The Arabic world is perhaps experiencing the most complex and radical conflicts on Earth – between different religions and ethnicities, between traditions and the intrusion of western culture – on both individual and national levels. Contemporary Arabic artists constantly consider the way these issues are projected into people’s private lives. Witin the Region presents eight video works and four short documentaries from artists who have emerged in the past three years. Their works show a specific sensibility and awareness, as they meditate on the topics of identity and individuality, constructing an alternative narrative for the region, ultimately challenging the general perception and stereotypes about the Arabic world.
Feb 4, 19:00
All video art works+ First Picture + Lemon Flowers Appro. 92mins
Feb 11, 19:00
Among Ourselves + Full Bloom + all video art works Appro. 95mins
Video Art works:
Kekh
Hosam Elsawah, Egypt, 6 min
Trivial story telling by an extraordinary person reflects the mixed up consequences of his surroundings.
Don't Resign
Ahmed Elshaer, Egypt, 3min
Languor, negativity and avoiding responsibility became lately a regular native behavior.
Play
Waheeda Malullah, Bahrain, 3min
Black and white obsession, sympathetic social issues and gender consideration – all related to a football.
Interview
Ahmed Sabry, Egypt, 1min
Digital image became a way of mental and personal composition, a guide for belief and may be high heaven.
Soup Over Bethlehem (Mloukhieh)
Larissa Sansour, Palestine, 9min
A group of young Palestinians, all educated in the West, are having dinner on a roof terrace in Bethlehem.
On The Pointed Stick
Hosam Hodhod, Egypt, 3min
Various assays of self deformation through self head sculpture.
4 Seasons
Rania Rafei - Lebanon - 4 min
The artist plays with adjustability options of concrete national ideologies in relation to the war of July 2006 in Lebanon.
In The Fridge
Asmaa kolaly, Egypt, 2 min
Sewing hobby and unusual appetite to food insertion.
Documentaries:
Full Bloom
Sandra Madi, Jordan, 46min
The Arab boxing champion, Faraj, who was born and lives in Baqaa Refugee Camp, was suspended from playing until further notice for refusing to confront an Israeli champion in an international competition. The film monitors Faraj’s dilemma between surrendering to life in the refugee camp or attempting to emigrate.
Lemon Flowers
Pamela Ghonimeh, Lebanon, 35min
During the civil war, the Director’s family was forced to leave the neighborhood of Haret Hreik, in Beirut, to a new place that doesn’t relate to their memories or history. The father tries to recreate the neighbourhood he misses.
First Picture
Akram Al Ashqar, Palestine, 26min
The film addresses the story of a Palestinian child, Nour, born in the Israeli Telmond prison, where his mother, Manal Ghanem from Tulkarem refugee camp, was detained. He lived for four years with his mother and then he was separated from her while she remained in detention. The film tells also the suffering of his relatives who cannot understand the fact that he misses the place where he was born: his mother’s cell which represented his only “world”.
Among Ourselves
Ibrahim Abla, Egypt, 18min
In the middle of the crowded city of Cairo, with the unpaved roads, many unusual incidents take place. The heroes of those stories are usual ordinary people just like me and you in a triangle struggle that consists of customer, driver and policeman.
