Wael Shawky short films to be streamed today

Two movies by the award-winning artist are part of the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection-

Sharjah Art Foundation's Film Programme is screening Wael Shawky's Al Araba Al Madfuna I (2012) and Al Araba Al Madfuna II (2013) online this Friday, May 15 from 9.30pm. The livestream can be accessed through this link: https://vimeo.com/417081012. The films will be screened consecutively and, as they cannot be streamed on demand, viewers who join the stream at a later time will not be able to watch the entire film programme from the beginning. The films are in Arabic with English subtitles.
Inspired by the artist's experience with residents in the village of Al Araba Al Madfuna, one of the oldest cities in Upper Egypt, the films feature children from the village dressed as grown men, who retell stories by Egyptian novelist and short story writer Mohamed Mustagab (1938-2005). The two multi-layered films, shot in black and white in the tradition of classic Egyptian movies, explore how the ideologies and behaviours of earlier generations may be carried on, sometimes in extreme ways, by their descendants.
Winner of the Ernst Schering Foundation Art Award (2011), Shawky was commended by the jury for his work in film, which they characterised as 'remarkably impressive due to its consistent development and extraordinary precision. His re-performances of historical and political events ignite unconventional perspectives, which exceed reflections of Egyptian societal structures. He creates images that are crafted with technical mastership and therefore induce an immediate persuasiveness.' For more information, visit sharjahart.org.

• Sharjah