Main Content

Concept

Between 2010 and 2015, around thirty films were produced both inside and outside the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region that were wholly or partially composed of videos by the Green Movement or from the “Arab Spring”. The films rearrange the video’s documentary footage via processes of excerpting, montage, and the addition of intertitles and/or voice-over narration. Through these cinematic appropriation processes, the videos take on a new functional context. This raises questions about the production and reception of both the original videos and the resulting films. There are various relevant factors at play: How, and by which criteria, do the videos become part of the films? What narrative and aesthetic strategies are employed? The projects seeks to build a broader understanding of moving images of the popular uprising movements in the MENA region and their appropriation for other filmic and geographical contexts. The goal is not only to probe the boundaries and intersections between “filming” and “video-making,” but furthermore to expand upon common research practices in regard to moving images from the MENA region by taking a systematically developed approach from media and cultural studies, contributing a new understanding of moving images as substantial factors within political, social, and cultural upheaval.

Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in the funding line: "Kleine Fächer- Große Potenziale"