Akram Zaatari. SECOND READING from L'internationale online on Vimeo.

Akram Zaatari 

Second Reading 

Video, 5’ 38’’ 

In Hitchcock's Rear Window, 1954, a photographer suffers from confinement imposed on him by the cast of his broken leg. To entertain himself, he spends his time at the window with his camera, looking at the details of the courtyard, hearing and observing his neighbors, wanting to experience something exciting, while a crime slowly unfolds. 

With imposed lockdown, most people are home too. They look through the window, or they stand at the balcony, or sit in front of the third window: any of the screens that surround us, TV, computer, kindle, tablets or smartphones, seeking news but very often demanding to view something very familiar. SECOND READING looks briefly at the figure of the photographer in Egyptian cinema taking Mohamed Khan's Darbet Shams, 1980, as an entry point. 

Excerpts from: 

Mohamed Khan. Darbet Shams, 1980 

Henri Barakat. El Hobb el Kebir, 1968 

Atef Salem. Youm men Omri, 1961 

Helmy Raflah. Maaboudat al Gamahreer, 1967