Belia, 2021, Eman Hussein, 9 min.
A young woman and her friends join a car repair shop as «Belia» (colloquial Egyptian for apprentices) to learn the craft from the Ustas (craft headmasters). They explore what this relationship creates as it merges labor with everyday life rhythms to open up a new space for movement.
Trailer
Jury Statements
«Belia successfully finds a witty physical shape and form to tell its story. Belia is inventive cinema and choreography-wise; moving, humanistic, unpretentious, engaging, and simply fun all around. I particularly appreciate how the film weaves the sound of the environment together with the narrative, immersing the viewers in the world it portrays. As a result, the film presents a coherent and total experience! Bravo!» – Alla Kovgan, Best Film, Flatlands Dance Film Festival
«With an undeniable documentary value and through fiction, the director portrays the cultural reality and artistic restlessness of a space where the old, the discarded, is transformed into the new: a process that fuses the tradition of manual work with the contemporary movement.» – Jury Statement, Best Director Award, Zinetika Festival Spain
«Choreographed in detail in combination with camera work, original idea, and good build-up. Nice work with the sound as well.» – Simone Wierød, Flatlands Dance Film Festival
«We are impressed with Belia's capacity to shine a light on a little-explored topic – fixing cars in an Egyptian neighborhood. The film's ingenious use of everyday objects to compose a fascinating soundscape blends perfectly with the rhythm dictated by the movement and editing.» – Jury Statement, Best Film Award, Bucharest International Dance Film Festival
Credits
Concept, Choreographer & Director: Eman Hussein – Collaborators & Performers Amr Taher, Hany Atef, Islam El-Arabi, Mohamed Mahmoud Toto, Eman Hussein – Editor: Ahmed Al Sa’aty – DOP: Hassan El Zanaty – Sound Design: Youssra El Hawary – Color Correction: Omar Khaled – Assistant Director: Hanin Tarek –Production: MAAT Dance Company – Production Manager and Distributor: Mariz Kelada
A Skewed Conversation, 2017, Eman Hussein, 15 min.
A Skewed Conversation is an attempt to communicate with the city, asking are we integrated within it or do we disappear into it. We try to explore it and reconnect with it from a different point of view. Also exploring if we connect with the surrounding space? With people? Do we realize our body present in the spaces?
Trailer
Credits
Concept, Choreographer, Performer: Eman Hussein – Video Director: Eman Hussein & Ahmed Hamed – D.O.P: Ahmed Hamed – Video Editing: Ahmed Hamed – Music Composition: Mohamed Bonga