Scribe Video Center’s Street Movies! Undercover is a free screening series bringing independent short films and videos to vibrant community-led spaces throughout Philadelphia. Presented in partnership with Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, join us on Thursday, April 3rd for a curated screening of Middle Eastern shorts that combine politics with sci-fi and the supernatural. This program is co-curated by Joseph Fahim and will feature an opening performance by Palestinian composer and Buzoq player, Jiryis Murkus Ballan.

FILM PROGRAM:

In Vitro (Dir. Larissa Sansour & Soren Lind, Palestine/Denmark/UK, 2019, 28 min)

Commissioned by the Danish Arts Foundation for the 58th Venice Biennale, In Vitro, co-directed with Søren Lind, is a 2-channel Arabic-language sci-fi film filmed in black and white. It is set in the aftermath of an eco-disaster. An abandoned nuclear reactor under the biblical town of Bethlehem has been converted into an enormous orchard. Using heirloom seeds collected in the final days before the apocalypse, a group of scientists are preparing to replant the soil above.

Nation Estate (Dir. Larissa Sansour, Palestine/Denmark, 2012, 9 min)

With its glossy mixture of computer generated imagery, live actors and an arabesque electronica soundtrack, the Nation Estate film explores a vertical solution to Palestinian statehood. Palestinians have their state in the form of a single skyscraper: the Nation Estate.

LIVE PERFORMANCE:

Jiryis Murkus Ballan is a Palestinian composer and buzuq player from Nazareth in the Galilee region. With a Ph.D. in Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology (ICIT) from the University of California, Irvine, Jiryis’s work explores the dynamic intersections between traditional Levantine music and contemporary sound manipulation. His compositions often engage dancers, integrating sound design, motion sensors, and electroacoustic compositions. Jiryis has bridged cultural divides through transcultural music projects such as the Caravan Orchestra and project, and Tijwal ensemble.