Nightfall
Mohamed Soueid | Lebanon | 70 min. | video | 2000
This scathing, strange and surprisingly funny video draws on Soueid’s
diaries from his time as a member of “The Student Squad”
of the Palestinian resistance movement Fateh during the Lebanese
Civil War. “Stories of old friends fallen during the war and
of others still alive unravel amongst copious amounts of drinking
and carousing. A lyrical artist, Soueid defies conventions by blending
narrative with prose, essay with poem, and conversation with speculation”
(Jayce Salloum).
Mohamed Soueid is Lebanon’s pioneer of independent video
production. Acknowledged to have produced the first independent
video in Lebanon in 1990, Soueid has produced a powerful video oeuvre.
He is the author of a book-length study of Lebanese cinema and a
novel written, Georges Perec style, without the letter y. A founder
of the independent media collective Beirut DC, he currently produces
and acquires independent documentaries for the satellite channel
MBC. He is both a tireless promoter of creative and progressive
expression by Arab artists and a lover of Orson Welles whose style
is nevertheless uniquely Beiruti.
Please note: Preceding this screening, Mohamed Soueid and curator
Laura U. Marks will be speaking about Arab independent media. See
Never
the Right Time 1 for details. |
