Turbulent changes are still plaguing the Middle East. What all this will lead to is not yet completely clear. However, there have been some tangible results: the Arab Spring, at least for the moment, has put an end to decades of (self) censorship and terror, unacceptable legacies in such times of globalization. Consequently, different forms of artistic expressions have stemmed from the Arab upheavals.
The documentary The Noise of Cairo is the first relevant work of its kind, produced as a consequence of the interplay between art and revolution in Egypt. Filmed in Cairo in 2011, a few months after those tumultuous 18 days leading to the resignation of former President Hosni Mubarak, it talks about the radical social changes taking place in the country, amidst expectations that politics may also find its way towards rebirth. Produced by Scenes from and directed by the 36 year-old German film director Heiko Lange, who has dedicated 10 years of his life to TV productions in Berlin, The Noise of Cairo presents the city’s art scene which is flourishing once again and plays witness to the vibrancy that for years has characterized its heart and underbelly.
The lead actors of this cinematic adventure are, first and foremost, the art gallery managers of downtown Cairo: Sherwet Shafiedi from the Safar Khan Gallery, William Wells from The Townhouse Gallery and Ali Abdel Mohsen, who curated the Maspero Exhibition at Darb 1718 . Then, like aircraft roaring off a runway, we have Sondos Shabayek (director and interpreter of the Tahrir Monologues), Hany Rashed (pop artist), Osama Moneim (painter), Khaled El Khamissi (writer), Khaled Hafez, Keizer (street artist), Shaimaa Shaalan (female singer and songwriter), Ramy Essam (the singer of the revolution arrested by the military for his anti-regime chants), Ezzat Ismail (dancer) and Karima Mansour (a choreographer and dancer who is now back in Cairo theatres after a hiatus of some years).
Taken from: WiredTV.it
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