Filming Revolution: a meta-documentary about filmmaking in Egypt since the revolution
Filming Revolution is an interactive data-base documentary archive about independent and documentary filmmaking in Egypt since the revolution. Bringing together the collective wisdom and creative strategies of media-makers in Egypt, before, during, and after the revolution, the website consists of thirty interviews with Egyptian filmmakers, artists, activists, and archivists, discussing their work and their ideas about how (and whether) to make films in the time of revolution.
The interviews with the activist-practitioners were conducted in Egypt between 2013-2014 by film scholar Alisa Lebow, Reader in Film Studies at the University of Sussex. In addition to the lively interview material, website visitors can also see examples of the work discussed and read short interactive articles about all of those interviewed. This innovative project creates a virtual community of practitioners engaged in a curated dialogue about image making in Egypt, where we learn of the challenges faced, and the strategies pursued. To make the website, Lebow edited the video interviews into short thematic segments and worked with computer programmer Hüseyin Kuşcu of Kakare Interactive, to devise an original platform whereby algorithms link the material by theme, person, or project.
Filming Revolution, so much more dynamic than a book and more inclusive than a film, practices film studies interactively, providing a space of reflection about the role of filmmaking in the wake of momentous world events. This project will be of interest to journalists, researchers, scholars, students, filmmakers, historians, and anyone else who wishes to learn more about independent and documentary filmmaking in Egypt since the revolution.
Filming Revolution is funded by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust with additional support provided by the University of Sussex.
For more information, click here or please contact Alisa Lebow.