This selection of films draws from ArteEast’s ArteArchive to explore the notion of absence–that which is erased, missing or forgotten–as a central theme in the works of Lebanese filmmakers Marwa Arsanios, Ahmad Ghossein, and Ghassan Halwani
Both Marwa Arsanios and Ghassan Halwani use animation as a means to render that which is invisible visible, while Halwani also uses a process of omission and unlayering, both literal and metaphorical, to uncover the buried faces and names of those who went missing during the Lebanese Civil War. Contrary to Halwani’s use of omission, Ahmad Ghossein applies a process of insertion, reintroducing the cut-out silhouette of his father into family photographs, as a means to mark the very present absence of his father during Ghossein’s childhood years. From erasure, to omission and insertion, these works employ different creative devices to render that which is absent present.
I've Heard 3 Stories (2009)
This video, which includes 2D animation, brings together different stories about the chalet Raja Saab, a 1950’s experimental architecture, attempting to investigate and re-stage the disappearance of a dancer from the Crazy Horse Saloon in Beirut. It is part of the research on Acapulco, a once very hip beach resort situated in the southern outskirts of the city, which has undergone a radical transformation after 1978.
About the Filmmaker
Marwa Arsanios is an artist, filmmaker and researcher whose work can take the form of installation, performance and moving image. She reconsiders the political development of the second half of the twentieth century from a contemporary perspective, focusing on gender relations, collectivism, urbanism and industrialization. Her research work includes many disciplines and is deployed in numerous collaborative projects.
Several solo exhibitions have been dedicated to her work: Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati (2021); Skuc Gallery, Ljubljana (2018); Beirut Art Center (2017); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2016); Witte de With, Rotterdam (2016); Kunsthalle Lissabon, Lisbon (2015); and Art in General, New York (2015).
Her films have been screened at Cinéma du Réel, Paris (2021); Rotterdam Film Festival (2021); EMAF, Osnabrück (2021); Film Fest, Hamburg (2020); State of Concept, Athens (2020); FID Marseille (2019); tiff, Toronto (2019); RIDM, Montreal (2019); Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival (2019); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2017); Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2011, 2017); Berlin International Film Festival (2010, 2015); and e-flux storefront, New York (2009).
She received the Georges de Beauregard International Prize at FID Marseille (2019), the Special Prize of the Pinchuk Future Generation Art Prize (2012), and was nominated for the Paulo Cunha e Silva Art Prize (2017) and the Han Nefkens Foundation Award (2014). She was awarded the Akademie Schloss Solitude scholarship in Stuttgart in 2014 and the Tokyo Wonder Site, Tokyo Arts and Space in 2010. She is a co-founder of the 98weeks Research Project.
- Year2009
- Runtime12 minutes
- LanguageArabic
- CountryLebanon
- ScreenwriterMarwa Arsanios
- ProducerThe Lebanese Association for Plastic Arts Ahskal Alwan
- Co-ProducerThe Heinrich Boell Foundation
- FilmmakerMarwa Arsanios
- CinematographerMarwa Arsanios, Fouad Arsanios, Myriam Sassine, Siska
- EditorMarwa Arsanios, Carine Doumit
- AnimatorMarwa Arsanios, Alex Nytsen
This selection of films draws from ArteEast’s ArteArchive to explore the notion of absence–that which is erased, missing or forgotten–as a central theme in the works of Lebanese filmmakers Marwa Arsanios, Ahmad Ghossein, and Ghassan Halwani
Both Marwa Arsanios and Ghassan Halwani use animation as a means to render that which is invisible visible, while Halwani also uses a process of omission and unlayering, both literal and metaphorical, to uncover the buried faces and names of those who went missing during the Lebanese Civil War. Contrary to Halwani’s use of omission, Ahmad Ghossein applies a process of insertion, reintroducing the cut-out silhouette of his father into family photographs, as a means to mark the very present absence of his father during Ghossein’s childhood years. From erasure, to omission and insertion, these works employ different creative devices to render that which is absent present.
I've Heard 3 Stories (2009)
This video, which includes 2D animation, brings together different stories about the chalet Raja Saab, a 1950’s experimental architecture, attempting to investigate and re-stage the disappearance of a dancer from the Crazy Horse Saloon in Beirut. It is part of the research on Acapulco, a once very hip beach resort situated in the southern outskirts of the city, which has undergone a radical transformation after 1978.
About the Filmmaker
Marwa Arsanios is an artist, filmmaker and researcher whose work can take the form of installation, performance and moving image. She reconsiders the political development of the second half of the twentieth century from a contemporary perspective, focusing on gender relations, collectivism, urbanism and industrialization. Her research work includes many disciplines and is deployed in numerous collaborative projects.
Several solo exhibitions have been dedicated to her work: Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati (2021); Skuc Gallery, Ljubljana (2018); Beirut Art Center (2017); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2016); Witte de With, Rotterdam (2016); Kunsthalle Lissabon, Lisbon (2015); and Art in General, New York (2015).
Her films have been screened at Cinéma du Réel, Paris (2021); Rotterdam Film Festival (2021); EMAF, Osnabrück (2021); Film Fest, Hamburg (2020); State of Concept, Athens (2020); FID Marseille (2019); tiff, Toronto (2019); RIDM, Montreal (2019); Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival (2019); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2017); Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2011, 2017); Berlin International Film Festival (2010, 2015); and e-flux storefront, New York (2009).
She received the Georges de Beauregard International Prize at FID Marseille (2019), the Special Prize of the Pinchuk Future Generation Art Prize (2012), and was nominated for the Paulo Cunha e Silva Art Prize (2017) and the Han Nefkens Foundation Award (2014). She was awarded the Akademie Schloss Solitude scholarship in Stuttgart in 2014 and the Tokyo Wonder Site, Tokyo Arts and Space in 2010. She is a co-founder of the 98weeks Research Project.
- Year2009
- Runtime12 minutes
- LanguageArabic
- CountryLebanon
- ScreenwriterMarwa Arsanios
- ProducerThe Lebanese Association for Plastic Arts Ahskal Alwan
- Co-ProducerThe Heinrich Boell Foundation
- FilmmakerMarwa Arsanios
- CinematographerMarwa Arsanios, Fouad Arsanios, Myriam Sassine, Siska
- EditorMarwa Arsanios, Carine Doumit
- AnimatorMarwa Arsanios, Alex Nytsen