Documentary Screening: The Textile Generation The Textile Generation:“The Textile Generation”, a one-hour documentary directed by the Syrian-Bahraini filmmaker Haya Altamimi and co-produced by Dr Ann-Christin Zuntz (University of Edinburgh) and Dr Alessandro Columbu (University of Westminster), brings to the screen the forgotten history of Syrian textile traders in Manchester. Today, Manchester is home to the UK’s second biggest Syrian community, but Syrian migration to the area started much earlier. Between the late 19th century and the mid-20th century, Jewish and Muslim Syrian merchants settled in "Cottonopolis", then the global hub of textile production and trade. Besides their economic contributions to the city, they also established two of its leading religious institutions. More recently, their descendants provided humanitarian assistance to refugees during the Syrian conflict (2011-2024). The film includes interviews with merchant families, as well as footage from local institutions that were co-founded by Syrians, such as the Jewish Museum and Didsbury Mosque.Speakers: Haya Altamimi is a British-Syrian filmmaker with production experience across feature films, documentaries, commercials, and reality TV. Haya has worked as a self-shooting producer and editor for top networks like the BBC, CBS, and Amazon Prime. Her creative portfolio includes directing award-winning short films such as War Sweet Home, alongside feature documentary work such as The Textile Generation.Dr Ann-Christin Zuntz is a lecturer in Anthropology of Development at the University of Edinburgh. She studies the links between (forced) migration and global economies, particularly in the context of the Syrian conflict. Since 2015, she has conducted fieldwork with refugees and migrants in Jordan, Turkey, Tunisia, Bulgaria, the UK, and Uganda, together with grassroots organisations and funding from the AHRC, Royal Society of Edinburgh, and British Academy. Based on her 2022-2026 British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship, she is currently finalising a monograph on “Brokers and the infrastructures of Syrian displacement”.Dr Alessandro Columbu is Senior Lecturer in Arabic at the University of Westminster. Originally from Sardinia, Dr Columbu learned Arabic in Damascus, Beirut, Tunis and Amman, and he’s now an accomplished translator from Arabic into English, Italian and Sardinian. His interest in the history of the Syrian community arose during his time at the University of Manchester where he worked as an Arabic language teacher between 2016 and 2019.The Alwaleed Centre's Interdisciplinary Seminar Series:This documentary screening is part of the Alwaleed Centre's Interdisciplinary Seminar Series and co-badged with Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and the Social Anthropology subject area in the School of Social and Political Sciences. About the Seminar SeriesThe Alwaleed Centre’s interdisciplinary research seminar series takes place during the academic year 2026/27 and aims to broaden knowledge production of contemporary Islam and the Globalised Muslim world through collaborative seminars with colleagues across the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS). The series brings together scholars, practitioners, and artists to critically engage with questions pertaining to the study of contemporary Islam and the globalised Muslim world from an interdisciplinary perspective. The vast majority of our seminars will be co-badged with colleagues in schools and research networks across CAHSS, including: The School of Divinity, The Edinburgh College of Art, the School of Social and Political Sciences, The School of History, Classics and Archaeology, The Middle East Research Group (MERG), and CRITIQUE.Please join us for these important and timely conversations! Students, staff, and members of the public are all welcome!Learn more about our Seminar Series. Nov 03 2026 17.30 - 19.30 Documentary Screening: The Textile Generation Join us on 3 November to watch “The Textile Generation”, a one-hour documentary directed by the Syrian-Bahraini filmmaker Haya Altamimi and co-produced by Dr Ann-Christin Zuntz (University of Edinburgh) and Dr Alessandro Columbu (University of Westminster), which brings to the screen the forgotten history of Syrian textile traders in Manchester. This article was published on Monday 14 September 2026
Documentary Screening: The Textile Generation The Textile Generation:“The Textile Generation”, a one-hour documentary directed by the Syrian-Bahraini filmmaker Haya Altamimi and co-produced by Dr Ann-Christin Zuntz (University of Edinburgh) and Dr Alessandro Columbu (University of Westminster), brings to the screen the forgotten history of Syrian textile traders in Manchester. Today, Manchester is home to the UK’s second biggest Syrian community, but Syrian migration to the area started much earlier. Between the late 19th century and the mid-20th century, Jewish and Muslim Syrian merchants settled in "Cottonopolis", then the global hub of textile production and trade. Besides their economic contributions to the city, they also established two of its leading religious institutions. More recently, their descendants provided humanitarian assistance to refugees during the Syrian conflict (2011-2024). The film includes interviews with merchant families, as well as footage from local institutions that were co-founded by Syrians, such as the Jewish Museum and Didsbury Mosque.Speakers: Haya Altamimi is a British-Syrian filmmaker with production experience across feature films, documentaries, commercials, and reality TV. Haya has worked as a self-shooting producer and editor for top networks like the BBC, CBS, and Amazon Prime. Her creative portfolio includes directing award-winning short films such as War Sweet Home, alongside feature documentary work such as The Textile Generation.Dr Ann-Christin Zuntz is a lecturer in Anthropology of Development at the University of Edinburgh. She studies the links between (forced) migration and global economies, particularly in the context of the Syrian conflict. Since 2015, she has conducted fieldwork with refugees and migrants in Jordan, Turkey, Tunisia, Bulgaria, the UK, and Uganda, together with grassroots organisations and funding from the AHRC, Royal Society of Edinburgh, and British Academy. Based on her 2022-2026 British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship, she is currently finalising a monograph on “Brokers and the infrastructures of Syrian displacement”.Dr Alessandro Columbu is Senior Lecturer in Arabic at the University of Westminster. Originally from Sardinia, Dr Columbu learned Arabic in Damascus, Beirut, Tunis and Amman, and he’s now an accomplished translator from Arabic into English, Italian and Sardinian. His interest in the history of the Syrian community arose during his time at the University of Manchester where he worked as an Arabic language teacher between 2016 and 2019.The Alwaleed Centre's Interdisciplinary Seminar Series:This documentary screening is part of the Alwaleed Centre's Interdisciplinary Seminar Series and co-badged with Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and the Social Anthropology subject area in the School of Social and Political Sciences. About the Seminar SeriesThe Alwaleed Centre’s interdisciplinary research seminar series takes place during the academic year 2026/27 and aims to broaden knowledge production of contemporary Islam and the Globalised Muslim world through collaborative seminars with colleagues across the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS). The series brings together scholars, practitioners, and artists to critically engage with questions pertaining to the study of contemporary Islam and the globalised Muslim world from an interdisciplinary perspective. The vast majority of our seminars will be co-badged with colleagues in schools and research networks across CAHSS, including: The School of Divinity, The Edinburgh College of Art, the School of Social and Political Sciences, The School of History, Classics and Archaeology, The Middle East Research Group (MERG), and CRITIQUE.Please join us for these important and timely conversations! Students, staff, and members of the public are all welcome!Learn more about our Seminar Series. Nov 03 2026 17.30 - 19.30 Documentary Screening: The Textile Generation Join us on 3 November to watch “The Textile Generation”, a one-hour documentary directed by the Syrian-Bahraini filmmaker Haya Altamimi and co-produced by Dr Ann-Christin Zuntz (University of Edinburgh) and Dr Alessandro Columbu (University of Westminster), which brings to the screen the forgotten history of Syrian textile traders in Manchester. This article was published on Monday 14 September 2026
Nov 03 2026 17.30 - 19.30 Documentary Screening: The Textile Generation Join us on 3 November to watch “The Textile Generation”, a one-hour documentary directed by the Syrian-Bahraini filmmaker Haya Altamimi and co-produced by Dr Ann-Christin Zuntz (University of Edinburgh) and Dr Alessandro Columbu (University of Westminster), which brings to the screen the forgotten history of Syrian textile traders in Manchester.
