Synopsis
You are now in the main hall of the National Museum in Beirut. A guard reminds you that you are encouraged to touch the archeological objects. A voice in your headset suggests that you lick the stone. You are now facing a hole in the wall on the lower left corner of a mosaic. The voice in your headset indicates that it was made by a sniper. Out of curiosity, you dial 1-9-9-1 to listen to the rest of the story.
A word from Tënk
Nour Ouayda's use of digital noise, camera movements, and image superimpositions reveals ancient statues while also rendering them elusive. These techniques accentuate the fragmented nature of the damaged sculptures, echoing a museological gesture that, while displaying certain remnants of history, conceals other aspects. Stone is considered as skin, and objects are placed within a context that extends beyond antiquity. The unidentified voice guiding our gaze seems suspended between the living and the inert, oscillating between a cold didacticism reminiscent of audio guides and the softness of a confession.
Olivia Cooper-Hadjian
Member of the Cinéma du Réel Selection Committee,
Critic for Les Cahiers du Cinéma
