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It is
sometimes difficult for Westerners to imagine the huge popularity
poets enjoy in the Arab world. From the Middle East to North Africa,
poetry is considered a living
art that should be performed on stage by the authors themselves.
When the great Arab poet Mahmoud Darwich recites his poems in Cairo,
Beirut or Algiers (or even in Paris and London), packed crowds come
to mouth the verse with him.
This film,
which follows Darwich from the Cisjordanian desert to Paris via
Cairo and Beirut, tracing the path of his exile from Israel, sets
out to understand this popular fervor and share the emotion
distilled by Darwich’s words and inimitable rhythm. It not only
allows the viewer to appreciate his work in its totality, but also
places it in a political, historical and cultural context.
Type:
Documentary
Director:
Simone Bitton
Year:
1997
Time:
60 minutes
Language:
English and Arabic with English Subti
Mahmoud Darwich: As
the Land Is the Language
It is sometimes difficult for Westerners to imagine the huge
popularity poets enjoy in the Arab world. From the Middle East to
North Africa, poetry is considered a living art that should be
performed on stage by the authors themselves. When the great Arab
poet Mahmoud Darwich recites his poems in Cairo, Beirut or Algiers
(or even in Paris and London), packed crowds come to mouth the verse
with him.
This film, which follows Darwich from the Cisjordanian desert to
Paris via Cairo and Beirut, tracing the path of his exile from
Israel, sets out to understand this popular fervor and share the
emotion distilled by Darwich’s words and inimitable rhythm. It not
only allows the viewer to appreciate his work in its totality, but
also places it in a political, historical and cultural context.
Type:
Documentary
Director:
Simone Bitton
Year:
1997
Time:
60 minutes
Language:
English and Arabic with English Subti
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