The founder and CEO of The Wadi Tribe, heads a production company under the name ‘PaddyPak films’. The name of the company reflects her two backgrounds. Having been born and raised in karach, Pakistan she moved to Ireland in the mid-1990s and both the countries are home to her.
Award winning short documentary 'Story of the Storyteller' by PaddyPak Films
Story of the Storyteller
Back in 2016, Saniya was invited to enter the GU tech film awards. Being a storyteller herself, she had always wanted to write about the storytellers of the world. The film festival was a perfect opportunity to showcase the storyteller of Oman. There is something fascinating about a storyteller no matter from what part of the world he/she is from. A great storyteller can transport you to magical, intriguing world full of amazing landscapes and colorful characters.
Storytellers in Oman are called Hakawatis
On the quest to find Hakawatis in Oman, the PaddyPak film team were fortunate to discover not one but three Hakawatis in the beautiful quaint village of Abu Abali. And they belonged to the same family, covering there generations.
The family of Al Balushi Hakawatis consisted of Jumma Al Balushi, his father and his son!
The village of Abu Abali in Oman
ABU ABALI AS-SAHIL
in Al-Maṣna’ah (Al Batinah South Governorate)
Abu Abali is a small costal village with a population of about 5000 people, 95.6% of the population being local. Around sunset you can see families playing the ancient traditional mancala game Hawalis on the beaches. Hawalis boards in Oman are composed by 4 rows of 7 holes. At game setup, two seeds are placed in each hole. Each player owns half of the board (2 rows) of the board.
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The book, 'The Adventures of Chee and Dae in Majlis Jinn' was inspired by the landscape and people of Oman
I met some amazing people and travelled to lovely places in Oman. During this time I was inspired to write a story about a place in Oman called Majlis Jinn. This would become my first children’s book as part of the series ‘The Adventures of Chee and Dae.’
Since then the book ‘The Adventures of Chee and Dae in Majlis Jinn” has been translated into Arabic! And I have written 4 more books creating a boxset for the series, ‘The Adventures of Chee and Dae”
Where can you find the book:
Amazon for $14.99 (Black and white interior)
Kindle for $9.99
Available on Kindle Unlimited
Bookshop.org for $14.99 (you can support local bookstores and still shop online here!)
Abebooks for $14.53
Thewaditribe.com (Colour Interior. You can get a signed copy from the author here & a free book mark)
Read more on other children’s book available from TWT:
The Wadi Tribe books for kids!
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The Story of the Storyteller by PaddyPak films
A stunning black and white photographic series on the filming and behind the scenes, of the award winning documentary.
Watch 'The Story of the Storyteller'
Best Short film documentary winner of the GUtech film festival 2016