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A year of the Spring
From April 25, 2012 until May 28, 2012
During last year, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Syria and other countries have been the scenery of different kinds of democratic protests which have been watched from Spain, mainly through television documentaries and videos filmed at the heat of the moment.
This year Casa Árabe takes part in the DOCUMENTA MADRID 2012 Festival with a season focused on the huge cinema production which has witnessed this period and which deepened on the Arab Springs.
The format of the products to be shown varies, from documentary films to small pieces of video-art, clips of video and animated feature films, which have been widely distributed by Internet, a vital tool for these popular uprisings.
Tahrir 2011. The Good, the Bad and the Politician, by Tamer Ezzat, Ayten Amin and Amr Salama with Ahmad Abdalla’s collaboration (Egypt, 2011, 90 min.).
The Reluctant Revolutionary, by Sean McAllister (Ireland, 2011, 70 min.).
Images of Revolution, by Ibrahim Hamdan (Qatar, 2011, 40 min.).
Red Word, by Elyes Baccar (Tunisia, Switzerland and Qatar, 2011, 94 min.).
Law 76, by Mohamed Ben Attia (Tunisia, 2011, 12 min.).
A Spring Tale, by Dani Abo Louh and Mohamad Omran (France, 2011, 5 min.).
Short films by Collective Abou-Naddara (Syria, 2011, about 3 min. each video).
Top Goon: Diaries of a Little Dictator, by Collective Masasit Mati (Syria, 2011, three chapters, about 7 min. each)
Another Night on Earth, by David Muñoz (Spain, 2012, 52 min.).
Screenings will be on original version with Spanish subtitles at Casa Árabe’s Auditorium in Madrid (c/Alcalá, 62) at 19.30. Free entrance, prior invitation ticket collection –one for each person- from 19.00 on.
The format of the products to be shown varies, from documentary films to small pieces of video-art, clips of video and animated feature films, which have been widely distributed by Internet, a vital tool for these popular uprisings.
Session 1: EGYPT
Tahrir 2011. The Good, the Bad and the Politician, by Tamer Ezzat, Ayten Amin and Amr Salama with Ahmad Abdalla’s collaboration (Egypt, 2011, 90 min.).
When Egyptians woke up on January 25th 2011, they had no clue that the demonstration to take place on that date was to become an accomplished revolution which will overthrow a regime which for 30 years had seized power. Three young gifted filmmakers decided to tell the revolution story from an original cinematographic stance. Apart from the political factor, its plot focuses on a series of people whose actions changed their country’s future for good. The story of a revolution told from three different points of view: demonstrators, State security forces and former President Hosni Mubarak.
Session 2: YEMEN
The Reluctant Revolutionary, by Sean McAllister (Ireland, 2011, 70 min.).
The journalist Sean McAllister accompanies a tourist guide on his daily routine, one person whose business stopped due to the protests against the regime of Ali Abdallah Saleh. The tourist guide who supports the protester movement incarnates the paradigm of the poverty situation most Yemeni people is undergoing. McAllister covers different demonstration days, especially the one known as the "Friday dignity", when 52 people died.
Session 3: LIBYA
Images of Revolution, by Ibrahim Hamdan (Qatar, 2011, 40 min.).
The echo of the uprisings taking place in the Arab world is being amplified thanks to the photographs and videos filmed by citizens themselves with their mobile telephones. Social networks have distributed these images and the rest of the world has witnessed how people took over the streets to request Justice and overthrow its dictators. Many citizens have put their lives at risk to record those events and therefore those images have become icons of the Arab Springs. Images of Revolution tells the stories behind those images, explained by those very same people who filmed them. COURTESY OF ALJAZEERA
Session 4: TUNISIA
Red Word, by Elyes Baccar (Tunisia, Switzerland and Qatar, 2011, 94 min.).
The revolution burst in an unforeseen country, Tunisia, and generated a political earthquake which shocked the whole world. Rouge Parole (Red Word) is the story of the Tunisian popular uprising and the expulsion of the president Ben Ali told of by those heroes who made it happen, those people who designed the first steps of their country towards democracy.
Law 76 is a fiction film which recreates what may have happened if Tunisian people had voted for this fictional law: authorities would have closed the pubs in the country. Young filmmaker Mohamed Ben Attia carried out this original piece before the legislative elections in Tunisia, as an advance of what will come on 2015. His aim is to urge Tunisian people to vote and to make them aware of the importance citizen involvement has on the political future of their country.COURTESY OF NOMADIS IMAGES and BYRSA MOUVEMENT CITOYEN
Session 5: SYRIA AND EGYPT
A Spring Tale, by Dani Abo Louh and Mohamad Omran (France, 2011, 5 min.).
An animation short film tribute to Syrian demonstrators.
Creative videos created by a filmmaker collective where people living in Damascus collaborate to tackle repression and Syrian social situation with an experimental and metaphorical approach.
Top Goon: Diaries of a Little Dictator, by Collective Masasit Mati (Syria, 2011, three chapters, about 7 min. each)
Satirical puppet show which parodies the Syrian regime. During its first two weeks aired on Youtube, 37.000 people visited the site to watch it.
Another Night on Earth, by David Muñoz (Spain, 2012, 52 min.).
Egypt, a country shaken by revolution. Cairo, the megacity with the worst traffic in the world. In taxis, passengers and taxi drivers chat, discuss and argue over their present and future. An excellent depiction of common people in Cairo and their everyday speeches in the post-revolutionary Egypt.
Screening program
| Monday, May 7th | Tahrir 2011. The Good, the Bad and the Politician, by Tamer Ezzat, Ayten Amin and Amr Salama with Ahmad Abadalla’s collaboration |
| Tuesday, 8th May | The Reluctant Revolutionary, by Sean McAllister |
| Wednesday, May 9th | Images of Revolution, by Ibrahim Hamdan |
| Thursday, May 10th | Red Word, by Elyes Baccar Law 76, by Mohamed Ben Attia |
| Friday, May 11th | A Spring Tale, by Dani Abo Louh and Mohamad Omran Short films, by Collective Abou-Naddara Top Goon: Diaries of a Little Dictator, by Collective Masasit Mati (Three chapters) Another Night on Earth, by David Muñoz |
| Monday, May 14th | Tahrir 2011. The Good, the Bad and the Politician, by Tamer Ezzat, Ayten Amin and Amr Salama with Ahmad Abdalla’s collaboration |
| Friday, May 18th | The Reluctant Revolutionary, by Sean McAllister |
| Monday, May 21st | Images of Revolution, by Ibrahim Hamdan |
| Friday, May 25th | Red Word, by Elyes Baccar Law 76, by Mohamed Ben Attia |
| Monday, May 28th | A Spring Tale, by Dani Abo Louh and Mohamad Omran Short films, by Collective Abou-Naddara Top Goon: Diaries of a Little Dictator, by Collective Masasit Mati (Three chapters) Another Night on Earth, by David Muñoz |
Screenings will be on original version with Spanish subtitles at Casa Árabe’s Auditorium in Madrid (c/Alcalá, 62) at 19.30. Free entrance, prior invitation ticket collection –one for each person- from 19.00 on.
