This set of experimental short films explores the connections between language, memory, and home. While inseparable elements for some, for others they pose the very obstacles preventing them from connecting to their identities. With this in mind, the filmmakers question how language shapes our memories of home and––inversely––how our recollections of the past are sculpted by the mother tongue we did (or did not) learn to speak. The films are poetic in form and content and take us on a journey from the coasts of Egypt to the water wheels of Hama, Syria to an abandoned family home in Baghdad. They beautifully weave images of texts, nature, cityscapes, and personal archives to convey a perpetual longing for a life that could have been.
This program is curated by Nanor Vosgueritchian
A short ode to my love of Egypt and my childhood memory, shot on the balconies of Zamalek.
About the filmmaker:
Tara Bayat (Cairo, 1992) is a director, editor and post producer based in New York. She holds an M.A. in Cinema Studies from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a B.A. from SUNY Purchase. In her career she has worked primarily in post production. Her research and image making explores transnational film history through national myth making and censorship codes.
- Year2022
- Runtime2 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryEgypt
- DirectorTara Bayat
This set of experimental short films explores the connections between language, memory, and home. While inseparable elements for some, for others they pose the very obstacles preventing them from connecting to their identities. With this in mind, the filmmakers question how language shapes our memories of home and––inversely––how our recollections of the past are sculpted by the mother tongue we did (or did not) learn to speak. The films are poetic in form and content and take us on a journey from the coasts of Egypt to the water wheels of Hama, Syria to an abandoned family home in Baghdad. They beautifully weave images of texts, nature, cityscapes, and personal archives to convey a perpetual longing for a life that could have been.
This program is curated by Nanor Vosgueritchian
A short ode to my love of Egypt and my childhood memory, shot on the balconies of Zamalek.
About the filmmaker:
Tara Bayat (Cairo, 1992) is a director, editor and post producer based in New York. She holds an M.A. in Cinema Studies from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a B.A. from SUNY Purchase. In her career she has worked primarily in post production. Her research and image making explores transnational film history through national myth making and censorship codes.
- Year2022
- Runtime2 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryEgypt
- DirectorTara Bayat