sumaria and Yumna Kamel of Earth Refuge.
In Under the Open Sky, Ahmed and his family – nomadic camel-herders from India – face an existential dilemma: to continue their traditional way of life or adapt to a rapidly modernising world. The film traces their quiet but powerful struggle to hold onto their ancestral way of life as they are increasingly displaced by industrialisation, climate shifts and economic pressures.
After the screening, Sonum and Yumna will reflect on the making of the film and further questions around climate crisis, displacement, land, memory and belonging.
This event is presented as part of the A Song for the Xeedho: the Knot Makers public programme. Presented at Whitechapel Gallery throughout Backyard Biennial until 6 September 2026, A Song for the Xeedho (Hey-ro) is an interactive installation that centres the Xeedho, a wedding basket made by Somali nomadic women which has become endangered due to the climate crisis.
Created collectively through weaving, ropemaking, and intricate knot-work, the basket is placed inside a cloth tensioned with knots that become a key part of the wedding ceremony. Ismail explores knots as objects that bind, create tension, conceal, and resist being undone, while also representing a survival skill essential to nomadic life.
Tickets: £5.00 (If the ticket price is a barrier, please contact [email protected])
A Song for the Xeedho: the Knot Makers by Fozia Ismail is co-commissioned by Counterpoints Arts and Whitechapel Gallery for Backyard Biennial. Public programme curated by Heather Marks.
PANELISTS
Sonum Sumaria is an award-winning British-Asian filmmaker and has been making films with marginalised communities for the past thirteen years. She read Spanish and Russian at Cambridge University, and studied at the Cuban film school EICTV, going on to complete an MA in Cinematography at MetFilm School in London. Sonum has a deep interest in nomadic and indigenous communities and is particularly drawn to the themes of identity and belonging.
Yumna Kamel is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Earth Refuge, the first legal think tank focused on climate displacement. She is a leading voice on climate mobility, legal innovation, and migrant justice, with a track record of building some of the field’s most ambitious public-facing initiatives. At Earth Refuge, Yumna leads work on legal education, advocacy and access to justice for communities affected by climate displacement. She has launched flagship online beginners’ workshops, co-developed the Climate Mobility Case Database and co-founded the upcoming Climate Mobility and Legal Innovation Programme (CLIP).
LINKS
Under the Open Sky – website / Instagram
Arawelo Studio – website / Instagram
Fozia Ismail – Instagram / LinkedIn