A Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose

Categories
installation live music sound

Mandy El-Sayegh
A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose
In collaboration with sound artist Sami El-Enany and movement artist Chelsea Gordon
Curated by Sara Raza

Lawrie Shabibi Gallery, Dubai

A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose is a portal into artist Mandy El-Sayegh’s stream of consciousness, revealing a labyrinth of multiple and overlapping truths. Composed of fractured and repeated actions culminating in an alternative visual and sonic encyclopaedic flow, the exhibition unites ancestral, familial, and collective visual data sourced from ephemera, textiles, literature, newspapers, and other printed materials. These elements are overlaid and camouflaged within her paintings, sound, performance, and wall installations to create poetic codes of resistance that operate in plain sight. El-Sayegh’s methodology is akin to a bricoleur as she engages in the studio art of bricolage—using existing materials and connecting seemingly disparate bodies of visual cultural knowledge to reassemble new meaning.

As part of the exhibition, El-Enany created a quadrophonic sound installation titled نافورة (Nafoura), meaning ‘fountain’. His work references fountains dyed blood-red in public squares in global liberation movements, while also alluding to the endlessly flowing quality of the work.

Using the principles of a Shepard tone – a superposition of frequencies that create the illusion of an infinitely unfolding pitch, نافورة situates the listener in an ever changing sonic geometry where moments of consonance depart as soon as they arrive.

Investigating ideas of noise and turbulence, نافورة (Nafoura) explores military drone soundscapes and their effect on people's everyday lives. Sonic material is derived from El-Enany's research into humanitarian law, first-hand field recordings from the siege of Gaza, personal experience, sound analysis and dialogue. The piece asks what is the effect of the acousmatics of terror? نافورة (Nafoura) is a sonic action, a fountain dyed red with blood, and much like a fountain, acts as a place to come together, to consider our social relationships, to look inward at our complicity in the devastation of the world.

El-Enany also worked with El-Sayegh to develop the sound for a performance work presented at the
gallery, co-created with movement artist Chelsea Gordon. The performance draws on a range of sources,
including diverse forms of prayer rituals which encompass repetition of chants and motion, and engender
trance-like states. Exploring new possibilities for presenting sound and performance, this multi-layered work, like El-Sayegh’s paintings, is infused with complex data and entanglements, capturing various emotions and responses through its layering of audio, movement and kaleidoscopic projections.

El-Enany's work seeks to disrupt supremacist paradigms and hierarchies of knowledge production by delving into global tuning systems, mathematics and metaphysics.

Mandy El-Sayegh
A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose
In collaboration with sound artist Sami El-Enany and movement artist Chelsea Gordon
Curated by Sara Raza

Lawrie Shabibi Gallery, Dubai

A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose is a portal into artist Mandy El-Sayegh’s stream of consciousness, revealing a labyrinth of multiple and overlapping truths. Composed of fractured and repeated actions culminating in an alternative visual and sonic encyclopaedic flow, the exhibition unites ancestral, familial, and collective visual data sourced from ephemera, textiles, literature, newspapers, and other printed materials. These elements are overlaid and camouflaged within her paintings, sound, performance, and wall installations to create poetic codes of resistance that operate in plain sight. El-Sayegh’s methodology is akin to a bricoleur as she engages in the studio art of bricolage—using existing materials and connecting seemingly disparate bodies of visual cultural knowledge to reassemble new meaning.

As part of the exhibition, El-Enany created a quadrophonic sound installation titled نافورة (Nafoura), meaning ‘fountain’. His work references fountains dyed blood-red in public squares in global liberation movements, while also alluding to the endlessly flowing quality of the work.

Using the principles of a Shepard tone – a superposition of frequencies that create the illusion of an infinitely unfolding pitch, نافورة situates the listener in an ever changing sonic geometry where moments of consonance depart as soon as they arrive.

Investigating ideas of noise and turbulence, نافورة (Nafoura) explores military drone soundscapes and their effect on people's everyday lives. Sonic material is derived from El-Enany's research into humanitarian law, first-hand field recordings from the siege of Gaza, personal experience, sound analysis and dialogue. The piece asks what is the effect of the acousmatics of terror? نافورة (Nafoura) is a sonic action, a fountain dyed red with blood, and much like a fountain, acts as a place to come together, to consider our social relationships, to look inward at our complicity in the devastation of the world.

El-Enany also worked with El-Sayegh to develop the sound for a performance work presented at the
gallery, co-created with movement artist Chelsea Gordon. The performance draws on a range of sources,
including diverse forms of prayer rituals which encompass repetition of chants and motion, and engender
trance-like states. Exploring new possibilities for presenting sound and performance, this multi-layered work, like El-Sayegh’s paintings, is infused with complex data and entanglements, capturing various emotions and responses through its layering of audio, movement and kaleidoscopic projections.

El-Enany's work seeks to disrupt supremacist paradigms and hierarchies of knowledge production by delving into global tuning systems, mathematics and metaphysics.

The Book of Harth Strikes Again!

Categories
static seeping

I bring word from Queens! The Book of Harth won the Best Documentary Feature award at Festival of Cinema NYC! Thank you everyone who came out to support the film. It continues to amaze me how our microbudget feature documentary, which I produced, scored and sound designed seems to really resonate with audiences. Coming to a cinema near you 🙂

Learn more about the movie here: https://www.bookofharth.com/about

Al Waqwaq

Categories
music radio sound

Composed and Produced by Sami El-Enany

A Falling Tree Production for 'Short Cuts' for the episode 'Without Words'.

First broadcast on Radio 4 on Tuesday 17th January 2023

Al Waqwaq. An elusive archipelago reigned by a Queen? Or a tree that bares children in place of fruit? Perhaps, instead, it's a many-branched menagerie, on which animals with prophetic gifts dangle by mane, hoof or hair, and ripe humanoid fruits exclaim ‘Waqwaq!’ as they fall to the forest floor. In Arabic literature, illuminated manuscripts, and Islamic cartography, Al Waqwaq shapeshifts, refuses to stay still. Much like the fierce oceans that reportedly surround the island/s themselves, the myth of Al Waqwaq remains harder to navigate than most.

The origins of this composition are not so easily defined either. From a hearing test that had me deciphering words in a sea of static, to an autumn walk through the dense mountain forests of Western Parnitha—where ghostly leaf music made me swear an oath to tend more carefully to the character of noise in my work. What have I learned from the talking trees? To compose without intention, as if the wind had written it, in all its sonic guises and with the destined beauty of chance.

So let me shroud Al Waqwaq in yet more myth. Where the leaves speak, and consonants cast shadows, where letters fall like water droplets, nestled under wing and silver beak, between the Murmur we emerge from and the Murmur we return to, we grow upon the Waqwaq tree.

Composed and Produced by Sami El-Enany

A Falling Tree Production for 'Short Cuts' for the episode 'Without Words'.

First broadcast on Radio 4 on Tuesday 17th January 2023

Al Waqwaq. An elusive archipelago reigned by a Queen? Or a tree that bares children in place of fruit? Perhaps, instead, it's a many-branched menagerie, on which animals with prophetic gifts dangle by mane, hoof or hair, and ripe humanoid fruits exclaim ‘Waqwaq!’ as they fall to the forest floor. In Arabic literature, illuminated manuscripts, and Islamic cartography, Al Waqwaq shapeshifts, refuses to stay still. Much like the fierce oceans that reportedly surround the island/s themselves, the myth of Al Waqwaq remains harder to navigate than most.

The origins of this composition are not so easily defined either. From a hearing test that had me deciphering words in a sea of static, to an autumn walk through the dense mountain forests of Western Parnitha—where ghostly leaf music made me swear an oath to tend more carefully to the character of noise in my work. What have I learned from the talking trees? To compose without intention, as if the wind had written it, in all its sonic guises and with the destined beauty of chance.

So let me shroud Al Waqwaq in yet more myth. Where the leaves speak, and consonants cast shadows, where letters fall like water droplets, nestled under wing and silver beak, between the Murmur we emerge from and the Murmur we return to, we grow upon the Waqwaq tree.

And Still, It Remains | Coming Soon!

Categories
static seeping

Other Cinema’s new film, And Still, It Remains, will soon open at Lux. The film examines time, toxic colonialism and how we survive the end of our world. I am the Sound Designer for this striking and important film and hope you can make it for the breakfast opening on 8th September. More info here:

https://lux.org.uk/event/arwa-aburawa-and-turab-shah-and-still-it-remains/

Woodhill is on tour!

Categories
static seeping

I’ve written a 75-minute score for a dance piece called Woodhill. It’s a call to arms about the crisis facing prisons and tells the story of three families searching for justice.

This is one of my harshest and most machine-led productions to date, swallowing aesthetics of industrial and horror and navigating themes of state violence, grief, love and resistance. Catch it somewhere! Tix here: https://www.lungtheatre.co.uk/productions/woodhill

Show Dates:

North Wall, Oxford:

27th & 28th July (previews)
19 October – 20 October 2023

Summerhall, Edinburgh

2nd – 27th August (exl 3rd, 14th, 21st)

Shoreditch Town Hall, London:

20 September – 8th October

If you are in Edinburgh, London or Oxford, go go go…

Exist Festival 8th-10th September

Categories
static seeping

Makes me so happy to be part of the lineup for the very special Exist Festival.

Taking place over three days at Cafe OTO & The Yard in London from the 8th to the 10th of September, 2023.

The festival has been a beacon of unity between Palestinian and global artists. Come through!

I’m on the Friday with Nicolas Jaar and Maria Eichberg and will be hanging out the whole weekend.. So happy we all get to be together ✨

TICKETS HERE: https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/events/exist-festival/

Artists involved : Maria Eichberg / Sami El-Enany / jaar / Ali Hamdan / Kujo / Drew McDowall / Dirar Kalash / Renata / Choronzon & Dahc Dermur VIII / Oxhy / Marleen Boschen / Zahra Malkani / Rrose

Silent Echoes

Categories
animation installation music sound

A Project by Dorine van Meel
Video, Sound and performance piece
Developed in collaboration with sound artist Sami El-Enany
With poems by Khairani Barokka, Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio and Selina Neirok Leem

Performance event, Extracity, Antwerp, 15 October 2022
Exhibition, Die Digitale, Düsseldorf, 7 October - 22 October 2022
Performance event, South London Gallery, London, 29 June 2022
Exhibition, Pylon Lab, online, June 2023
Screening, HELLERAU, Dresden, summer of 2023

And darkness arrives early,
but who is there to witness.
The approaching shadows play,
a gentle dance of planets.

Silent Echoes consists of a series of live performances and video installations and is developed in collaboration with sound artist Sami El-Enany. The project includes poetic contributions by artists, writers and climate activists Khairani Barokka, Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, Selina Neirok Leem and myself. The work is a collaborative effort and develops over time on different platforms, accumulating contributions.

The composed spaces were powered by 31 speakers that spanned the site of the exhibition and became interrelated sonic environments for the recitations of the contributing poets. Amid the sounds of the piece we hear electric fires in the rustle of static, the aimless rattling of abandoned machinery, birdsong in the cages of distortion, a folk song -an ocean of distance away, and the subterranean moaning of the Earth.


Silent Echoes addresses the climate crisis through these various poetic contributions written by poets and activists who come from different islands across the Pacific Ocean. Each poem highlights different ways in which the climate crisis unfolds on these islands through the workings of (neo-)colonialist practices past and present. Whether it is because of the poisoning of the water due to the presence of military remnants from World War II, because of the clearing of the original forests and the planting of endless fields of palm trees for the production of palm oil, because of the suppression of the language and culture of the indigenous population by the colonial settlers or because of the nuclear tests that were carried out on the atolls without any regard of the people living there. As much as these poems mourn the loss of life – in all its different forms, they also speak of resistance, endurance and cohabitation, and offer a hopeful view for our world in the face of a dark present and an uncertain future.

The images that accompany the many voices show computer generated islands in which digital waves turn into digital grains of desert sand, presenting the viewer with a dystopian vision, in which an unfolding ecological catastrophe is implied.

Silent Echoes has received financial support from the Mondriaan Fonds

A Project by Dorine van Meel
Video, Sound and performance piece
Developed in collaboration with sound artist Sami El-Enany
With poems by Khairani Barokka, Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio and Selina Neirok Leem

Performance event, Extracity, Antwerp, 15 October 2022
Exhibition, Die Digitale, Düsseldorf, 7 October - 22 October 2022
Performance event, South London Gallery, London, 29 June 2022
Exhibition, Pylon Lab, online, June 2023
Screening, HELLERAU, Dresden, summer of 2023

And darkness arrives early,
but who is there to witness.
The approaching shadows play,
a gentle dance of planets.

Silent Echoes consists of a series of live performances and video installations and is developed in collaboration with sound artist Sami El-Enany. The project includes poetic contributions by artists, writers and climate activists Khairani Barokka, Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, Selina Neirok Leem and myself. The work is a collaborative effort and develops over time on different platforms, accumulating contributions.

The composed spaces were powered by 31 speakers that spanned the site of the exhibition and became interrelated sonic environments for the recitations of the contributing poets. Amid the sounds of the piece we hear electric fires in the rustle of static, the aimless rattling of abandoned machinery, birdsong in the cages of distortion, a folk song -an ocean of distance away, and the subterranean moaning of the Earth.


Silent Echoes addresses the climate crisis through these various poetic contributions written by poets and activists who come from different islands across the Pacific Ocean. Each poem highlights different ways in which the climate crisis unfolds on these islands through the workings of (neo-)colonialist practices past and present. Whether it is because of the poisoning of the water due to the presence of military remnants from World War II, because of the clearing of the original forests and the planting of endless fields of palm trees for the production of palm oil, because of the suppression of the language and culture of the indigenous population by the colonial settlers or because of the nuclear tests that were carried out on the atolls without any regard of the people living there. As much as these poems mourn the loss of life – in all its different forms, they also speak of resistance, endurance and cohabitation, and offer a hopeful view for our world in the face of a dark present and an uncertain future.

The images that accompany the many voices show computer generated islands in which digital waves turn into digital grains of desert sand, presenting the viewer with a dystopian vision, in which an unfolding ecological catastrophe is implied.

Silent Echoes has received financial support from the Mondriaan Fonds

And Still, It Remains

Categories
documentary film short sound

Directed by Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah
Cinamatography by Turab Shah
Edited by Arwa Aburawa
Sound Design by Sami El-Enany
Produced by Other Cinemas

LUX
Open City Documentary Festival
Liverpool Arab Arts Festival

‘And still, it remains’ is a new artists’ film that examines time, toxic colonialism and how we survive the end of our world. In 2021, radioactive sand resulting from French nuclear bombs travelled in the winds all the way from the Algerian Sahara back to France. The bombs had been detonated in Algeria back in the 1960s. These returning winds were a reminder that the environmental legacies of colonialism cannot be forgotten or contained; it also raised the more pertinent question of how people live with the afterlife of toxic colonialism.

‘And still, it remains’ spends time with the residents of a village in the Hoggar Mountains of Algeria who live surrounded by ancient rock art and the legacy of France’s nuclear bombs. Exploring their migration to the area, faith, their way of life, colonialism and the nuclear bombs, the film asks: What does it mean to live in such intimacy with toxic colonialism? What understanding is gained from this proximity? The feminist thinker bell hooks talks about a particular way of knowing that comes from experience – “it’s a deep understanding that is often expressed through the body, as what they know has been deeply inscribed on it.” How do people make sense of what happened to them? What are their ideas of justice? And finally, how do they find a way to carry on? 

‘And still, it remains’ is presented in collaboration with Open City Documentary Festival (6-12 September 2023) and was commissioned by Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, supported using funds from Arts Council England and The Elephant Trust.

Directed by Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah
Cinamatography by Turab Shah
Edited by Arwa Aburawa
Sound Design by Sami El-Enany
Produced by Other Cinemas

LUX
Open City Documentary Festival
Liverpool Arab Arts Festival

‘And still, it remains’ is a new artists’ film that examines time, toxic colonialism and how we survive the end of our world. In 2021, radioactive sand resulting from French nuclear bombs travelled in the winds all the way from the Algerian Sahara back to France. The bombs had been detonated in Algeria back in the 1960s. These returning winds were a reminder that the environmental legacies of colonialism cannot be forgotten or contained; it also raised the more pertinent question of how people live with the afterlife of toxic colonialism.

‘And still, it remains’ spends time with the residents of a village in the Hoggar Mountains of Algeria who live surrounded by ancient rock art and the legacy of France’s nuclear bombs. Exploring their migration to the area, faith, their way of life, colonialism and the nuclear bombs, the film asks: What does it mean to live in such intimacy with toxic colonialism? What understanding is gained from this proximity? The feminist thinker bell hooks talks about a particular way of knowing that comes from experience – “it’s a deep understanding that is often expressed through the body, as what they know has been deeply inscribed on it.” How do people make sense of what happened to them? What are their ideas of justice? And finally, how do they find a way to carry on? 

‘And still, it remains’ is presented in collaboration with Open City Documentary Festival (6-12 September 2023) and was commissioned by Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, supported using funds from Arts Council England and The Elephant Trust.

I’d Search Forever, I Want to Remember

Categories
installation music sound

A Project by Tamara Al-Mashouk

Composed spaces by Sami El-Enany

 

 

Supported by:

Counterpoints Arts, Dover Arts Development, Shubbak Festival, Frieze No.9 Cork Street, Arts Council England

I’d search forever, I want to remember is a multidisciplinary body of work that asks if matter and place remember the way our bodies do. The work is lead by Tamara Al-Mashouk and presented by Counterpoints Arts, Dover Arts Development, Shubbak Festival and Frieze No.9 Cork Street.

Following a site-specific presentation in Dover the work was shown at No.9 Cork Street for four days.

I presented two multichannel compositions as part of the show. The first piece, set in a casemate built in the 1800’s on the cliffs of Dover is a six channel composition fully spatialised for the site. In the same room a wave machine containing water from the English Channel was brought in as witness. The sonics are centred in love and solidarity for all those that seek and have sought sanctuary. My anger at the injustice and cruelty of the border regime manifests as a desire to hold the humanity and pain of those who make dangerous journeys out of a human desire to live and better one’s life. Within the composition are over two thousand hand crafted sonic reflections (for each the starting point was a grain of rice bouncing off the strings of a uniquely tuned and prepared hammered dulcimer).

In the next room is a three channel video piece exploring the psyche of an abandoned detention centre. My sonic materials for this room are faint atmospheric events in VLF radio bands captured first-hand with magnetic antenna, as well as extremely faint vibrations in the material and soil captured by a geophone. The intention here is to expose the way in which sites of state violence, such as detention centres and prisons, hold a residue of that violence while at the same time alluding to the pain felt in the earth of the site itself. They are haunted locations, their walls embedded with the fear, anxiety, depression and hope of their inhabitants. The work hopes for a time when nature will reclaim all such sites of state violence.

Both composed spaces become interrelated sonic environments for a meditation on remembering. Thank you Tamara for the opportunity to sink into these feelings and help tell this story with you.

~

Incorporating a three-channel film of a disused refugee detention centre, a photographic series that engages with the shoreline as a site of poetic multiplicity and a wave machine containing water from the English Channel, I’d search forever, I want to remember continues Al-Mashouk’s exploration of sites of solace and memory, and spaces of collective healing against the backdrop of the refugee crisis. Artefacts created during workshops in Dover were displayed, and a dance performance by Fadi Giha featuring the spatialised score by Sami El-Enany took place on the opening night.

The work presented is the result of a gathering of artists thinking and organising together. Manon Schwich, Sami El-Enany, Parker Heyl, Angus Frost, Lorella Bianco, Fadi Giha and Patricia Doors join Al-Mashouk in considering sites of solace within embodied experiences of hyper-politicisation. 

A Project by Tamara Al-Mashouk

Composed spaces by Sami El-Enany

 

 

Supported by:

Counterpoints Arts, Dover Arts Development, Shubbak Festival, Frieze No.9 Cork Street, Arts Council England

I’d search forever, I want to remember is a multidisciplinary body of work that asks if matter and place remember the way our bodies do. The work is lead by Tamara Al-Mashouk and presented by Counterpoints Arts, Dover Arts Development, Shubbak Festival and Frieze No.9 Cork Street.

Following a site-specific presentation in Dover the work was shown at No.9 Cork Street for four days.

I presented two multichannel compositions as part of the show. The first piece, set in a casemate built in the 1800’s on the cliffs of Dover is a six channel composition fully spatialised for the site. In the same room a wave machine containing water from the English Channel was brought in as witness. The sonics are centred in love and solidarity for all those that seek and have sought sanctuary. My anger at the injustice and cruelty of the border regime manifests as a desire to hold the humanity and pain of those who make dangerous journeys out of a human desire to live and better one’s life. Within the composition are over two thousand hand crafted sonic reflections (for each the starting point was a grain of rice bouncing off the strings of a uniquely tuned and prepared hammered dulcimer).

In the next room is a three channel video piece exploring the psyche of an abandoned detention centre. My sonic materials for this room are faint atmospheric events in VLF radio bands captured first-hand with magnetic antenna, as well as extremely faint vibrations in the material and soil captured by a geophone. The intention here is to expose the way in which sites of state violence, such as detention centres and prisons, hold a residue of that violence while at the same time alluding to the pain felt in the earth of the site itself. They are haunted locations, their walls embedded with the fear, anxiety, depression and hope of their inhabitants. The work hopes for a time when nature will reclaim all such sites of state violence.

Both composed spaces become interrelated sonic environments for a meditation on remembering. Thank you Tamara for the opportunity to sink into these feelings and help tell this story with you.

~

Incorporating a three-channel film of a disused refugee detention centre, a photographic series that engages with the shoreline as a site of poetic multiplicity and a wave machine containing water from the English Channel, I’d search forever, I want to remember continues Al-Mashouk’s exploration of sites of solace and memory, and spaces of collective healing against the backdrop of the refugee crisis. Artefacts created during workshops in Dover were displayed, and a dance performance by Fadi Giha featuring the spatialised score by Sami El-Enany took place on the opening night.

The work presented is the result of a gathering of artists thinking and organising together. Manon Schwich, Sami El-Enany, Parker Heyl, Angus Frost, Lorella Bianco, Fadi Giha and Patricia Doors join Al-Mashouk in considering sites of solace within embodied experiences of hyper-politicisation. 

Woodhill

Categories
music theatre

Written, Produced and Directed by LUNG
Music by Sami El-Enany
Choreography by Alexzandra Sarmiento

North Wall, Oxford: 27th & 28th July
Summerhall, Edinburgh: 2nd - 27th August
Shoreditch Town Hall, London: 20 September - 8th October

★★★★★ "Astonishing portrait of Britain’s failing prison system."
The Guardian

★★★★★ "A very powerful show that will leave you feeling the desire to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers."
The Student

★★★★ "You'll have tears in your eyes and anger in your hearts."
The Scotsman."

Three men at Woodhill prison are dead. Their families demand answers. This is a call to arms about the crisis facing prisons. 

Through choreography and a machine-led, 75 minute score by Sami El-Enany, Woodhill shines a light on the hidden story of HMP Woodhill. Lyrically told in their own words, three families investigate what happened to their boys. What they discover is so haunting, it turns their world upside down. An explosive true story.

Written, Produced and Directed by LUNG
Music by Sami El-Enany
Choreography by Alexzandra Sarmiento

North Wall, Oxford: 27th & 28th July
Summerhall, Edinburgh: 2nd - 27th August
Shoreditch Town Hall, London: 20 September - 8th October

★★★★★ "Astonishing portrait of Britain’s failing prison system."
The Guardian

★★★★★ "A very powerful show that will leave you feeling the desire to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers."
The Student

★★★★ "You'll have tears in your eyes and anger in your hearts."
The Scotsman."

Three men at Woodhill prison are dead. Their families demand answers. This is a call to arms about the crisis facing prisons. 

Through choreography and a machine-led, 75 minute score by Sami El-Enany, Woodhill shines a light on the hidden story of HMP Woodhill. Lyrically told in their own words, three families investigate what happened to their boys. What they discover is so haunting, it turns their world upside down. An explosive true story.

Except this time nothing returns from the ashes

Categories
documentary film installation music short sound

Directed by Asmaa Jama and Gouled Ahmed
Written and voiced by Asmaa Jama
Music, Sound Design and Mix by Sami El-Enany
Costume design: Gouled Ahmed
Tailoring: Bisrat Negusie
Makeup Artist: Asmaa Jama
Archival photos c/o Roda Ali Dalmar and Mohamed Jama

Spike Island
Arts Council England
West of England Visual Art

This collaboration between Asmaa Jama and Gouled Ahmed explores self-portraiture, memory and the archive. The exhibition is inspired by African photography studios; places of self-expression that are at once political and historical, fictional and intimate.

Central to the exhibition is a new film commission, Except this time nothing returns from the ashes. Shot on location in Addis Ababa, the film follows the ghostly, glitchy presence of those who exist at the margins of the city. Combining poetry and music, the film explores how national canons are constructed and can be corrupted.

Stemming from the artists’ interactions with their families’ photographic collections and archives, the film opens a portal to memory, for those who otherwise would be forgotten. For both Jama and Gouled, self-portraiture becomes an act of resisting erasure, demonstrating the potential of photography and the archive to remember.

The film is surrounded by a colourful octagonal wall. Decorated with cut-outs of geometric designs, reminiscent of the patterns found in the film, this structure is a homage to East Africa’s built environment.

In the back perimeter, the installation Ash is our inheritance comprises a poem written directly on the wall, a line of charcoal, and a black and white chequered vinyl floor that evokes the interiors of African photography studios. In the text, Jama explores the notion of the aftermath, and how to understand the past when all that is left is ash and ruins.

Directed by Asmaa Jama and Gouled Ahmed
Written and voiced by Asmaa Jama
Music, Sound Design and Mix by Sami El-Enany
Costume design: Gouled Ahmed
Tailoring: Bisrat Negusie
Makeup Artist: Asmaa Jama
Archival photos c/o Roda Ali Dalmar and Mohamed Jama

Spike Island
Arts Council England
West of England Visual Art

This collaboration between Asmaa Jama and Gouled Ahmed explores self-portraiture, memory and the archive. The exhibition is inspired by African photography studios; places of self-expression that are at once political and historical, fictional and intimate.

Central to the exhibition is a new film commission, Except this time nothing returns from the ashes. Shot on location in Addis Ababa, the film follows the ghostly, glitchy presence of those who exist at the margins of the city. Combining poetry and music, the film explores how national canons are constructed and can be corrupted.

Stemming from the artists’ interactions with their families’ photographic collections and archives, the film opens a portal to memory, for those who otherwise would be forgotten. For both Jama and Gouled, self-portraiture becomes an act of resisting erasure, demonstrating the potential of photography and the archive to remember.

The film is surrounded by a colourful octagonal wall. Decorated with cut-outs of geometric designs, reminiscent of the patterns found in the film, this structure is a homage to East Africa’s built environment.

In the back perimeter, the installation Ash is our inheritance comprises a poem written directly on the wall, a line of charcoal, and a black and white chequered vinyl floor that evokes the interiors of African photography studios. In the text, Jama explores the notion of the aftermath, and how to understand the past when all that is left is ash and ruins.

Wheel Talk

Categories
music radio

Composed and Produced by Sami El-Enany

A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4

Wheel Talk is composed entirely using the momentum of a single 700c bicycle wheel. The sounds and rhythms were generated by attaching a range of beaters to the wheel including pencils, pegs, paintbrushes and plectrums. The wheel is then spun and comes into contact with a range of surfaces, including drum skins, bells, guitars, cymbals and glasses. Preparing the wheel in different ways by shifting the number of beaters as well as their spacing around the wheel allowed disobedient polyrhythms to emerge. Another governing force in the piece is friction, the wheel slows at various speeds depending on what surface it is coming into contact with, as a result, new textures and intensities materialise in time lapses.

Composed and Produced by Sami El-Enany

A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4

Wheel Talk is composed entirely using the momentum of a single 700c bicycle wheel. The sounds and rhythms were generated by attaching a range of beaters to the wheel including pencils, pegs, paintbrushes and plectrums. The wheel is then spun and comes into contact with a range of surfaces, including drum skins, bells, guitars, cymbals and glasses. Preparing the wheel in different ways by shifting the number of beaters as well as their spacing around the wheel allowed disobedient polyrhythms to emerge. Another governing force in the piece is friction, the wheel slows at various speeds depending on what surface it is coming into contact with, as a result, new textures and intensities materialise in time lapses.

The Tomb

Categories
music narrative radio sound

Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Steve Bond and Joby Waldman
Music and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany

A Reduced Listening Production for BBC Radio 4

After decades of searching the Valley of the Kings, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his newly appointed Egyptian assistant Shafiq Tadros uncover a step leading to the tomb of Tutankhamun. Funder Lord Carnarvon and his daughter Lady Evelyn arrive and an unauthorised inspection of the tomb takes place. Decades later a chance meeting on the streets of Paris with an Egyptian student causes Shafiq to excavate his own story.

In November 1922 the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb became the biggest news story in the world. Virtually untouched for over three thousand years, the tomb contained priceless artefacts including a solid gold coffin, thrones, archery bows, trumpets and fresh linen underwear. Egypt, newly liberated from British rule, hailed the discovery of Tutankhamun as a symbol of its glorious rebirth as an independent nation. But who will control the terms of the dig, and who will keep the treasure?

Original drama based on true events. Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz

Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Steve Bond and Joby Waldman
Music and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany

A Reduced Listening Production for BBC Radio 4

After decades of searching the Valley of the Kings, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his newly appointed Egyptian assistant Shafiq Tadros uncover a step leading to the tomb of Tutankhamun. Funder Lord Carnarvon and his daughter Lady Evelyn arrive and an unauthorised inspection of the tomb takes place. Decades later a chance meeting on the streets of Paris with an Egyptian student causes Shafiq to excavate his own story.

In November 1922 the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb became the biggest news story in the world. Virtually untouched for over three thousand years, the tomb contained priceless artefacts including a solid gold coffin, thrones, archery bows, trumpets and fresh linen underwear. Egypt, newly liberated from British rule, hailed the discovery of Tutankhamun as a symbol of its glorious rebirth as an independent nation. But who will control the terms of the dig, and who will keep the treasure?

Original drama based on true events. Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz

The Book of Harth

Categories
documentary feature film music sound

Directed by Pierre Guillet
Produced by Hiran Balasuriya, Sami El-Enany, Pierre Guillet and Matthew Maria
Edited by Hiran Balasuriya
Music by Sami El-Enany
Sound Design by Steve Bond and Sami El-Enany

A Shadow Court and Affirmative Youth Production

-WINNER: First Prize for Best Feature Documentary - Rhode Island International Film Festival-
-WINNER: Best Documentary Feature - Atlanta Underground Film Festival-
-WINNER: Best Documentary Feature: Kevin Smith's SModCastle Film Festival 2022-

For 20 years, conceptual artist David Greg Harth carried a Bible with him every single day, seeking signatures from the most culturally significant people in the world. In The Book of Harth, filmmaker Pierre Guillet follows the artist during the final year of his absurd quest, trailing him to scenes of frenetic celebrity worship. As Harth secures signatures behind stage doors, in city streets, and on the fringes of red carpets, Guillet cops spontaneous interviews with previous signees, from Noam Chomsky to Kevin Smith. As the last hours of his magnum opus draw to a close, Harth struggles to reconcile the project’s meaning with its personal cost.

Directed by Pierre Guillet
Produced by Hiran Balasuriya, Sami El-Enany, Pierre Guillet and Matthew Maria
Edited by Hiran Balasuriya
Music by Sami El-Enany
Sound Design by Steve Bond and Sami El-Enany

A Shadow Court and Affirmative Youth Production

-WINNER: First Prize for Best Feature Documentary - Rhode Island International Film Festival-
-WINNER: Best Documentary Feature - Atlanta Underground Film Festival-
-WINNER: Best Documentary Feature: Kevin Smith's SModCastle Film Festival 2022-

For 20 years, conceptual artist David Greg Harth carried a Bible with him every single day, seeking signatures from the most culturally significant people in the world. In The Book of Harth, filmmaker Pierre Guillet follows the artist during the final year of his absurd quest, trailing him to scenes of frenetic celebrity worship. As Harth secures signatures behind stage doors, in city streets, and on the fringes of red carpets, Guillet cops spontaneous interviews with previous signees, from Noam Chomsky to Kevin Smith. As the last hours of his magnum opus draw to a close, Harth struggles to reconcile the project’s meaning with its personal cost.

Bristol Fashion

Categories
feature film music narrative sound

Directed by Pierre Guillet
Written by Pierre Guillet, Timothy John Foster, Lea Nayeli
Starring Lea Nayeli, Raul A. Perez, Richard DiFrisco
Music, Sound Design and Mix by Sami El-Enany

Feature film telling the story of a young transgender woman who escapes her troubled home to find solace in a dilapidated boatyard.

Christina is a young trans woman who’s running—from her past and home. When she buys a broken-down boat for that purpose, she gets more than she bargained for in the boat’s owner, Esteban—warm, funny and dying to take her to dinner. He gives her a place to stay on an abandoned barge and helps her fix up the boat. Slowly but surely, they find themselves quietly navigating the sometimes messy waters of a straight man falling for a trans woman.

As their connection grows, Christina makes a temporary but real home for herself on the docks and begins to rebuild her life as Esteban rebuilds her boat. Day by day, she begins to find something steady in a ramshackle barge, a barely-running boat, and stocking the aisles in a mundane grocery store. She slowly sheds the pieces of the life that haunts her, moving past the memory of an assault and people who never valued her.

But maybe it’s not in romance that we find connections that matter—maybe it’s in something deeper than that, something that looks a lot more like real, true friendship. That is what Christina and Esteban find in each other. We can’t find home standing still; for some of us, home is in finding who we are, in raising the anchors and embracing freedom on the water.

Directed by Pierre Guillet
Written by Pierre Guillet, Timothy John Foster, Lea Nayeli
Starring Lea Nayeli, Raul A. Perez, Richard DiFrisco
Music, Sound Design and Mix by Sami El-Enany

Feature film telling the story of a young transgender woman who escapes her troubled home to find solace in a dilapidated boatyard.

Christina is a young trans woman who’s running—from her past and home. When she buys a broken-down boat for that purpose, she gets more than she bargained for in the boat’s owner, Esteban—warm, funny and dying to take her to dinner. He gives her a place to stay on an abandoned barge and helps her fix up the boat. Slowly but surely, they find themselves quietly navigating the sometimes messy waters of a straight man falling for a trans woman.

As their connection grows, Christina makes a temporary but real home for herself on the docks and begins to rebuild her life as Esteban rebuilds her boat. Day by day, she begins to find something steady in a ramshackle barge, a barely-running boat, and stocking the aisles in a mundane grocery store. She slowly sheds the pieces of the life that haunts her, moving past the memory of an assault and people who never valued her.

But maybe it’s not in romance that we find connections that matter—maybe it’s in something deeper than that, something that looks a lot more like real, true friendship. That is what Christina and Esteban find in each other. We can’t find home standing still; for some of us, home is in finding who we are, in raising the anchors and embracing freedom on the water.

I Carry It With Me Everywhere

Categories
film music narrative short sound

Written and Directed by Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah
Music and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany

Commissioned by the Brent Biennial 2022

Informed by interviews with first-generation migrants, this short film weaves together the lives of multiple characters as they confront inherited ideas of belonging.

From the severed connection to a motherland following the death of a parent, to the generational experience of displacement, or the feeling of nostalgia for a place and time forever out of reach, I Carry It With Me Everywhere explores how migration results in moments of rupture from which new understandings of home and belonging may emerge.

The UK government’s antagonistic relationship with migrant communities forms the quietly simmering backdrop of the film, as communities are forced to come to terms with the reality that not everyone can find safety and belonging in the nation state. This reality was most recently demonstrated by the Windrush scandal, as well as the new proposals brought forward by the Nationality and Borders Act, through which the government plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, or to strip non-white British people of their citizenship without warning.

 

Shot in black and white, the film seeks to convey the timeless and ongoing search for answers in response to the experience of these hostile environments, which are familiar to many migrant communities in the UK. In the process, they seek to subvert the idea that belonging is an inherently positive experience. What if a moment of belonging here, in the UK, is also a moment of losing belonging somewhere else? What if that shift also requires giving up a more rooted space of belonging for a precarious one, one that is always at risk of being taken away? The film evokes this deep sense of loss, whilst also honouring what people continually manage to build and create in resistance.

Written and Directed by Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah
Music and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany

Commissioned by the Brent Biennial 2022

Informed by interviews with first-generation migrants, this short film weaves together the lives of multiple characters as they confront inherited ideas of belonging.

From the severed connection to a motherland following the death of a parent, to the generational experience of displacement, or the feeling of nostalgia for a place and time forever out of reach, I Carry It With Me Everywhere explores how migration results in moments of rupture from which new understandings of home and belonging may emerge.

The UK government’s antagonistic relationship with migrant communities forms the quietly simmering backdrop of the film, as communities are forced to come to terms with the reality that not everyone can find safety and belonging in the nation state. This reality was most recently demonstrated by the Windrush scandal, as well as the new proposals brought forward by the Nationality and Borders Act, through which the government plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, or to strip non-white British people of their citizenship without warning.

 

Shot in black and white, the film seeks to convey the timeless and ongoing search for answers in response to the experience of these hostile environments, which are familiar to many migrant communities in the UK. In the process, they seek to subvert the idea that belonging is an inherently positive experience. What if a moment of belonging here, in the UK, is also a moment of losing belonging somewhere else? What if that shift also requires giving up a more rooted space of belonging for a precarious one, one that is always at risk of being taken away? The film evokes this deep sense of loss, whilst also honouring what people continually manage to build and create in resistance.

Accompaniment for Ever-Present Sounds

Categories
music radio sound

Composed and Produced by Sami El-Enany

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Tuesday 31 May 2022 as part of 'Short Cuts, Series 31, Sound Effects'

A Falling Tree Production

Accompaniment for Ever-Present Sounds first maps the sound of my tinnitus, a high slightly muffled G sharp in my right ear, then uses that sound as an inspiration for a composition.

The thought was, perhaps by treating my tinnitus as an integral part of something I find beautiful, I could befriend it.

A month after making this piece, I have noticed that my tinnitus bothers me less.

Sometimes our fears are like huge and contorted shadows of a finger puppet. If we are able to face them, we may realise they are actually very small.

Composed and Produced by Sami El-Enany

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Tuesday 31 May 2022 as part of 'Short Cuts, Series 31, Sound Effects'

A Falling Tree Production

Accompaniment for Ever-Present Sounds first maps the sound of my tinnitus, a high slightly muffled G sharp in my right ear, then uses that sound as an inspiration for a composition.

The thought was, perhaps by treating my tinnitus as an integral part of something I find beautiful, I could befriend it.

A month after making this piece, I have noticed that my tinnitus bothers me less.

Sometimes our fears are like huge and contorted shadows of a finger puppet. If we are able to face them, we may realise they are actually very small.

OOMK: STUART Papers | Art Night 2021

Categories
film music short sound

Created by Rose Nordin in collaboration with Rob Akin
Music and Sound by Sami El-Enany

Collaborative art publishing practice OOMK (One of My Kind) create a new commission for Art Night 2021, with a short film that documents the making of their visual newspaper "STUART Papers"

Created by Rose Nordin in collaboration with Rob Akin
Music and Sound by Sami El-Enany

Collaborative art publishing practice OOMK (One of My Kind) create a new commission for Art Night 2021, with a short film that documents the making of their visual newspaper "STUART Papers"

Deadly Structures

Categories
game live music narrative sound

A game created by Sami El-Enany and David Denyer

Produced by Werkflow

Art by Viktor Timofeev

Graphic Design by Workform

Deadly Structures is a first-person open-world soundgame set in a land that cannot be seen. Carved entirely out of first-hand field recordings made in abandoned industrial landscapes in Leipzig, a world both vivid and unspeakable was born.

Become the User, a nameless character that roams a sentient wasteland, an ear-witness to an unliving world. Encounter forgotten technologies and cryptic mythologies. Confront, evade and embody other organisms, always at the mercy of a hostile and every-changing ecosystem. Fix, break, scavenge and kill for a hope to escape, but most of all, do not lose your way... Only the most loyal players have a chance of escaping Deadly Structures and uncovering their ultimate purpose.

...Or do none of this and something else entirely. Deadly Structures was conceived as a pareidolic soundworld where each player can imagine their own world and will throughout.

Deadly Structures is created using the Unreal Engine and FMOD and is playable on Mac and PC with additional PS4 and XBOX controller support. 

A game created by Sami El-Enany and David Denyer

Produced by Werkflow

Art by Viktor Timofeev

Graphic Design by Workform

Deadly Structures is a first-person open-world soundgame set in a land that cannot be seen. Carved entirely out of first-hand field recordings made in abandoned industrial landscapes in Leipzig, a world both vivid and unspeakable was born.

Become the User, a nameless character that roams a sentient wasteland, an ear-witness to an unliving world. Encounter forgotten technologies and cryptic mythologies. Confront, evade and embody other organisms, always at the mercy of a hostile and every-changing ecosystem. Fix, break, scavenge and kill for a hope to escape, but most of all, do not lose your way... Only the most loyal players have a chance of escaping Deadly Structures and uncovering their ultimate purpose.

...Or do none of this and something else entirely. Deadly Structures was conceived as a pareidolic soundworld where each player can imagine their own world and will throughout.

Deadly Structures is created using the Unreal Engine and FMOD and is playable on Mac and PC with additional PS4 and XBOX controller support. 

Comfort Eating

Categories
radio sound

Presented by Grace Dent
Series Producer Leah Green
Sound Design and Mix for Series 1 & 2: Sami El-Enany

Produced by The Guardian

Comfort Eating with Grace Dent | Lifeandstyle | The Guardian

Have you ever wondered what famous people actually eat? In our new podcast, Guardian restaurant critic Grace Dent does just that, asking well-known guests to lift the lid on the food they turn to when they’re at home alone – and what comfort foods have seen them through their lives.

Presented by Grace Dent
Series Producer Leah Green
Sound Design and Mix for Series 1 & 2: Sami El-Enany

Produced by The Guardian

Comfort Eating with Grace Dent | Lifeandstyle | The Guardian

Have you ever wondered what famous people actually eat? In our new podcast, Guardian restaurant critic Grace Dent does just that, asking well-known guests to lift the lid on the food they turn to when they’re at home alone – and what comfort foods have seen them through their lives.

Road to Heaven

Categories
narrative radio sound

Cast:
E***... E.M. Williams
RON... Richard Cant
GIGI DERRIERE... Travis Alabanza

Writer: Lettie Precious
Director: Anthony Simpson-Pike
Sound Design & Mix: Nicholas Alexander and Sami El-Enany
Producer: Matt Trueman
Additional production: Robbie MacInnes

A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 - Drama, Road to Heaven

E***’s adolescent years are a bleak existence of abuse at home and bullying at school. But after they read an extraordinary novella called Sphinx, their eyes are opened to their own identity and to an overpowering new world - gay clubs.

Anne Garretta’s ground breaking novella, Sphinx, is the world’s first genderless love story and serves as the inspiration for this extraordinary story of self discovery and self acceptance. The journey of our anonymous protagonist, E***, closely reflects the story of this play’s author, Lettie Precious, who found their own path to Heaven in similar circumstances.

Cast:
E***... E.M. Williams
RON... Richard Cant
GIGI DERRIERE... Travis Alabanza

Writer: Lettie Precious
Director: Anthony Simpson-Pike
Sound Design & Mix: Nicholas Alexander and Sami El-Enany
Producer: Matt Trueman
Additional production: Robbie MacInnes

A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 - Drama, Road to Heaven

E***’s adolescent years are a bleak existence of abuse at home and bullying at school. But after they read an extraordinary novella called Sphinx, their eyes are opened to their own identity and to an overpowering new world - gay clubs.

Anne Garretta’s ground breaking novella, Sphinx, is the world’s first genderless love story and serves as the inspiration for this extraordinary story of self discovery and self acceptance. The journey of our anonymous protagonist, E***, closely reflects the story of this play’s author, Lettie Precious, who found their own path to Heaven in similar circumstances.

Messages to a Post Human Earth

Categories
installation music narrative sound

Produced by Anagram
Written by May Abdalla
Sound and Music by Chu-Li Shewring and Sami El-Enany 
Editing: Sami El-Enany

IDFA DocLab Immersive Non-Fiction Experience, Amsterdam
19th - 28th November 2021

Messages to a Post Human Earth (DocLab Live: Liminal Systems) Live Event, Amsterdam
23th November 2021

Messages to a Post Human Earth is an interactive, multi-sensorial journey for two people to do together. You and your partner will embark on an evocative audio journey featuring augmented reality (AR), to reimagine your relationship with the natural world.

The story explores the work of Monica Gagliano and an essay by science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem, which he wrote for the Human Interference Task Force in the 1980s. Lem’s essay was written in response to a request for ideas of what to do with nuclear waste and it’s incredibly long life span; he suggested encoding messages into the DNA of plants. Gagliano is well known for her research into plant intelligence and the behaviours that demonstrate memory by the Mimosa plant.

Designed for two people to experience together, you will be provided with a special device and props before being sent off to explore the natural world; a hearing, living thing, sensorially alert like you.

You and your partner’s short journeys are different but will work in synchronicity with the other. Like a symbolic choreography, both of your actions become a performance for the other.

Invisible to the naked eye, the audio narration and AR content comes to life to invite musing on the living environment and a future world in which humans will no longer be present.

Produced by Anagram
Written by May Abdalla
Sound and Music by Chu-Li Shewring and Sami El-Enany 
Editing: Sami El-Enany

IDFA DocLab Immersive Non-Fiction Experience, Amsterdam
19th - 28th November 2021

Messages to a Post Human Earth (DocLab Live: Liminal Systems) Live Event, Amsterdam
23th November 2021

Messages to a Post Human Earth is an interactive, multi-sensorial journey for two people to do together. You and your partner will embark on an evocative audio journey featuring augmented reality (AR), to reimagine your relationship with the natural world.

The story explores the work of Monica Gagliano and an essay by science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem, which he wrote for the Human Interference Task Force in the 1980s. Lem’s essay was written in response to a request for ideas of what to do with nuclear waste and it’s incredibly long life span; he suggested encoding messages into the DNA of plants. Gagliano is well known for her research into plant intelligence and the behaviours that demonstrate memory by the Mimosa plant.

Designed for two people to experience together, you will be provided with a special device and props before being sent off to explore the natural world; a hearing, living thing, sensorially alert like you.

You and your partner’s short journeys are different but will work in synchronicity with the other. Like a symbolic choreography, both of your actions become a performance for the other.

Invisible to the naked eye, the audio narration and AR content comes to life to invite musing on the living environment and a future world in which humans will no longer be present.

Creation of the Birds

Categories
music narrative radio sound

-WINNER: Best Radio Drama, Grand Prix Nova 2023-
-NOMINATION: Best Sound Fiction, Phonurgia 2022-
-NOMINATION: Best Use of Sound, BBC Drama Awards 2021-

Written, Composed and Produced by Sami El-Enany

Owlman performed by Joe Winnsmith
String necklace performed by David Denyer
Birdsong performed by Jessica Winter

A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 3

Part tone poem and part narrative reimagining of Remedios Varo’s painting of the same name, Creation of the Birds by Sami El-Enany is a fantastical exploration of the metamorphosis from an abstract idea to a finished artwork. Varo’s painting depicts an anthropomorphic owl sitting at a desk, drawing a series of birds. After being drawn, the birds are imbued with starlight refracted from a magnifying lens in the owl’s other hand and come to life, taking flight out of a window into the night.

El-Enany chose to focus on three main aspects for his Creation of the Birds, the Owl as the creator, their tool - the string instrument brush that hangs from their neck, and the very birds that are worked into existence. El-Enany sent a microphone to Joe Winnsmith, an avid conservationist and bird enthusiast in a small village in Scotland, to play the part of the Owl. Together, Winnsmith and El-Enany devised a system of personifying and biographing the birds that would be conjured to life by the Owl. For the magical stringed instrument, El-Enany decided to use an entirely custom-tuned and prepared hammered dulcimer to create a unique sound that would not be recognisable as any known string instrument to a listener. With violinist David Denyer, he created a palette of improvised bowing, plucking and hammering techniques to embody the characteristics of the birds. Finally, for the birds themselves, El-Enany slowed down field recordings of birds to allow them to be 'mimicked' by a human voice. Working with vocalist Jessica Winter, the recording of the human voice is then sped up to create the sense that these birds were being ushered from a metaphysical plane into our very world, no longer immaterial, now palpable and real.

El-Enany’s Creation of the Birds is a look at the private life of an artist, the origins of inspiration, and an ode to the personalities of beautiful birds and the landscapes they inhabit. The piece is in three movements - The Skylark, The Oystercatcher and The Blackbird.

-WINNER: Best Radio Drama, Grand Prix Nova 2023-
-NOMINATION: Best Sound Fiction, Phonurgia 2022-
-NOMINATION: Best Use of Sound, BBC Drama Awards 2021-

Written, Composed and Produced by Sami El-Enany

Owlman performed by Joe Winnsmith
String necklace performed by David Denyer
Birdsong performed by Jessica Winter

A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 3

Part tone poem and part narrative reimagining of Remedios Varo’s painting of the same name, Creation of the Birds by Sami El-Enany is a fantastical exploration of the metamorphosis from an abstract idea to a finished artwork. Varo’s painting depicts an anthropomorphic owl sitting at a desk, drawing a series of birds. After being drawn, the birds are imbued with starlight refracted from a magnifying lens in the owl’s other hand and come to life, taking flight out of a window into the night.

El-Enany chose to focus on three main aspects for his Creation of the Birds, the Owl as the creator, their tool - the string instrument brush that hangs from their neck, and the very birds that are worked into existence. El-Enany sent a microphone to Joe Winnsmith, an avid conservationist and bird enthusiast in a small village in Scotland, to play the part of the Owl. Together, Winnsmith and El-Enany devised a system of personifying and biographing the birds that would be conjured to life by the Owl. For the magical stringed instrument, El-Enany decided to use an entirely custom-tuned and prepared hammered dulcimer to create a unique sound that would not be recognisable as any known string instrument to a listener. With violinist David Denyer, he created a palette of improvised bowing, plucking and hammering techniques to embody the characteristics of the birds. Finally, for the birds themselves, El-Enany slowed down field recordings of birds to allow them to be 'mimicked' by a human voice. Working with vocalist Jessica Winter, the recording of the human voice is then sped up to create the sense that these birds were being ushered from a metaphysical plane into our very world, no longer immaterial, now palpable and real.

El-Enany’s Creation of the Birds is a look at the private life of an artist, the origins of inspiration, and an ode to the personalities of beautiful birds and the landscapes they inhabit. The piece is in three movements - The Skylark, The Oystercatcher and The Blackbird.

A Summoning: In Response to Leonora Carrington

Categories
music narrative radio sound

Emerging from a desolate landscape, a woman ascends to an alter where she conjures strange entities through ritual magic.

Her first incantation calls forth the totemic horse. Now bestowed with wings, the horse takes flight immediately, unwilling to abide by any other’s will, they are freed into the world.

Next, the caster arranges her ingredients on the alter, readying herself for the second summoning. The woman’s voice, transcendent and impassive, goads the hyena into the world. feral and fluctuant, the human-animal hybrid makes a mockery of decorum. Her call: both taunting and tantalising, her wildness: a virtue.

The ritual deepens, the caster now enacts both somatic and verbal components in her spell while a liquid within an egg-shaped cauldron begins to bubble. The vessel transforms, more egg now than pot, spewing shrouded visages, an open red mouth, a protruding tongue, carrion-feasting chicks. The scavengers of death are given life, the shapeless caster is reborn.

Both fantastic and believable, playful and cryptic, A Summoning is a sonic narrative inspired by the iconography and visual storytelling found in the paintings of Leonora Carrington. A Summoning is inhabited by some of Carrington’s most treasured beasts.

Leonora Carrington, Self-Portrait (Inn of the Dawn Horse),1937-1938

Emerging from a desolate landscape, a woman ascends to an alter where she conjures strange entities through ritual magic.

Her first incantation calls forth the totemic horse. Now bestowed with wings, the horse takes flight immediately, unwilling to abide by any other’s will, they are freed into the world.

Next, the caster arranges her ingredients on the alter, readying herself for the second summoning. The woman’s voice, transcendent and impassive, goads the hyena into the world. feral and fluctuant, the human-animal hybrid makes a mockery of decorum. Her call: both taunting and tantalising, her wildness: a virtue.

The ritual deepens, the caster now enacts both somatic and verbal components in her spell while a liquid within an egg-shaped cauldron begins to bubble. The vessel transforms, more egg now than pot, spewing shrouded visages, an open red mouth, a protruding tongue, carrion-feasting chicks. The scavengers of death are given life, the shapeless caster is reborn.

Both fantastic and believable, playful and cryptic, A Summoning is a sonic narrative inspired by the iconography and visual storytelling found in the paintings of Leonora Carrington. A Summoning is inhabited by some of Carrington’s most treasured beasts.

Leonora Carrington, Self-Portrait (Inn of the Dawn Horse),1937-1938

The Inaudible Spectrum

Categories
documentary music radio sound

Composed and Produced by Sami El-Enany

 

A Falling Tree Production for 'Short Cuts' for the episode 'Silence'.
First broadcast on Radio 4 on Tuesday 18th May 2021

'The Inaudible Spectrum' is made entirely from a process of bringing sounds that are authentically outside of the range of human hearing within it. It seeks to question the notion of silence and sound through dismantling human-centric forms of perception and allowing listeners to perceive aspects of reality that are usually inaccessible.

All sounds are first-hand field recordings from around the world and include:
-Recordings of bats made in Senegal using a supersonic microphone
-Faint atmospheric events in VLF radio bands captured with magnetic antenna
-Extremely faint vibrations in material and soil, recorded using a geophone.
-Pitch shifting subsonic and supersonic information recorded at extremely high sample rates.

First heard on Falling Tree Production's 'Short Cuts: Silence' broadcast on Radio 4 on Tue 18 May 2021.

Composed and Produced by Sami El-Enany

 

A Falling Tree Production for 'Short Cuts' for the episode 'Silence'.
First broadcast on Radio 4 on Tuesday 18th May 2021

'The Inaudible Spectrum' is made entirely from a process of bringing sounds that are authentically outside of the range of human hearing within it. It seeks to question the notion of silence and sound through dismantling human-centric forms of perception and allowing listeners to perceive aspects of reality that are usually inaccessible.

All sounds are first-hand field recordings from around the world and include:
-Recordings of bats made in Senegal using a supersonic microphone
-Faint atmospheric events in VLF radio bands captured with magnetic antenna
-Extremely faint vibrations in material and soil, recorded using a geophone.
-Pitch shifting subsonic and supersonic information recorded at extremely high sample rates.

First heard on Falling Tree Production's 'Short Cuts: Silence' broadcast on Radio 4 on Tue 18 May 2021.

Covering Edward Said: 40 years of Islam, Media and the West

Categories
documentary radio sound

Narrated by Nesrine Malik
Producer: Katherine Godfrey⠀
Sound Design: Sami El-Enany 
Executive Producer: Steven Rajam

An Overcoat Media production for BBC Radio 4

In 1981, the Palestinian intellectual Edward Said published a book that examined how ideas of Islam are disseminated in the western news media by commentators and experts. It was called Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World.

Forty years on, columnist and author Nesrine Malik examines how Said's ideas - and the responses to them - stack up. Through his blistering public lectures and interviews, we hear not only Said’s irrepressible erudition and his humour but the prescience of Said’s ideas today - ones that speak to questions of identity and coexistence.

Covering Islam emerged from Said’s observations of the western media’s coverage of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Reflecting later, Said said the media's 'arsenal of images' created an impression of "the utmost negative sort of evil emanation...as if the main business of Muslims was to threaten and try to kill Americans.” When he came to update Covering Islam 17 years later, after the Gulf War, Said believed the situation to be even worse.

Nesrine Malik explores how Said’s scholarship and public intellectualism sought to dismantle the idea of a “clash of civilisations” between ‘The West’ and ‘Islam’ through the 80s and 90s to his death in 2003 - and how these tropes have played out and twisted since. Nesrine also considers what Said’s ideas might offer us now, and how he might have dealt with social media and its dissemination of his ideas.

With contributions from Timothy Brennan, the author of the biography Places of Mind, a Life of Edward Said; D D Guttenplan, the editor of The Nation Magazine; Rizwana Hamid, the Director of the Muslim Council of Britain's Centre for Media Monitoring; and Asad Haider, on of the founding editors of Viewpoint magazine and the author of Mistaken Identity.

Narrated by Nesrine Malik
Producer: Katherine Godfrey⠀
Sound Design: Sami El-Enany 
Executive Producer: Steven Rajam

An Overcoat Media production for BBC Radio 4

In 1981, the Palestinian intellectual Edward Said published a book that examined how ideas of Islam are disseminated in the western news media by commentators and experts. It was called Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World.

Forty years on, columnist and author Nesrine Malik examines how Said's ideas - and the responses to them - stack up. Through his blistering public lectures and interviews, we hear not only Said’s irrepressible erudition and his humour but the prescience of Said’s ideas today - ones that speak to questions of identity and coexistence.

Covering Islam emerged from Said’s observations of the western media’s coverage of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Reflecting later, Said said the media's 'arsenal of images' created an impression of "the utmost negative sort of evil emanation...as if the main business of Muslims was to threaten and try to kill Americans.” When he came to update Covering Islam 17 years later, after the Gulf War, Said believed the situation to be even worse.

Nesrine Malik explores how Said’s scholarship and public intellectualism sought to dismantle the idea of a “clash of civilisations” between ‘The West’ and ‘Islam’ through the 80s and 90s to his death in 2003 - and how these tropes have played out and twisted since. Nesrine also considers what Said’s ideas might offer us now, and how he might have dealt with social media and its dissemination of his ideas.

With contributions from Timothy Brennan, the author of the biography Places of Mind, a Life of Edward Said; D D Guttenplan, the editor of The Nation Magazine; Rizwana Hamid, the Director of the Muslim Council of Britain's Centre for Media Monitoring; and Asad Haider, on of the founding editors of Viewpoint magazine and the author of Mistaken Identity.

Today In Focus | Guardian | 2021

Categories
radio sound

Ongoing work as Sound Designer

Hosted by Anushka Asthana and Rachel Humphreys, Today in Focus brings you closer to Guardian journalism. Combining personal storytelling with insightful analysis, this podcast takes you behind the headlines for a deeper understanding of the news, every weekday.

Ongoing work as Sound Designer

Hosted by Anushka Asthana and Rachel Humphreys, Today in Focus brings you closer to Guardian journalism. Combining personal storytelling with insightful analysis, this podcast takes you behind the headlines for a deeper understanding of the news, every weekday.

Danger Force Goes Digital | Nickelodeon | 2021

Categories
animation film narrative short sound

I worked with Skillbard on the Sound Design of this animated web series created by Cartuna

The Danger Force kids go digital in this 3D animated web series for Nickelodeon. Our heroes must journey through a fantasy video game world full of homages to popular titles and immersive environments!

I worked with Skillbard on the Sound Design of this animated web series created by Cartuna

The Danger Force kids go digital in this 3D animated web series for Nickelodeon. Our heroes must journey through a fantasy video game world full of homages to popular titles and immersive environments!

The Time for Thailand

Categories
animation documentary film music short sound

Directed and Produced by Helena Kardová

Animation by Steff Lee and Jack Ross

Music and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany

An animated film for Monocle X MFA Thailand 

Directed and Produced by Helena Kardová

Animation by Steff Lee and Jack Ross

Music and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany

An animated film for Monocle X MFA Thailand 

The Mandjet: In Response to Bridget Riley

Categories
music radio

Bridget Riley, Shih-Li, 1975

The lines draw you in. They want to prepare you, in the utmost stillness, for the moment you can no longer see them. The colours shift and move before you, or is it within you? Your eyes begin to water as you begin to exist on the surface of your skin.

"The Mandjet" is a soundwork I made in response to the painting "Shih-Li" by Bridget Riley and was first heard on "The Gallery" episode of Short Cuts on Radio 4.

Shih-Li, for me, feels like a trip on board The Mandjet, one of the earliest mythological examples of a space travelling vessel, a solar ship that carried Ra across the sky each day.

Undulations of light cresting the bow - singing bowls and sinewaves, elapsing like waves without weight in an ever journeying arc...

Bridget Riley, Shih-Li, 1975

The lines draw you in. They want to prepare you, in the utmost stillness, for the moment you can no longer see them. The colours shift and move before you, or is it within you? Your eyes begin to water as you begin to exist on the surface of your skin.

"The Mandjet" is a soundwork I made in response to the painting "Shih-Li" by Bridget Riley and was first heard on "The Gallery" episode of Short Cuts on Radio 4.

Shih-Li, for me, feels like a trip on board The Mandjet, one of the earliest mythological examples of a space travelling vessel, a solar ship that carried Ra across the sky each day.

Undulations of light cresting the bow - singing bowls and sinewaves, elapsing like waves without weight in an ever journeying arc...

I Like It Here

Categories
film narrative short sound

Written & Directed by Amartei Armar
Starring: Sydney Quartey & Kofi Dorve
Original Soundtrack Osei Korankye & Ernest “Ronaldo” Opoku
Sound Design and Sound Mix: Sami El-Enany

A third culture Ghanaian-American youth takes the taxi ride of his life in an attempt to catch a flight out of Accra leaving his country, ailing Grandfather, and deep rooted feelings of cultural displacement behind.

Written & Directed by Amartei Armar
Starring: Sydney Quartey & Kofi Dorve
Original Soundtrack Osei Korankye & Ernest “Ronaldo” Opoku
Sound Design and Sound Mix: Sami El-Enany

A third culture Ghanaian-American youth takes the taxi ride of his life in an attempt to catch a flight out of Accra leaving his country, ailing Grandfather, and deep rooted feelings of cultural displacement behind.

Mud of Sorrow: Touch

Categories
live sound

Concept & Choreography: Akram Khan
Dancers: Akram Khan and Natalia Osipova
Musicians: Nina Harries & Raaheel Husain
Poem: Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan
Sound Design: Sami El-Enany

Two of the world’s most celebrated dancers, Akram Khan and Royal Ballet principal Natalia Osipova, perform together for the first time, using two great classical dance forms, ballet and kathak. This is a re-imagining of a duet from Khan’s critically acclaimed collaboration with Sylvie Guillem, Sacred Monsters. This powerful work is accompanied by double-bassist Nina Harries, singer Raaheel Husain, an original poem 'Do You Remember?' by Suhaiymah Manzoor-Kha and a sound design by Sami El-Enany.

Concept & Choreography: Akram Khan
Dancers: Akram Khan and Natalia Osipova
Musicians: Nina Harries & Raaheel Husain
Poem: Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan
Sound Design: Sami El-Enany

Two of the world’s most celebrated dancers, Akram Khan and Royal Ballet principal Natalia Osipova, perform together for the first time, using two great classical dance forms, ballet and kathak. This is a re-imagining of a duet from Khan’s critically acclaimed collaboration with Sylvie Guillem, Sacred Monsters. This powerful work is accompanied by double-bassist Nina Harries, singer Raaheel Husain, an original poem 'Do You Remember?' by Suhaiymah Manzoor-Kha and a sound design by Sami El-Enany.

Second Self: Beethoven Resurrection

Categories
documentary feature film live music narrative

A film by Hugo Glendinning and Tilly Shiner

Original Score by Sami El-Enany

World premiere & live orchestral performance: KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen, Hannover September 24-25 2020.

A concert-film co-created by Tilly Shiner, Hugo Glendinning and Sami El-Enany.

London, Halloween 2019. Britain is on the verge of Brexit. Ludwig van Beethoven is in the city, or rather: his spirit. He is looking for justice. The Royal Philharmonic Society had commissioned the 9th Symphony from him, but fed him an insulting 50 dollars.

Accompanied by live music, the magically realistic concert-film tells the fictional story of Beethoven's journey to London. That night, the city is in a process of self-destruction. At sunset, Beethoven is pulled from the mud of the Thames. He staggers through the streets in madness, joining night owls, demonstrators and offenders. He drinks and smokes and is increasingly disgusted by his strenuous search for the Royal Philharmonic Society. They are musicians and artists who, despite his ragged appearance, give him hope that his legacy will live on: in Trafalgar Square, a grieving woman breathes the 'Ode to Joy', and on the banks of the Thames, the arrangement of a violin sonata sounds. Beethoven's nocturnal journey ends at dawn on the Thames, when the city awakens again. The music for the film seems to be a work by Beethoven, a ghost work composed and arranged by the British-Egyptian film composer Sami El-Enany, performed live by the Hanoverian musica assoluta.

A magical-realist documentary, a speculative ghost story, a concert, an improvised, slow-motion disaster movie.



A film by Hugo Glendinning and Tilly Shiner

Original Score by Sami El-Enany

World premiere & live orchestral performance: KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen, Hannover September 24-25 2020.

A concert-film co-created by Tilly Shiner, Hugo Glendinning and Sami El-Enany.

London, Halloween 2019. Britain is on the verge of Brexit. Ludwig van Beethoven is in the city, or rather: his spirit. He is looking for justice. The Royal Philharmonic Society had commissioned the 9th Symphony from him, but fed him an insulting 50 dollars.

Accompanied by live music, the magically realistic concert-film tells the fictional story of Beethoven's journey to London. That night, the city is in a process of self-destruction. At sunset, Beethoven is pulled from the mud of the Thames. He staggers through the streets in madness, joining night owls, demonstrators and offenders. He drinks and smokes and is increasingly disgusted by his strenuous search for the Royal Philharmonic Society. They are musicians and artists who, despite his ragged appearance, give him hope that his legacy will live on: in Trafalgar Square, a grieving woman breathes the 'Ode to Joy', and on the banks of the Thames, the arrangement of a violin sonata sounds. Beethoven's nocturnal journey ends at dawn on the Thames, when the city awakens again. The music for the film seems to be a work by Beethoven, a ghost work composed and arranged by the British-Egyptian film composer Sami El-Enany, performed live by the Hanoverian musica assoluta.

A magical-realist documentary, a speculative ghost story, a concert, an improvised, slow-motion disaster movie.



Extensa

Categories
installation music sound

Installation by Flavia Tritto

Sound Design and Music by Sami El-Enany

Shown at Museo Nuova Era, (Bari,IT)

In a suspended time, a creature wanders around an apparently wasted land. Its origin is unclear, and so is its identity. What is clear is that it is searching for something. This pursuit -both physical and introspective- materializes in a silent and dynamic dialogue with the timeless inhabitants of this land: the olive trees.

This narrative is displayed in the sequence of images and sounds that make up “Trust Me With Your Full Weight,” the video installation at the centre of Flavia Tritto’s solo show, “Extensa”.
In the scenario presented, traditional binary hierarchies are overturned: the human figure is no longer central nor dominating, but rather is “alien”, detached from the natural world towards which it attempts to (re)connect. The scene is a tangle for feelings and thoughts only hinted at, which creates an ambiguous space for visitors to inhabit.

This earthly dimension becomes the place where the Human steps back to rethink its relationship with Nature, grounding its exploration in tactile interactions that are no longer overwhelming but rather characterized by care and attunement. This vision is projected through a just perceptible olive harvesting net -inherited by the artist from her grandfather- which here takes the shape of an olive tree’s trunk.

Shot in Puglia, the video constitutes a practice of reconciliation between the artist and her roots, created when she returned “as a foreigner” after years of absence. It is a cautious rapprochement, a silent dialogue, which generates a (reciprocal?) entrusting, and a re-discovery of what it means to be human by means of environmental stewardship.

This work is also a moment for reflection on the environmental conditions of the local land, hit by the tragedy of Xylella and desertification. These ecological concerns are embedded both in the video installation and in the net sculptures, which stand simultaneously as a plastic metaphor of the problematic relationship between the Human and the ecosystem, and as a reification of the filmed vision. Meanwhile, the movements of the performer (Katarina Nesic), poetically embody the need for a different kind of approach, based on care and respect.

Thus, in this epiphanic passage, any hesitation or superstructure is swept away and replaced by a suggestion of a symbiotic oneness with the environment, which can only be achieved if it becomes collective practice.

Installation by Flavia Tritto

Sound Design and Music by Sami El-Enany

Shown at Museo Nuova Era, (Bari,IT)

In a suspended time, a creature wanders around an apparently wasted land. Its origin is unclear, and so is its identity. What is clear is that it is searching for something. This pursuit -both physical and introspective- materializes in a silent and dynamic dialogue with the timeless inhabitants of this land: the olive trees.

This narrative is displayed in the sequence of images and sounds that make up “Trust Me With Your Full Weight,” the video installation at the centre of Flavia Tritto’s solo show, “Extensa”.
In the scenario presented, traditional binary hierarchies are overturned: the human figure is no longer central nor dominating, but rather is “alien”, detached from the natural world towards which it attempts to (re)connect. The scene is a tangle for feelings and thoughts only hinted at, which creates an ambiguous space for visitors to inhabit.

This earthly dimension becomes the place where the Human steps back to rethink its relationship with Nature, grounding its exploration in tactile interactions that are no longer overwhelming but rather characterized by care and attunement. This vision is projected through a just perceptible olive harvesting net -inherited by the artist from her grandfather- which here takes the shape of an olive tree’s trunk.

Shot in Puglia, the video constitutes a practice of reconciliation between the artist and her roots, created when she returned “as a foreigner” after years of absence. It is a cautious rapprochement, a silent dialogue, which generates a (reciprocal?) entrusting, and a re-discovery of what it means to be human by means of environmental stewardship.

This work is also a moment for reflection on the environmental conditions of the local land, hit by the tragedy of Xylella and desertification. These ecological concerns are embedded both in the video installation and in the net sculptures, which stand simultaneously as a plastic metaphor of the problematic relationship between the Human and the ecosystem, and as a reification of the filmed vision. Meanwhile, the movements of the performer (Katarina Nesic), poetically embody the need for a different kind of approach, based on care and respect.

Thus, in this epiphanic passage, any hesitation or superstructure is swept away and replaced by a suggestion of a symbiotic oneness with the environment, which can only be achieved if it becomes collective practice.

Opix | Opix

Categories
music records

Opix | Opix | 2020
Label: Faith and Industry
Written, Recorded and Produced by Sami El-Enany and Dampé
The second single from the Opix LP

Opix | Opix | 2020
Label: Faith and Industry
Written, Recorded and Produced by Sami El-Enany and Dampé
The second single from the Opix LP

You’ll See Me [Sailing In Antarctica]

Categories
music theatre

Created by Non Zero One
Composition and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany
Commissioned by the National Theatre

“We’re somewhere half way up some concrete, looking out, a little closer to the sky than normal. Here we have some time to just put our head in the clouds. Here is a place for you to see things.”

you’ll see [me sailing in antarctica] explores the way we look and the way we see. Visions past, present and future are brought to the table – some things could never live up to our imagination, and some are better than we could ever believe. Between you and the others here, you’ve seen so many things, and you’ll see so many more. But can anyone ever see the way you do?

On the roof of the National Theatre, 19 participants and five performers sit down together around a 4-metre diameter round table, which is mirrored to reflect the open sky above. Communicating with each other face-to-face, aided by single earpieces and boom microphones, participants are invited to look into their pasts, scrutinise their present and imagine their futures. Nothing is being broadcast – what happens on the roof stays on the roof, and participants can share as much or as little as they like.

A lyrical look at the science behind human perception, you’ll see [me sailing in antarctica] mixes fact and fantasy through performance lecture, surround sound, hidden televisions and sweeping panoramic views of the London skyline. Visual reasoning tests are carried out, eye muscles are exercised and someone runs around backstage with a camera strapped to their head.
Illuminated by a giant spherical air balloon floating overhead, the roof itself is part of the show, with the massive flytowers changing colour on cue and blistering strobes forming part of a big finale (lighting design by Sean Gleason). The sound design, incorporates an eight-channel surround system with generative music and live sampling, to ensure a unique soundscape for every performance.

you’ll see [me sailing in antarctica] was commissioned by the National Theatre as part of National Theatre Inside Out, a festival. The hour-long show played in a secret rooftop location for an extended run from 6-20 July 2012 at National Theatre.

you’ll see [me sailing in antarctica] was nominated for an Offie Award 2012.

Created by Non Zero One
Composition and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany
Commissioned by the National Theatre

“We’re somewhere half way up some concrete, looking out, a little closer to the sky than normal. Here we have some time to just put our head in the clouds. Here is a place for you to see things.”

you’ll see [me sailing in antarctica] explores the way we look and the way we see. Visions past, present and future are brought to the table – some things could never live up to our imagination, and some are better than we could ever believe. Between you and the others here, you’ve seen so many things, and you’ll see so many more. But can anyone ever see the way you do?

On the roof of the National Theatre, 19 participants and five performers sit down together around a 4-metre diameter round table, which is mirrored to reflect the open sky above. Communicating with each other face-to-face, aided by single earpieces and boom microphones, participants are invited to look into their pasts, scrutinise their present and imagine their futures. Nothing is being broadcast – what happens on the roof stays on the roof, and participants can share as much or as little as they like.

A lyrical look at the science behind human perception, you’ll see [me sailing in antarctica] mixes fact and fantasy through performance lecture, surround sound, hidden televisions and sweeping panoramic views of the London skyline. Visual reasoning tests are carried out, eye muscles are exercised and someone runs around backstage with a camera strapped to their head.
Illuminated by a giant spherical air balloon floating overhead, the roof itself is part of the show, with the massive flytowers changing colour on cue and blistering strobes forming part of a big finale (lighting design by Sean Gleason). The sound design, incorporates an eight-channel surround system with generative music and live sampling, to ensure a unique soundscape for every performance.

you’ll see [me sailing in antarctica] was commissioned by the National Theatre as part of National Theatre Inside Out, a festival. The hour-long show played in a secret rooftop location for an extended run from 6-20 July 2012 at National Theatre.

you’ll see [me sailing in antarctica] was nominated for an Offie Award 2012.

Emma

Categories
film music narrative short

Director: Sophie Gueydon
Cinematography: Hugo Glendinning
Music: Sami El-Enany

Emma is a portrait of a young girl who struggles between looking after her depressed Mum and being a child.


"Un Festival C'est Trop Court", Nice FR, 2019
Rencontres Du Cinéma Européen de Vannes, 2019
*Best Short Film* at the Santorini Film Festival, Greece, 2019
*Best Director* at the Budapest Independent Film Festival, Hungary, 2019
*Best Director* at Short To The Point Film Festival, Bucharest, Romania, 2019
*Finalist* at the BlackBird Film Festival, NY, USA, 2019
*Finalist* at the Brighton Rocks Film Festival, UK, 2019
*Semi Finalist* at the Nazareth Film Festival, Israel, 2019
London Lift Off Film Festival, London, UK, 2018
Portland Film Festival, USA, 2018
Shorts On Tap Film Festival with TimeOut London, London King'sX, 2019, 2019
Cardiff Mini Film Festival, Cardiff, UK, 2019
LIFF Lebanese Independent Film Festival, Beirut, 2019
LiftOff Amsterdam, 2020
Discover Film, London, 2020

Director: Sophie Gueydon
Cinematography: Hugo Glendinning
Music: Sami El-Enany

Emma is a portrait of a young girl who struggles between looking after her depressed Mum and being a child.


"Un Festival C'est Trop Court", Nice FR, 2019
Rencontres Du Cinéma Européen de Vannes, 2019
*Best Short Film* at the Santorini Film Festival, Greece, 2019
*Best Director* at the Budapest Independent Film Festival, Hungary, 2019
*Best Director* at Short To The Point Film Festival, Bucharest, Romania, 2019
*Finalist* at the BlackBird Film Festival, NY, USA, 2019
*Finalist* at the Brighton Rocks Film Festival, UK, 2019
*Semi Finalist* at the Nazareth Film Festival, Israel, 2019
London Lift Off Film Festival, London, UK, 2018
Portland Film Festival, USA, 2018
Shorts On Tap Film Festival with TimeOut London, London King'sX, 2019, 2019
Cardiff Mini Film Festival, Cardiff, UK, 2019
LIFF Lebanese Independent Film Festival, Beirut, 2019
LiftOff Amsterdam, 2020
Discover Film, London, 2020

Rabbit Hole | Opix

Categories
music records

Rabbit Hole | Opix | 2020
Label: Faith and Industry
Written, Recorded and Produced by Sami El-Enany and Dampé
The second single from the Opix LP

Rabbit Hole | Opix | 2020
Label: Faith and Industry
Written, Recorded and Produced by Sami El-Enany and Dampé
The second single from the Opix LP

Opix | Faith and Industry | 2020

Categories
music records

Opix LP, 33min | 2020
Label: Faith and Industry
Written, Recorded and Produced by Sami El-Enany and Dampé

Opix LP, 33min | 2020
Label: Faith and Industry
Written, Recorded and Produced by Sami El-Enany and Dampé

End-of-life Conversation

Categories
animation documentary film music short sound

Directed and Animated by Diana Gradinaru
Sound and Music by Sami El-Enany

Can an innovative collaboration improve the impact and dissemination of the key findings from a qualitative study that explores clinician and informal caregiver views and experiences of having end-of-life conversations?

A team at the Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London have undertaken a series of face-to-face interviews with junior doctors, senior doctors and informal caregivers who have participated in the Second Conversation across different medical specialities and hospital sites. Through this study, the team aim to understand, explore and compare experiences of having conversations about end of life or advanced illness and the Second Conversation from these three different perspectives.

The aim of this artistic collaboration is to produce an innovative and creative output based on the results of this research, to help communicate and disseminate the main findings and engage the key stake holders in the topic. The project team anticipate the primary audience will be doctors, as the aim of the Second Conversation is to improve their communication skills.

Directed and Animated by Diana Gradinaru
Sound and Music by Sami El-Enany

Can an innovative collaboration improve the impact and dissemination of the key findings from a qualitative study that explores clinician and informal caregiver views and experiences of having end-of-life conversations?

A team at the Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London have undertaken a series of face-to-face interviews with junior doctors, senior doctors and informal caregivers who have participated in the Second Conversation across different medical specialities and hospital sites. Through this study, the team aim to understand, explore and compare experiences of having conversations about end of life or advanced illness and the Second Conversation from these three different perspectives.

The aim of this artistic collaboration is to produce an innovative and creative output based on the results of this research, to help communicate and disseminate the main findings and engage the key stake holders in the topic. The project team anticipate the primary audience will be doctors, as the aim of the Second Conversation is to improve their communication skills.

Mothers of Invention | 2020

Categories
radio sound

Mothers of Invention | Series 3 | 2020
Hosted by Mary Robinson, Maeve Higgins, Thimali Kodikara
Sound Design by Sami El-Enany

Mothers Of Invention is a podcast on feminist climate change solutions from (mostly) women around the world.

With ten years to go before we see irreversible changes to our planet, former Irish president Mary Robinson, comedian and writer Maeve Higgins, and series producer Thimali Kodikara dig into the biggest climate issues of our time with love, laughter and memorable storytelling.

Mothers Of Invention gives focus to the stories of black, brown and indigenous women and girls who have been innovating from the front lines of climate change for generations — all over the world! Through their knowledge – in the fields, in the courtroom, at the marches, and in the boardroom – every episode is an education on how to cope, get empowered, and force climate justice for all!

Mary Robinson, the first female President of Ireland and climate justice campaigner is one of the women leading the global climate movement. She is doing everything she can to raise the voices of other determined women, particularly those on the frontlines of climate change in the global south.   

Maeve Higgins, Irish comic based in NY, she is a contributing writer for the New York Times and her latest book 'Maeve in America' was published last year. She has completed  Maeve in America, a podcast series about immigration, and keeps her sense of humour about serious matters.  

Thimali Kodikara based in NY, she is the series producer of Mothers Of Invention. 

Mothers of Invention | Series 3 | 2020
Hosted by Mary Robinson, Maeve Higgins, Thimali Kodikara
Sound Design by Sami El-Enany

Mothers Of Invention is a podcast on feminist climate change solutions from (mostly) women around the world.

With ten years to go before we see irreversible changes to our planet, former Irish president Mary Robinson, comedian and writer Maeve Higgins, and series producer Thimali Kodikara dig into the biggest climate issues of our time with love, laughter and memorable storytelling.

Mothers Of Invention gives focus to the stories of black, brown and indigenous women and girls who have been innovating from the front lines of climate change for generations — all over the world! Through their knowledge – in the fields, in the courtroom, at the marches, and in the boardroom – every episode is an education on how to cope, get empowered, and force climate justice for all!

Mary Robinson, the first female President of Ireland and climate justice campaigner is one of the women leading the global climate movement. She is doing everything she can to raise the voices of other determined women, particularly those on the frontlines of climate change in the global south.   

Maeve Higgins, Irish comic based in NY, she is a contributing writer for the New York Times and her latest book 'Maeve in America' was published last year. She has completed  Maeve in America, a podcast series about immigration, and keeps her sense of humour about serious matters.  

Thimali Kodikara based in NY, she is the series producer of Mothers Of Invention. 

I’m Eating | Opix | 2020

Categories
music records

I'm Eating | Opix | 2020
Label: Faith and Industry
Written, Recorded and Produced by Sami El-Enany and Dampé
The first single from the Opix LP.

I'm Eating | Opix | 2020
Label: Faith and Industry
Written, Recorded and Produced by Sami El-Enany and Dampé
The first single from the Opix LP.

A Quickening | Orlando Weeks

Categories
music records

A Quickening | Orlando Weeks | 2020
Label: Play It Again Sam [PIAS]

Additional writing and performing by Sami El-Enany on:
'Blame or Love or Nothing', 'Takes a Village' and 'Summer Clothes'.

A Quickening | Orlando Weeks | 2020
Label: Play It Again Sam [PIAS]

Additional writing and performing by Sami El-Enany on:
'Blame or Love or Nothing', 'Takes a Village' and 'Summer Clothes'.

Yearbooks 3 | La Shark

Categories
music records

Yearbooks 3: 2014
All songs written and performed by:
Samuel Geronimo Deschamps, Sami El-Enany, Ben Markham,
Lewis Maynard and Nick Buxton
Self Release

Yearbooks is a 21 track collection of all La Shark's surviving early demos

Yearbooks 3: 2014
All songs written and performed by:
Samuel Geronimo Deschamps, Sami El-Enany, Ben Markham,
Lewis Maynard and Nick Buxton
Self Release

Yearbooks is a 21 track collection of all La Shark's surviving early demos

Yearbooks 2 | La Shark

Categories
music records

Yearbooks 2: 2014
All songs written and performed by:
Samuel Geronimo Deschamps, Sami El-Enany, Ben Markham,
Lewis Maynard and Nick Buxton
Self Release

Yearbooks is a 21 track collection of all La Shark's surviving early demos
 

Yearbooks 2: 2014
All songs written and performed by:
Samuel Geronimo Deschamps, Sami El-Enany, Ben Markham,
Lewis Maynard and Nick Buxton
Self Release

Yearbooks is a 21 track collection of all La Shark's surviving early demos
 

Year Books 1 | La Shark

Categories
music records

Yearbooks 1: 2014
All songs written and performed by:
Samuel Geronimo Deschamps, Sami El-Enany, Ben Markham,
Lewis Maynard and Nick Buxton
Self Release

Yearbooks is a 21 track collection of all La Shark's surviving early demos
 

Yearbooks 1: 2014
All songs written and performed by:
Samuel Geronimo Deschamps, Sami El-Enany, Ben Markham,
Lewis Maynard and Nick Buxton
Self Release

Yearbooks is a 21 track collection of all La Shark's surviving early demos
 

Limousine Mmmm… | La Shark

Categories
music records

Limousine Mmmm...: 2013, 10"
All songs written and performed by:
Samuel Geronimo Deschamps, Sami El-Enany, Ben Markham,
Lewis Maynard and Nick Buxton
Label: Pour Femme Records

Limousine Mmmm...: 2013, 10"
All songs written and performed by:
Samuel Geronimo Deschamps, Sami El-Enany, Ben Markham,
Lewis Maynard and Nick Buxton
Label: Pour Femme Records

Imaginary Music | La Shark

Categories
music records

Imaginary Music: 2015
All songs written and performed by:
Samuel Geronimo Deschamps, Sami El-Enany, Ben Markham,
Lewis Maynard and Nick Buxton
Label: Tape Music

Imaginary Music: 2015
All songs written and performed by:
Samuel Geronimo Deschamps, Sami El-Enany, Ben Markham,
Lewis Maynard and Nick Buxton
Label: Tape Music

Variable 4

Categories
installation music

Created by James Bulley and Daniel Jones
With music contributions from Sami El-Enany

Variable 4 is an outdoor sound installation that translates weather conditions into musical patterns in real time. Using meteorological sensors connected to a custom software environment, the weather itself acts as conductor, navigating through a map of twenty-four specifically-written movements.

Every aspect of the piece, from broad harmonic progressions down to individual notes and timbres, is influenced by changes in the environment: wind, rainfall, sunlight, humidity, and temperature. The resultant composition is performed over an indeterminate duration through eight loudspeakers integrated into the landscape.

Created by James Bulley and Daniel Jones
With music contributions from Sami El-Enany

Variable 4 is an outdoor sound installation that translates weather conditions into musical patterns in real time. Using meteorological sensors connected to a custom software environment, the weather itself acts as conductor, navigating through a map of twenty-four specifically-written movements.

Every aspect of the piece, from broad harmonic progressions down to individual notes and timbres, is influenced by changes in the environment: wind, rainfall, sunlight, humidity, and temperature. The resultant composition is performed over an indeterminate duration through eight loudspeakers integrated into the landscape.

Clear Skies for String Quintet and Mobile Interactions | Sound As Terror

Categories
installation live music

Performances:

-Farnborough Wind Tunnels - Speed of Sound Festival

-Hockney Gallery - Royal College of Art

Investigating ideas of noise and turbulence, sound and terror, El-Enany's Clear Skies for String Quintet and Mobile Interactions was performed as part of a festival dedicated to interpreting the history of aerodynamic advancement through sound, reactivating the decommissioned space of Q121 and air return duct.

Clear Skies involves mobile interactions from any phone that connects to the Sound As Terror network during the performance. Audio loops derived from drone recordings sent from Gaza are scattered via audience's phones as the string quintet play, recontextualising and interacting with the mobile phones. Questions of the ever-present state of surveillance echo anxiously as participants grip their phones. 

Sound as Terror  is a research project into sound as affect, with a current focus on military drone soundscapes and their effect on peoples everyday lives. Through research into humanitarian laws and regulations, first hand experience as well as definitions of sound as terror, we move from analysis and dialogue, into composing and sound actions. We use sound to enunciate social relationships and think of collaborative compositions as both physical forms of coming together, as well as explorations into sonic communication. Our work mostly takes the form of sound interactions and manifestations informed by in-depth research.

Score available on request

Performances:

-Farnborough Wind Tunnels - Speed of Sound Festival

-Hockney Gallery - Royal College of Art

Investigating ideas of noise and turbulence, sound and terror, El-Enany's Clear Skies for String Quintet and Mobile Interactions was performed as part of a festival dedicated to interpreting the history of aerodynamic advancement through sound, reactivating the decommissioned space of Q121 and air return duct.

Clear Skies involves mobile interactions from any phone that connects to the Sound As Terror network during the performance. Audio loops derived from drone recordings sent from Gaza are scattered via audience's phones as the string quintet play, recontextualising and interacting with the mobile phones. Questions of the ever-present state of surveillance echo anxiously as participants grip their phones. 

Sound as Terror  is a research project into sound as affect, with a current focus on military drone soundscapes and their effect on peoples everyday lives. Through research into humanitarian laws and regulations, first hand experience as well as definitions of sound as terror, we move from analysis and dialogue, into composing and sound actions. We use sound to enunciate social relationships and think of collaborative compositions as both physical forms of coming together, as well as explorations into sonic communication. Our work mostly takes the form of sound interactions and manifestations informed by in-depth research.

Score available on request

“If the people hear the wrong music, the Empire will fall”

Categories
installation music sound

The Red Mansion Art Prize Exhibition 2019 at the Royal Academy.

Video Installation by Ibrahim Cisse,
'If the people hear the wrong music, the Empire will fall'.

Music and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany

The Red Mansion Art Prize Exhibition 2019 at the Royal Academy.

Video Installation by Ibrahim Cisse,
'If the people hear the wrong music, the Empire will fall'.

Music and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany

Gentle Dust

Categories
animation film installation live music sound

Berlin Biennale X, August 2018
Showroom MAMA, Rotterdam, September - October 2017
ROOM Gallery and Projects, Johannesburg, October 2016
Jupiter Woods, London, August 2016

And so, gently the dust will fall, upon the carelessly wrapped paintings. And gently the colours on the canvas, they will fade away. Images of soup cans, guns and flowers, they will fade away. And gentle dust will fall upon the seamless glass vitrines, scattered pedestals, high security cameras. Gentle dust, upon the long forgotten sculptures, abandoned in the corners of the wide quiet cubes.

Gentle Dust imagines and stages the desertion of the museum of modern art through performative readings, a video installation and music. The museum of modern art is understood here as a symbol, historically and presently linked to the colonial matrix of power. The live performances respond to the question of how we can disengage from the narratives that are told and taught by these museums. The project is understood as the beginning of a dialogue in which we, as a multiplicity of young art practitioners, foreground the stories, perspectives and questions that have a special urgency to us in this time of crisis.

First instalment co-curated with Rianna Jade Parker at Jupiter Woods in London. This instalment includes spoken contributions by Rianna Jade Parker, Isaac Kariuki, Imani Robinson and Caspar Jade Heinemann, a video animation and text by Dorine van Meel, original music to the video by Sami El-Enany and voice-overs by Emma Bennett and Holly Pester

Second instalment organised i.c.w. Mbali Khoza at ROOM Gallery and Projects in Johannesburg. This instalment includes spoken contributions by Thato Magano, Sipho Charles Gwala, Senzo Brian Sibisi and Natasha Jacobs and an expanding multichannel soundtrack by Sami El-Enany.

Third instalment co-curated together with independent artist-curator and writer Rianna Jade Parker at Showroom MAMA in Rotterdam. New contributions to the video by Susu Amina, Tirza Balk, Yakari Gabriel, Abdel-Rahman Hassan and Alina Jabbari. Events organised by Rianna Jade Parker i.c.w. Hudda Khaireh, as well as Natalia Sorzano i.c.w. Nathalie Hartjes and MAMA's Artistic New Talents. New performances by Pelumi Adejumo and Albinus. The exhibition also includes a 'reference space' that contains key texts and imagery compiled by Rianna Jade Parker.

Gentle Dust concluded at the Berlin Biennale with life performances by Abdel-Rahman Hassan, Alina Jabbari, Dorine van Meel and Ibrahim Cissé together with Sami El-Enany.

Gentle Dust has been made possible through additional financial support from the Arts Council England, the Dutch Embassy in London and the Mondriaan Fund.

Berlin Biennale X, August 2018
Showroom MAMA, Rotterdam, September - October 2017
ROOM Gallery and Projects, Johannesburg, October 2016
Jupiter Woods, London, August 2016

And so, gently the dust will fall, upon the carelessly wrapped paintings. And gently the colours on the canvas, they will fade away. Images of soup cans, guns and flowers, they will fade away. And gentle dust will fall upon the seamless glass vitrines, scattered pedestals, high security cameras. Gentle dust, upon the long forgotten sculptures, abandoned in the corners of the wide quiet cubes.

Gentle Dust imagines and stages the desertion of the museum of modern art through performative readings, a video installation and music. The museum of modern art is understood here as a symbol, historically and presently linked to the colonial matrix of power. The live performances respond to the question of how we can disengage from the narratives that are told and taught by these museums. The project is understood as the beginning of a dialogue in which we, as a multiplicity of young art practitioners, foreground the stories, perspectives and questions that have a special urgency to us in this time of crisis.

First instalment co-curated with Rianna Jade Parker at Jupiter Woods in London. This instalment includes spoken contributions by Rianna Jade Parker, Isaac Kariuki, Imani Robinson and Caspar Jade Heinemann, a video animation and text by Dorine van Meel, original music to the video by Sami El-Enany and voice-overs by Emma Bennett and Holly Pester

Second instalment organised i.c.w. Mbali Khoza at ROOM Gallery and Projects in Johannesburg. This instalment includes spoken contributions by Thato Magano, Sipho Charles Gwala, Senzo Brian Sibisi and Natasha Jacobs and an expanding multichannel soundtrack by Sami El-Enany.

Third instalment co-curated together with independent artist-curator and writer Rianna Jade Parker at Showroom MAMA in Rotterdam. New contributions to the video by Susu Amina, Tirza Balk, Yakari Gabriel, Abdel-Rahman Hassan and Alina Jabbari. Events organised by Rianna Jade Parker i.c.w. Hudda Khaireh, as well as Natalia Sorzano i.c.w. Nathalie Hartjes and MAMA's Artistic New Talents. New performances by Pelumi Adejumo and Albinus. The exhibition also includes a 'reference space' that contains key texts and imagery compiled by Rianna Jade Parker.

Gentle Dust concluded at the Berlin Biennale with life performances by Abdel-Rahman Hassan, Alina Jabbari, Dorine van Meel and Ibrahim Cissé together with Sami El-Enany.

Gentle Dust has been made possible through additional financial support from the Arts Council England, the Dutch Embassy in London and the Mondriaan Fund.

Between the Dog and the Wolf | South London Gallery | 2015

Categories
installation music sound

An installation created by Dorine van Meel
With an evolving multichannel soundtrack by Sami El-Enany

"In love at eight with Othello’s Desdemona. On our strawberry iMac I draw her massive soprano body tightly folded in a blue silk dress. No images of the play to be found anywhere, this was before the internet. And at bedtime I tell him dragons don’t exist, fear the real world instead."

Dorine van Meel is the fourth recipient of the Nina Stewart Artist Residency at the SLG. For her first solo show in a public gallery Van Meel presents a multi-channel installation exploring language and female subjectivity, through a soundtrack of two female narrators combined with alternating projections of digital imagery.

An installation created by Dorine van Meel
With an evolving multichannel soundtrack by Sami El-Enany

"In love at eight with Othello’s Desdemona. On our strawberry iMac I draw her massive soprano body tightly folded in a blue silk dress. No images of the play to be found anywhere, this was before the internet. And at bedtime I tell him dragons don’t exist, fear the real world instead."

Dorine van Meel is the fourth recipient of the Nina Stewart Artist Residency at the SLG. For her first solo show in a public gallery Van Meel presents a multi-channel installation exploring language and female subjectivity, through a soundtrack of two female narrators combined with alternating projections of digital imagery.

#NauruFilesReading

Categories
documentary film live music short sound

Directed by Sami El-Enany
Sound and Music by Sami El-Enany
Edited by Asli Umut
Camera by Phillip Wood, Asli Umut and Tristan Martin

#NauruFilesReading was a political action and durational performance undertaken by activists outside Australia House, London on 26th August 2016. The performance involved the reading of the Nauru Files, a database of over 2000 incident reports leaked to the Guardian Australia. A result of the ten hour oral intervention is a sound archive of documented incidents of abuse, self- harm, humiliation and squalor that is everyday life for refugees on Nauru.The duration, monotony and repetition entailed in the reading of each file echoes the normalisation of the violence and tedium endured by refugees in indefinite detention.

For more information go to:

http://naurufilesreading.blogspot.co.uk

Nauru Files Reading is a durational performance involving the reading of the Nauru Files, a database of over 2000 incident reports leaked to the Guardian Australia from the Australian refugee detention centre in the Republic of Nauru. The Australian government detains refugees indefinitely on Christmas Island and on two remote Pacific islands, Nauru and Manus Island (Papua New Guinea) as part of its offshore detention policy designed to deter refugees from arriving in Australia by boat. More than 500 refugees are detained on Nauru, including many children. These refugees are from countries including Iran, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia. Refugees on Nauru are regularly subjected to abuse, violence, sexual assault and rape. Self-harm and suicide attempts are common. Two refugees have died on Nauru. Omid was a 23 year old refugee from Iran who died after self-immolating and receiving inadequate treatment in April 2016. Rakib was a 23 year old refugee from Bangladesh who died in May 2016 after overdosing on paracetamol. A 19 year old Somali refugee, Hodan, self-immolated in April 2016 and survived with burns to 70% of her body. 
 
Nauru Files Reading is an unsanctioned live performance in defiance of Australia’s offshore detention of refugees. An oral intervention, Nauru Files Reading will produce a sound archive of documented incidents of abuse, self-harm, humiliation and squalor that is the everyday life for refugees on Nauru. In response to the Australian government’s refusal to close the camps and bring the detained refugees to Australia, this performance is a gesture of solidarity towards the detained refugees. The duration, monotony and repetition entailed in the reading of each file echoes the normalisation of the violence and tedium endured by refugees in indefinite detention.   
 
Australia House, London, the performance site for Nauru Files Reading, marks Australian diplomatic territory in the heart of the colonial motherland. The narrative of abuse exposed by Nauru Files Reading directly contradicts the image the Australian High Commission seeks to convey of Australia as a progressive nation and a desirable destination for tourists, students, highly-skilled workers and international investors. Nauru Files Reading embodies the ongoing racist violence that has defined the settler colony of Australia since its inception.
 
Key players in Australian offshore detention 

 

DIBP - The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection (formerly ‘the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’) has been headed by Liberal Party Minister Peter Dutton since December 2014. Since July 2015, the department includes an armed operational agency known as Australian Border Force which oversees boat turn-backs and the forcible transportation of refugees to offshore camps and other detention facilities.

IHMS - International Health and Medical Service is a private medical service which has held successive contracts with Australia’s immigration department since 2009, totaling well over Aus$1.6bn. The company is owned by International SOS (Australasia), whose largest client is the US military. 

Save The Children (STC) - This charity has been contracted by DIBP to provide education, recreation and child protection services to refugees on Nauru since August 2013. Following the Nauru files leak, 26 former STC workers publicly called for an end to offshore processing, stating that the files are "just the tip of the iceberg".

Broadspectrum (formerly known as ‘Transfiled’) - Broadspectrum is an Australian corporation which provides infrastructure maintenance services. Transfield Services has held a contract worth Aus$1.22 bn. for the provision of "welfare services" at Australia’s detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru since January 2014. It subcontracts security services at both sites to Wilson Security. The company changed its name to Broadspectrum after its founders withdrew its right to use the name "Transfield" due to the reputational damage done through its offshore detention centre contracts. As of May 2016, the Spanish infrastructure company Ferrovial acquired a 90% share in Broadspectrum.

Wilson Security - Wilson Security is an Australian private security company. It is a subcontractor of Transfield Services at Australian offshore detention facilities. It has been working on Nauru since late 2012 and on Manus Island since February 2014. Wilson also holds significant contracts providing security services for Melbourne University, the Australian National University, and private carparks in central Sydney and Melbourne.

Directed by Sami El-Enany
Sound and Music by Sami El-Enany
Edited by Asli Umut
Camera by Phillip Wood, Asli Umut and Tristan Martin

#NauruFilesReading was a political action and durational performance undertaken by activists outside Australia House, London on 26th August 2016. The performance involved the reading of the Nauru Files, a database of over 2000 incident reports leaked to the Guardian Australia. A result of the ten hour oral intervention is a sound archive of documented incidents of abuse, self- harm, humiliation and squalor that is everyday life for refugees on Nauru.The duration, monotony and repetition entailed in the reading of each file echoes the normalisation of the violence and tedium endured by refugees in indefinite detention.

For more information go to:

http://naurufilesreading.blogspot.co.uk

Nauru Files Reading is a durational performance involving the reading of the Nauru Files, a database of over 2000 incident reports leaked to the Guardian Australia from the Australian refugee detention centre in the Republic of Nauru. The Australian government detains refugees indefinitely on Christmas Island and on two remote Pacific islands, Nauru and Manus Island (Papua New Guinea) as part of its offshore detention policy designed to deter refugees from arriving in Australia by boat. More than 500 refugees are detained on Nauru, including many children. These refugees are from countries including Iran, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia. Refugees on Nauru are regularly subjected to abuse, violence, sexual assault and rape. Self-harm and suicide attempts are common. Two refugees have died on Nauru. Omid was a 23 year old refugee from Iran who died after self-immolating and receiving inadequate treatment in April 2016. Rakib was a 23 year old refugee from Bangladesh who died in May 2016 after overdosing on paracetamol. A 19 year old Somali refugee, Hodan, self-immolated in April 2016 and survived with burns to 70% of her body. 
 
Nauru Files Reading is an unsanctioned live performance in defiance of Australia’s offshore detention of refugees. An oral intervention, Nauru Files Reading will produce a sound archive of documented incidents of abuse, self-harm, humiliation and squalor that is the everyday life for refugees on Nauru. In response to the Australian government’s refusal to close the camps and bring the detained refugees to Australia, this performance is a gesture of solidarity towards the detained refugees. The duration, monotony and repetition entailed in the reading of each file echoes the normalisation of the violence and tedium endured by refugees in indefinite detention.   
 
Australia House, London, the performance site for Nauru Files Reading, marks Australian diplomatic territory in the heart of the colonial motherland. The narrative of abuse exposed by Nauru Files Reading directly contradicts the image the Australian High Commission seeks to convey of Australia as a progressive nation and a desirable destination for tourists, students, highly-skilled workers and international investors. Nauru Files Reading embodies the ongoing racist violence that has defined the settler colony of Australia since its inception.
 
Key players in Australian offshore detention 

 

DIBP - The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection (formerly ‘the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’) has been headed by Liberal Party Minister Peter Dutton since December 2014. Since July 2015, the department includes an armed operational agency known as Australian Border Force which oversees boat turn-backs and the forcible transportation of refugees to offshore camps and other detention facilities.

IHMS - International Health and Medical Service is a private medical service which has held successive contracts with Australia’s immigration department since 2009, totaling well over Aus$1.6bn. The company is owned by International SOS (Australasia), whose largest client is the US military. 

Save The Children (STC) - This charity has been contracted by DIBP to provide education, recreation and child protection services to refugees on Nauru since August 2013. Following the Nauru files leak, 26 former STC workers publicly called for an end to offshore processing, stating that the files are "just the tip of the iceberg".

Broadspectrum (formerly known as ‘Transfiled’) - Broadspectrum is an Australian corporation which provides infrastructure maintenance services. Transfield Services has held a contract worth Aus$1.22 bn. for the provision of "welfare services" at Australia’s detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru since January 2014. It subcontracts security services at both sites to Wilson Security. The company changed its name to Broadspectrum after its founders withdrew its right to use the name "Transfield" due to the reputational damage done through its offshore detention centre contracts. As of May 2016, the Spanish infrastructure company Ferrovial acquired a 90% share in Broadspectrum.

Wilson Security - Wilson Security is an Australian private security company. It is a subcontractor of Transfield Services at Australian offshore detention facilities. It has been working on Nauru since late 2012 and on Manus Island since February 2014. Wilson also holds significant contracts providing security services for Melbourne University, the Australian National University, and private carparks in central Sydney and Melbourne.

White Girl

Categories
film music narrative short

Directed by Nadia Latif
Written by Omar El-Khairy
Music by Sami El-Enany

Beth is seemingly lost. As she wanders around seeking out help from strangers, her interactions take darker turns. Terror lies around every corner.

Directed by Nadia Latif
Written by Omar El-Khairy
Music by Sami El-Enany

Beth is seemingly lost. As she wanders around seeking out help from strangers, her interactions take darker turns. Terror lies around every corner.

Wasteworld

Categories
film music narrative short sound

Written and Directed by: Andrea Niada
Music and Sound Design: Sami El-Enany
Producer: Oliver Sunley
Director of Photography: Riccardo Angelucci

A woman hatches into a menacing world made of bin bags, where she must find the key to a mysterious container, which holds the terrifying secret of this strange place.

Written and Directed by: Andrea Niada
Music and Sound Design: Sami El-Enany
Producer: Oliver Sunley
Director of Photography: Riccardo Angelucci

A woman hatches into a menacing world made of bin bags, where she must find the key to a mysterious container, which holds the terrifying secret of this strange place.

Walking With Shadows

Categories
feature film music narrative

-Africa Movie Academy Award (AMAA) Nomination for ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUNDTRACK-

Producers: Funmi Iyanda, Olumide F. Makanjuola,
Xeenash Mohammed, Victoria Thomas
Director: Aoife O’Kelly
Music: Sami El-Enany
Editing: Matthew Maria
Cinematography: Gerard Puigmal
Starring: Ozzy Agu, Funiola Aofiyebi,
Zainab Bologan

In Lagos, Nigeria, Ebele Njoko has been running all his life.

A search for acceptance and love from his family, has led him to recreate himself as Adrian Njoko, respected father, husband, and brother. Suddenly, Adrian’s past and secrets have caught up with him and his world soon begins to crumble as he frantically tries to control the growing ripple effect of a revelation. Walking With Shadows is adapted from Jude Dibia’s 2005 book of the same title, which was awarded Sweden’s Natur och Kultur Prize. It stars Ozzy Agu and Zainab Balogun

-Africa Movie Academy Award (AMAA) Nomination for ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUNDTRACK-

Producers: Funmi Iyanda, Olumide F. Makanjuola,
Xeenash Mohammed, Victoria Thomas
Director: Aoife O’Kelly
Music: Sami El-Enany
Editing: Matthew Maria
Cinematography: Gerard Puigmal
Starring: Ozzy Agu, Funiola Aofiyebi,
Zainab Bologan

In Lagos, Nigeria, Ebele Njoko has been running all his life.

A search for acceptance and love from his family, has led him to recreate himself as Adrian Njoko, respected father, husband, and brother. Suddenly, Adrian’s past and secrets have caught up with him and his world soon begins to crumble as he frantically tries to control the growing ripple effect of a revelation. Walking With Shadows is adapted from Jude Dibia’s 2005 book of the same title, which was awarded Sweden’s Natur och Kultur Prize. It stars Ozzy Agu and Zainab Balogun

The Planning Game

Categories
animation film game music short sound

          pw: game

Film by Ria Dastidar
Sound and Music by Sami El-Enany

Haven’t you always wanted to build a property, but feel defeated by the bureaucracy of the planning system? Josef K an intrepid pink mouse enters the retro 8- bit computer world of The Planning Game, to out wit the system to create his dream house!

This animation has been made for display at the UK Pavilion at the Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture.

          pw: game

Film by Ria Dastidar
Sound and Music by Sami El-Enany

Haven’t you always wanted to build a property, but feel defeated by the bureaucracy of the planning system? Josef K an intrepid pink mouse enters the retro 8- bit computer world of The Planning Game, to out wit the system to create his dream house!

This animation has been made for display at the UK Pavilion at the Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture.

The Followed

Categories
film music narrative short

Five minute sample

Written and Directed by Zak Klein
Music by Sami El-Enany
Produced by Jonah Klein and Zoe Anjuli Robinson
Cinematography by Anthony Gurner
Starring Gina Bramhill and Adam Jackson-Smith

In a support group for women who have been followed, a young dancer describes being pursued by a strange fan over the years. Minutes into her testimony she finds he has followed her into the very room...

Five minute sample

Written and Directed by Zak Klein
Music by Sami El-Enany
Produced by Jonah Klein and Zoe Anjuli Robinson
Cinematography by Anthony Gurner
Starring Gina Bramhill and Adam Jackson-Smith

In a support group for women who have been followed, a young dancer describes being pursued by a strange fan over the years. Minutes into her testimony she finds he has followed her into the very room...

The Elevator Pitch

Categories
film music narrative short sound

Directed by Simon Ryninks
Written by Zak Klein
Music and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany
Produced by Tibo Travers
Co-Produced by Zak Klein and Simon Ryninks

 

A fourth-wall breaking trip through the film industry, featuring a plucky intern struggling to get to the top...

AWARDS
-Finalist, Grand Jury Prize Sundance London 2014
-Finalist, IMdB New Filmmaker Award 2014
-Winner, Cinevana London 2015
-Winner, Moviescope Film of the Month
-Vimeo Staff Pick

OFFICIAL SELECTION
-London Short Film Festival 2014
-British Shorts, Berlin 2014
-International FilmFest, Emden 2014
-Bath Film Festival 2014
-Loco Comedy Film Festival, London 2014
-Leigh Film Festival, 2015
-WhirlyGig Spotlights, London 2014
-CineShift Film Festival, Washington 2015
-VanChan Festival, Vancouver 2015
-InHouse Festival, London 2015
-Synesthesia Film Festival, San Francisco 2014
-The Matinee Project India, Mumbai 2014
-Unofficial Google+ Film Festival 2014

Directed by Simon Ryninks
Written by Zak Klein
Music and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany
Produced by Tibo Travers
Co-Produced by Zak Klein and Simon Ryninks

 

A fourth-wall breaking trip through the film industry, featuring a plucky intern struggling to get to the top...

AWARDS
-Finalist, Grand Jury Prize Sundance London 2014
-Finalist, IMdB New Filmmaker Award 2014
-Winner, Cinevana London 2015
-Winner, Moviescope Film of the Month
-Vimeo Staff Pick

OFFICIAL SELECTION
-London Short Film Festival 2014
-British Shorts, Berlin 2014
-International FilmFest, Emden 2014
-Bath Film Festival 2014
-Loco Comedy Film Festival, London 2014
-Leigh Film Festival, 2015
-WhirlyGig Spotlights, London 2014
-CineShift Film Festival, Washington 2015
-VanChan Festival, Vancouver 2015
-InHouse Festival, London 2015
-Synesthesia Film Festival, San Francisco 2014
-The Matinee Project India, Mumbai 2014
-Unofficial Google+ Film Festival 2014

Rehab: Lives Addicted

Categories
documentary feature film music

80 mins: Director, Producer and Camera: Phillip Wood
Music by Sami El-Enany
Exec: Peter Dale
Commissioned by: Danny Horan

Going behind the doors of the private world of a residential rehabilitation centre in Somerset, this powerful documentary uncovers what is done to help people beat their addictions and start rebuilding their lives, through a series of intimate encounters at Broadway Lodge.

Researched, developed, shot, produced and directed an immersive feature-length documentary which takes you through the process of therapeutic rehabilitation in Britain’s oldest rehab at a time of national crises.

80 mins: Director, Producer and Camera: Phillip Wood
Music by Sami El-Enany
Exec: Peter Dale
Commissioned by: Danny Horan

Going behind the doors of the private world of a residential rehabilitation centre in Somerset, this powerful documentary uncovers what is done to help people beat their addictions and start rebuilding their lives, through a series of intimate encounters at Broadway Lodge.

Researched, developed, shot, produced and directed an immersive feature-length documentary which takes you through the process of therapeutic rehabilitation in Britain’s oldest rehab at a time of national crises.

Red Onions

Categories
film music narrative short

Written and Directed by Simon Ryninks
Music by Sami El-Enany
Director of Photography: Dino Dimopoulos
Editor: Hiran Balasuriya

Failed writer Ryan is a man on the edge. Alone and broke, with an estranged wife and mounting debt, he attempts to earn some quick cash by agreeing to pen a short story for a magazine. With the deadline just hours away he heads to a local cafe and, inspired by the young waitress and the customers around him, cooks up a love story tinged with cynicism.

- Winner: Best Drama, Freedom Film Festival, Russia 2015
- Finalist: Grand Jury Prize, Sundance London Short Film Festival, UK 2014
- Official Selection: This is England Film Festival, France 2015
- Official Selection: Cineshift Film Festival, USA 2015
- Official Selection: JumpTheCut Festival 2015
- Official Selection: Shorts That Are Not Pants, Canada2015
- Official Selection: Freud’s Film Festival, UK 2014

Written and Directed by Simon Ryninks
Music by Sami El-Enany
Director of Photography: Dino Dimopoulos
Editor: Hiran Balasuriya

Failed writer Ryan is a man on the edge. Alone and broke, with an estranged wife and mounting debt, he attempts to earn some quick cash by agreeing to pen a short story for a magazine. With the deadline just hours away he heads to a local cafe and, inspired by the young waitress and the customers around him, cooks up a love story tinged with cynicism.

- Winner: Best Drama, Freedom Film Festival, Russia 2015
- Finalist: Grand Jury Prize, Sundance London Short Film Festival, UK 2014
- Official Selection: This is England Film Festival, France 2015
- Official Selection: Cineshift Film Festival, USA 2015
- Official Selection: JumpTheCut Festival 2015
- Official Selection: Shorts That Are Not Pants, Canada2015
- Official Selection: Freud’s Film Festival, UK 2014

Tongue Tied

Categories
music radio

Composed and Produced by Sami El-Enany

Aired on BBC Radio 4's Short Cuts in response to the theme 'Touch'

What are the secrets of the tongue? What is left when speech is stripped of it's verbal component, when all that is left is the residual sound of a tongue that touches with different shapes, on different surfaces at different forces for different durations? A short sonic journey exploring a wet debris.⠀Made
through a process of misusing audio post-production dialogue cleanup software.

Composed and Produced by Sami El-Enany

Aired on BBC Radio 4's Short Cuts in response to the theme 'Touch'

What are the secrets of the tongue? What is left when speech is stripped of it's verbal component, when all that is left is the residual sound of a tongue that touches with different shapes, on different surfaces at different forces for different durations? A short sonic journey exploring a wet debris.⠀Made
through a process of misusing audio post-production dialogue cleanup software.

Plastic Shores

Categories
documentary feature film music

Film by Edward Scott-Clarke
Music by Sami El-Enany

'Plastic Shores' portrays the harmful effect that Plastic can have on Sea life Worldwide, how humans and DNA can be harmfully altered when we eat sea life that have eaten plastic and what alternatives we can use instead of plastic, so that we do not continue to harm our environment on Planet Earth, from this aspect.

In the year 2010 global plastic production reached 300 million tonnes. A third of this was used in disposable packaging. In the United Kingdom, 3 million tonnes of plastic are thrown away every year, 1% of the total amount of all plastic manufactured on the planet.But what happens to this plastic when it is thrown away? Most of it makes its way to landfill. Some goes to recycling or incineration. The rest escapes into our environment, and to the world's oceans…and nobody knows how long it will stay there. Estimates range from decades to hundreds of thousands of years.'Plastic Shores' is a documentary that explores how plastic affects the marine environment. Travelling from the International Marine Debris Conference in Hawai'i to the polluted Blue Flag beaches of Cornwall, the film reveals just how bad the problem of plastic debris is and how it harms aquatic life. There is now not a single beach or sea in the world that is not affected by plastic pollution and the problem is only increasing.

Film by Edward Scott-Clarke
Music by Sami El-Enany

'Plastic Shores' portrays the harmful effect that Plastic can have on Sea life Worldwide, how humans and DNA can be harmfully altered when we eat sea life that have eaten plastic and what alternatives we can use instead of plastic, so that we do not continue to harm our environment on Planet Earth, from this aspect.

In the year 2010 global plastic production reached 300 million tonnes. A third of this was used in disposable packaging. In the United Kingdom, 3 million tonnes of plastic are thrown away every year, 1% of the total amount of all plastic manufactured on the planet.But what happens to this plastic when it is thrown away? Most of it makes its way to landfill. Some goes to recycling or incineration. The rest escapes into our environment, and to the world's oceans…and nobody knows how long it will stay there. Estimates range from decades to hundreds of thousands of years.'Plastic Shores' is a documentary that explores how plastic affects the marine environment. Travelling from the International Marine Debris Conference in Hawai'i to the polluted Blue Flag beaches of Cornwall, the film reveals just how bad the problem of plastic debris is and how it harms aquatic life. There is now not a single beach or sea in the world that is not affected by plastic pollution and the problem is only increasing.

Sanyu’s Leopard

Categories
animation film music short sound

Directed by: Thomas Harnett O'Meara
Sound and Music by Sami El-Enany

Scratched on painted canvas, Chinese artist Sanyu imbues Léopard with feminine allure, vitality and a sense of motion. Brought to life through the magic of stop motion animation by Thomas Harnett O'Meara. Commissioned by Sotheby's.

Directed by: Thomas Harnett O'Meara
Sound and Music by Sami El-Enany

Scratched on painted canvas, Chinese artist Sanyu imbues Léopard with feminine allure, vitality and a sense of motion. Brought to life through the magic of stop motion animation by Thomas Harnett O'Meara. Commissioned by Sotheby's.

Outside Again

Categories
documentary film music short

Film by Adrian Heathfield and Hugo Glendinning
Music by Sami El-Enany

Outside Again is a short documentary on Tehching Hsieh’s performances, made by photographer Hugo Glendinning with writer and curator Adrian Heathfield, and shot in Taipei and New York. Returning to the original sites of his performances many decades later, Hsieh momentarily relives their sense. Some locations have transformed beyond recognition, some have remained relatively unchanged, and others have fallen into dereliction. The occasion of these returns prompts Hsieh to articulate his thoughts on art and its outsides, long durations, and the testing of human limits.
Directed and edited by Adrian Heathfield and Hugo Glendinning with an original score by Sami El-Enany. Commissioned by Taipei Fine Arts Museum of Taiwan for Doing Time, the Taiwan Pavilion at the Biennale Arte 2017, Venice.

Film by Adrian Heathfield and Hugo Glendinning
Music by Sami El-Enany

Outside Again is a short documentary on Tehching Hsieh’s performances, made by photographer Hugo Glendinning with writer and curator Adrian Heathfield, and shot in Taipei and New York. Returning to the original sites of his performances many decades later, Hsieh momentarily relives their sense. Some locations have transformed beyond recognition, some have remained relatively unchanged, and others have fallen into dereliction. The occasion of these returns prompts Hsieh to articulate his thoughts on art and its outsides, long durations, and the testing of human limits.
Directed and edited by Adrian Heathfield and Hugo Glendinning with an original score by Sami El-Enany. Commissioned by Taipei Fine Arts Museum of Taiwan for Doing Time, the Taiwan Pavilion at the Biennale Arte 2017, Venice.

Open to the World

Categories
documentary film music short

Directed by Hugo Glendinning
Music by Sami El-Enany
Comissioned by Artangel

Artangel & Miranda July present Norwood Jewish Charity Shop, London Buddhist Centre Charity Shop & Spitalfields Crypt Trust Charity Shop in solidarity with Islamic Relief Charity Shop at Selfridges. 2017

Video series with Miranda July for her Interfaith Charity shop at Selfridges. Commission by Artangel

Directed by Hugo Glendinning
Music by Sami El-Enany
Comissioned by Artangel

Artangel & Miranda July present Norwood Jewish Charity Shop, London Buddhist Centre Charity Shop & Spitalfields Crypt Trust Charity Shop in solidarity with Islamic Relief Charity Shop at Selfridges. 2017

Video series with Miranda July for her Interfaith Charity shop at Selfridges. Commission by Artangel

Not All That Glitters is Gold

Categories
music narrative short sound

Film by Tilly Shiner
Sound and Music by Sami El-Enany

A film about a woman who falls down whenever she wears the colour red. Based on a study by Kurt Goldstein on the physiological effects of colour on subjects with cerebellar disease.

The sound uses 'therapeutic' pink noise generated by natural processes (rainfall, waves, leaves rustling, heart rate rhythms) taken from youtube videos, intended for relaxation and inducing sleep. The music was made in reference to studies of the effects of music on heart rate and blood pressure. The study suggested that particular 10 second phrasing found in Va Pensiero by Giuseppe Verdi, Nessun Dorma ('None Shall Sleep') by Giacomo Puccini and Beethoven's 9th Symphony Adagio caused a fall in blood pressure and synching of the listener's heart rate. The overlapping of the visual and physical is examined using planned and improvised scenes which function somewhere between childhood games, therapy and co-ordination tests. Non-actors play the parts of a (nameless) man and woman who both have a different relationship to 'falling'; one physical and one imagined. The constant falling movement of the camera seeks to reflect this in the viewing of the work.

 

Film by Tilly Shiner
Sound and Music by Sami El-Enany

A film about a woman who falls down whenever she wears the colour red. Based on a study by Kurt Goldstein on the physiological effects of colour on subjects with cerebellar disease.

The sound uses 'therapeutic' pink noise generated by natural processes (rainfall, waves, leaves rustling, heart rate rhythms) taken from youtube videos, intended for relaxation and inducing sleep. The music was made in reference to studies of the effects of music on heart rate and blood pressure. The study suggested that particular 10 second phrasing found in Va Pensiero by Giuseppe Verdi, Nessun Dorma ('None Shall Sleep') by Giacomo Puccini and Beethoven's 9th Symphony Adagio caused a fall in blood pressure and synching of the listener's heart rate. The overlapping of the visual and physical is examined using planned and improvised scenes which function somewhere between childhood games, therapy and co-ordination tests. Non-actors play the parts of a (nameless) man and woman who both have a different relationship to 'falling'; one physical and one imagined. The constant falling movement of the camera seeks to reflect this in the viewing of the work.

 

Long Before, High Above | Part I: Music Echoes

Categories
documentary film live music short

Director Asli Umut
Original Music by Sami El-Enany
Producer Sofia Rimskaya
Director of Photography Tuna Erlat
Editor Asli Umut
Sound Recordist Hyesung Jeon

Long Before, High Above is an attempt at understanding where artistic creation takes its inspiration from. It explores the impact of nostalgia and the influence of the past on artistic practice. In the first part, Music Echoes, composer Sami El-Enany exhibits his stages of creation and performs his interpretation of nostalgia. All material is improvised and filmed in one day with no prior arrangement.

Director Asli Umut
Original Music by Sami El-Enany
Producer Sofia Rimskaya
Director of Photography Tuna Erlat
Editor Asli Umut
Sound Recordist Hyesung Jeon

Long Before, High Above is an attempt at understanding where artistic creation takes its inspiration from. It explores the impact of nostalgia and the influence of the past on artistic practice. In the first part, Music Echoes, composer Sami El-Enany exhibits his stages of creation and performs his interpretation of nostalgia. All material is improvised and filmed in one day with no prior arrangement.

Latent

Categories
film music narrative short

Directed by Lefteris Parasyris
Music by Sami El-Enany
Produced by Anoop Singh Kung
Winner: Best Score at Best Independent International Film Festival 2016

Latent is an urban psychological thriller, set in the developing tray of London night. It follows a night in the life of Philip Byrne, a London-based photographer. Philip finds his next photographic subject in the face of a mysterious woman who leads him through empty streets and remote alleys. As the events unfold, his senses wander into the darker spaces of his mind, unearthing a side to himself that he never knew he had.

- Athens International Film Festival 2015, Greece
- East End Film Festival 2016, UK
- West Nordic International Film Festival 2016, Norway
- Tirana International Film Festival 2016, Albania
- Best Independent International Film Festival 2016: AWARD for Best Score *, Germany
- Student Panorama 2015 at the 21st - International Short Film Festival in Drama, Greece
- Pennine Film Festival 2016, UK
- Durham Film Festival 2016, UK
- Goa Shots International Short Film Festival 2016, India
- Festival internacional de cine fantástico de -Torremolinos 2016, Spain
- Los Angeles Cinefest 2016, USA
- Link International Film Festival, 2017, UK - Finalist
- Pagdiriwang ng Alon ng Pelikula (Wave of Films Festival), 2017, Philippines
- Phoenix Film Festival Melbourne 2017, Australia
- Unrestricted View Film Festival 2017, UK - Shortlisted for Best Short and Best Cinematography
- Still Voices Film Festival, 2017, Ireland
- Selby International Film Award, 2017, UK
- Portobello Film Festival, 2017, UK
- UK Screen One International Film Festival, 2017, UK
- Kleinkaap Short Film Festival, 2017, South Africa

Directed by Lefteris Parasyris
Music by Sami El-Enany
Produced by Anoop Singh Kung
Winner: Best Score at Best Independent International Film Festival 2016

Latent is an urban psychological thriller, set in the developing tray of London night. It follows a night in the life of Philip Byrne, a London-based photographer. Philip finds his next photographic subject in the face of a mysterious woman who leads him through empty streets and remote alleys. As the events unfold, his senses wander into the darker spaces of his mind, unearthing a side to himself that he never knew he had.

- Athens International Film Festival 2015, Greece
- East End Film Festival 2016, UK
- West Nordic International Film Festival 2016, Norway
- Tirana International Film Festival 2016, Albania
- Best Independent International Film Festival 2016: AWARD for Best Score *, Germany
- Student Panorama 2015 at the 21st - International Short Film Festival in Drama, Greece
- Pennine Film Festival 2016, UK
- Durham Film Festival 2016, UK
- Goa Shots International Short Film Festival 2016, India
- Festival internacional de cine fantástico de -Torremolinos 2016, Spain
- Los Angeles Cinefest 2016, USA
- Link International Film Festival, 2017, UK - Finalist
- Pagdiriwang ng Alon ng Pelikula (Wave of Films Festival), 2017, Philippines
- Phoenix Film Festival Melbourne 2017, Australia
- Unrestricted View Film Festival 2017, UK - Shortlisted for Best Short and Best Cinematography
- Still Voices Film Festival, 2017, Ireland
- Selby International Film Award, 2017, UK
- Portobello Film Festival, 2017, UK
- UK Screen One International Film Festival, 2017, UK
- Kleinkaap Short Film Festival, 2017, South Africa

Jus Soli

Categories
documentary film music short sound

Written, produced and directed by Somebody Nobody
Music and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany

JUS SOLI: the principle that a person's nationality at birth is determined by the place of birth

JUS SOLI by Somebody Nobody examines the Black British experience, interrupting key events in Britain’s recent history to question attitudes, placing them in a wider context of what it means to be British. It also considers the emotional transition between generations, and explores themes such as alienation and marginalisation in British society.

The film features a powerful performance from Nicholas Pinnock (Foritude, Ice Cream Girls and Top Boy) and narration from acclaimed dub-poet Linton Kwesi Johnson; a driving force behind of the Black power movement in Britain and the only black poet to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series. The film was shot on 16mm.

- Winner: First Prize Experimental Category, Athens International Film & Video Festival, USA 2016
- Winner: Best Short Film, Black International Film Festival, UK 2016
- Nominated: Best London Short Film, London Short Film Festival, UK 2015
- Nominated: Best Documentary Short Film, London Short Film Festival, UK 2015
- Nominated: Best Experimental Film, Aesthetica Short Film Festival, UK 2015
- Official Selection: New Orleans Film Festival, USA 2016
- Official Selection: Uppsala International Short Film Festival, Sweden 2016
- Official Selection: Film Africa Film Festival, UK 2016
- Official Selection: Exis International Experimental Film and Video Festival, South Korea 2016
- Official Selection: Boston Underground Film Festival, USA 2016
- Official Selection: Go Short International Film Festival Nijmegen, Netherlands 2016
- Official Selection: Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, UK 2016
- Official Selection: Oberhausen International Short Film Festival, Germany 2016
- Official Selection: East End Film Festival, UK 2016
- Official Selection: Chicago Underground Film Festival, USA 2016
- Official Selection: Channel 4 Random Acts, UK 2016
- Official Selection: Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Greece 2016
- Official Selection: Collectif Juene Cinema, Festival des cinémas différents et expérimentaux de Paris, France 2016
- Official Selection: IndieCork, Ireland 2016
- Official Selection: Mininalen Film Festival, Norway 2016
- Official Selection: Raindance Film Festival, UK 2015
- Official Selection: Document Film Festival, UK 2015
- Official Selection: Slamdance Film Festival, USA 2015
- Exhibited: Imagining Diaspora in the Age of Refugees, Ben Uri Gallery, UK 2016
- Exhibited: 13 Dead, Nothing Said, Goldsmith University UK 2016
- Exhibited: Young Artist Collection, Lemoart Gallery, Germany 2016
- Exhibited: Black Box and White Cube, MUU Galleria, Finland 2016
- Exhibited: Contemporary Art Centre, Lithuania 2016
- Exhibited: Cinematography and the Black Poetic Voice, Arnolfini, UK 2016

Written, produced and directed by Somebody Nobody
Music and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany

JUS SOLI: the principle that a person's nationality at birth is determined by the place of birth

JUS SOLI by Somebody Nobody examines the Black British experience, interrupting key events in Britain’s recent history to question attitudes, placing them in a wider context of what it means to be British. It also considers the emotional transition between generations, and explores themes such as alienation and marginalisation in British society.

The film features a powerful performance from Nicholas Pinnock (Foritude, Ice Cream Girls and Top Boy) and narration from acclaimed dub-poet Linton Kwesi Johnson; a driving force behind of the Black power movement in Britain and the only black poet to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series. The film was shot on 16mm.

- Winner: First Prize Experimental Category, Athens International Film & Video Festival, USA 2016
- Winner: Best Short Film, Black International Film Festival, UK 2016
- Nominated: Best London Short Film, London Short Film Festival, UK 2015
- Nominated: Best Documentary Short Film, London Short Film Festival, UK 2015
- Nominated: Best Experimental Film, Aesthetica Short Film Festival, UK 2015
- Official Selection: New Orleans Film Festival, USA 2016
- Official Selection: Uppsala International Short Film Festival, Sweden 2016
- Official Selection: Film Africa Film Festival, UK 2016
- Official Selection: Exis International Experimental Film and Video Festival, South Korea 2016
- Official Selection: Boston Underground Film Festival, USA 2016
- Official Selection: Go Short International Film Festival Nijmegen, Netherlands 2016
- Official Selection: Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, UK 2016
- Official Selection: Oberhausen International Short Film Festival, Germany 2016
- Official Selection: East End Film Festival, UK 2016
- Official Selection: Chicago Underground Film Festival, USA 2016
- Official Selection: Channel 4 Random Acts, UK 2016
- Official Selection: Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Greece 2016
- Official Selection: Collectif Juene Cinema, Festival des cinémas différents et expérimentaux de Paris, France 2016
- Official Selection: IndieCork, Ireland 2016
- Official Selection: Mininalen Film Festival, Norway 2016
- Official Selection: Raindance Film Festival, UK 2015
- Official Selection: Document Film Festival, UK 2015
- Official Selection: Slamdance Film Festival, USA 2015
- Exhibited: Imagining Diaspora in the Age of Refugees, Ben Uri Gallery, UK 2016
- Exhibited: 13 Dead, Nothing Said, Goldsmith University UK 2016
- Exhibited: Young Artist Collection, Lemoart Gallery, Germany 2016
- Exhibited: Black Box and White Cube, MUU Galleria, Finland 2016
- Exhibited: Contemporary Art Centre, Lithuania 2016
- Exhibited: Cinematography and the Black Poetic Voice, Arnolfini, UK 2016

The Joyous Farmer

Categories
film music narrative short sound

Written and Directed by Hiran Balasuriya
Music and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany
Based on a Short Story by Anuk Arudpragasam
Produced by Simon Ryninks
Director of Photography Dino Dimopoulos

Lacking the motivation to work during a drought, a poor, alcoholic farmer is prescribed experimental medication to enhance his work ethic.

- Winner: Best Short Film, Jaffna International Cinema Festival, Sri Lanka 2016
- Winner: Best Short Film, Agenda 14 Short Film Festival, Sri Lanka 2016
- Winner: Best Narrative Short, Chicago Amarcord Arthouse Television & Video Fest Awards, USA 2017
- Winner: Best Actor, Chicago Amarcord Arthouse Television & Video Fest Awards, USA 2017
- Nominated: Best Writing, Chicago Amarcord Arthouse Television & Video Fest Awards, USA 2017
- Official Selection: Bucharest ShortCut CineFest, Romania 2017
- Official Selection: Woods Hole Film Festival, USA 2017
- Official Selection: Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival, Canada 2017
- Official Selection: Tasveer South Asian Film Festival, USA 2017
- Official Selection: Tirana International Film Festival, Albania 2017
- Official Selection: Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema, USA 2017
- Official Selection: Hong Kong Arthouse Film Festival, Hong Kong 2017
- Exhibited: Film Forum, Goethe Institut, Sri Lanka 2017
- Exhibited: Cinnamon Colomboscope, Sri Lanka 2017
- Exhibited: SiGNS Film Festival, International Window, India 2017

Written and Directed by Hiran Balasuriya
Music and Sound Design by Sami El-Enany
Based on a Short Story by Anuk Arudpragasam
Produced by Simon Ryninks
Director of Photography Dino Dimopoulos

Lacking the motivation to work during a drought, a poor, alcoholic farmer is prescribed experimental medication to enhance his work ethic.

- Winner: Best Short Film, Jaffna International Cinema Festival, Sri Lanka 2016
- Winner: Best Short Film, Agenda 14 Short Film Festival, Sri Lanka 2016
- Winner: Best Narrative Short, Chicago Amarcord Arthouse Television & Video Fest Awards, USA 2017
- Winner: Best Actor, Chicago Amarcord Arthouse Television & Video Fest Awards, USA 2017
- Nominated: Best Writing, Chicago Amarcord Arthouse Television & Video Fest Awards, USA 2017
- Official Selection: Bucharest ShortCut CineFest, Romania 2017
- Official Selection: Woods Hole Film Festival, USA 2017
- Official Selection: Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival, Canada 2017
- Official Selection: Tasveer South Asian Film Festival, USA 2017
- Official Selection: Tirana International Film Festival, Albania 2017
- Official Selection: Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema, USA 2017
- Official Selection: Hong Kong Arthouse Film Festival, Hong Kong 2017
- Exhibited: Film Forum, Goethe Institut, Sri Lanka 2017
- Exhibited: Cinnamon Colomboscope, Sri Lanka 2017
- Exhibited: SiGNS Film Festival, International Window, India 2017

The Viral Origins of the Placenta

Categories
animation documentary film music short sound

Directed and Animated by Diana Gradinaru
Sound and Music by Sami El-Enany

During an ancient viral infection, a protein was embedded into the human genome, allowing the placenta to develop as it has. This animation was supported by the Genetics Society in celebration of their 100th anniversary in 2019.

Directed and Animated by Diana Gradinaru
Sound and Music by Sami El-Enany

During an ancient viral infection, a protein was embedded into the human genome, allowing the placenta to develop as it has. This animation was supported by the Genetics Society in celebration of their 100th anniversary in 2019.

ELDORADO: The Struggle for Skouries

Categories
documentary feature film music

A film by Leopold Helbich and Wasil Schausiel 
Music and V/0 Narration by Sami El-Enany

An urgent documentary chronicling the struggle against environmental destruction through high-risk gold mining at Europe's largest mining project located in Northern Greece. Chronicling the resistance against high-risk gold extraction and the criminalization of the anti-mining movement by the Greek government, it is an urgent document of neoliberal ideals and human rights abuses playing out in one of the most crisis-ridden countries of Europe.

A film by Leopold Helbich and Wasil Schausiel 
Music and V/0 Narration by Sami El-Enany

An urgent documentary chronicling the struggle against environmental destruction through high-risk gold mining at Europe's largest mining project located in Northern Greece. Chronicling the resistance against high-risk gold extraction and the criminalization of the anti-mining movement by the Greek government, it is an urgent document of neoliberal ideals and human rights abuses playing out in one of the most crisis-ridden countries of Europe.

Chasing Dad: A Lifelong Addiction

Categories
documentary feature film music

60 mins: Director, Producer and Camera: Phillip Wood
Music by: Sami El-Enany
Exec: Peter Dale and Jane Treays
Commissioned by: Danny Horan
Nominated for both a RTS and Grierson for Best Newcomer.

This original and compelling documentary depicts one father’s long-term struggle with heroin addiction, told through the uniquely intimate perspective of his own son. After years of acrimony and estrangement, young film-maker Phillip Wood seeks out his father to try and understand what’s happened to him. But his father is now seriously ill and over the next few months Phillip’s visits force both to confront some uncomfortable truths about their past. Chasing Dad: A Lifelong Addiction offers a strikingly stark exploration into a subject that significantly affected the directors childhood. This intimate, revealing documentary will show addiction from a different side and challenge our assumptions about how families can rebuild their broken relationships.

60 mins: Director, Producer and Camera: Phillip Wood
Music by: Sami El-Enany
Exec: Peter Dale and Jane Treays
Commissioned by: Danny Horan
Nominated for both a RTS and Grierson for Best Newcomer.

This original and compelling documentary depicts one father’s long-term struggle with heroin addiction, told through the uniquely intimate perspective of his own son. After years of acrimony and estrangement, young film-maker Phillip Wood seeks out his father to try and understand what’s happened to him. But his father is now seriously ill and over the next few months Phillip’s visits force both to confront some uncomfortable truths about their past. Chasing Dad: A Lifelong Addiction offers a strikingly stark exploration into a subject that significantly affected the directors childhood. This intimate, revealing documentary will show addiction from a different side and challenge our assumptions about how families can rebuild their broken relationships.

Macbeth

Categories
music narrative sound theatre

Created by Rift

Spatial Sound Design and Music by Sami El-Enany

 

Audiences were invited to face witches in an underground car park, drink and feast with the Macbeths as a siege raged around them and then take a restful sleep on the 27th floor in a fully immersive production set in and inspired by a brutalist architectural masterpiece in East London.

 

Performed overnight from 8pm until 8am, Rift created a fevered festival-like dream of characters sleepwalking through walls, confiding plots and conspiring murder in this lively and ambitious retelling of The Scottish play. A visceral experience, the performance enveloped its environs to create a world floating between dystopia and utopia; waking and sleeping, with an extraordinary view over the city at sunrise the following morning.  

Created by Rift

Spatial Sound Design and Music by Sami El-Enany

 

Audiences were invited to face witches in an underground car park, drink and feast with the Macbeths as a siege raged around them and then take a restful sleep on the 27th floor in a fully immersive production set in and inspired by a brutalist architectural masterpiece in East London.

 

Performed overnight from 8pm until 8am, Rift created a fevered festival-like dream of characters sleepwalking through walls, confiding plots and conspiring murder in this lively and ambitious retelling of The Scottish play. A visceral experience, the performance enveloped its environs to create a world floating between dystopia and utopia; waking and sleeping, with an extraordinary view over the city at sunrise the following morning.  

The Phoenix’s Last Song

Categories
installation music sound

Sound, Music and Audio Direction by Sami El-Enany

Text and Visuals by Dorine van Meel

In The Phoenix’s Last Song the listener is presented with the legend of the paradisiacal bird who descends to earth in order to die. Whilst the sun sets fire to the pyre of twigs on which she lays, the phoenix sings a song to the child that will be born from her ashes. Her words are a call to think and live against the patriarchal, capitalist and colonial power structures that define the world as we know it. The text draws on the work of feminist thinkers like Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, Simone de Beauvoir and Emma Goldman, who each look at the ways in which institutions like the bourgeois family, state education, the legal apparatus inscribe the child within these power structures. Against this background, Phoenix’s Last Song opens up a space to imagine how a new world may arise out of a burning of the old. 

The exhibition ends with a finnisage with contributions by participants of 'Decolonial Futures', an exchange project between artists from the Rietveld Academy / Sandberg Institute Amsterdam and Funda Community College in Soweto in South Africa. The artists wills respond through performances to the question that emerges from Phoenix’s Last Song : ‘What does a possible, alternative future look like, and what kind of present is needed to disrupt the course of history?

Phoenix's Last Song has been made possible through additional financial support from Stichting Stokroos.

The audio component of The Phoenix's Last Song was selected to be part of the second edition of Soundhouse: Intimacy and Distance at the Barbican.

A subjective description of the Sound Design and Music for The Phoenix's Last Song,  written for Soundhouse: Intimacy and Distance.

[Music rushes into the scene - like a train pushing air through a tunnel. A gentle melody - the image of small, glowing balls of light - slowly and delicately picked out]

[Enveloped by birdsong - the outside world starts to trickle through the music. The feeling is warm and immersive, like plunging your head beneath the surface of a swimming pool and feeling the water swirl around your head]

[A distant rumble like thunder. Occasional shimmers of light shiver through the sound. A gathering storm, the air thick and moist. Light glinting through the mist]

[Birdsong shimmers to the surface. A soft tone - glowing - begins to rise. Light emerging from the brush of metal - the sharpness of glass]

[A melody delicately trickles down - like drops of water, or glass beads - sunlight shining through them]

[The birdsong clears - underneath the music rises up and down - like breathing in and breathing out - crystals on the surface shimmering and refracting the shards of light]

VOICE (otherworldly): Curled upon the pile of twigs she has laid her body swan-like.

[Warm tones, shards of sunlight rise, metal shivers]

VOICE: Crimson in colour, she breathes...

[Shimmering metal]

VOICE: ...heavily.

[More light, glittering, a warm layer underneath]

VOICE: Out of Paradise she flew - her final flight - into the land of men - with eyes that witnessed otherwise, a vision, un-obscured.

Her long neck tilted backwards, her feathers sweet with moisture warmed by the rising sun, she looks down, opens her beak…

[Music continues - light, glowing, embers sparking. A drum skin is hit - metallic shimmering rises up out of the sound]

VOICE: ...the Phoenix sings and her words they travel widely over forests burned and oceans smeared.

Faint yet clear they travel, only barely to be discerned.

[Strings start to move in and out - like the slow beating of wings, or lungs expanding and contracting]

PHOENIX (doubled up, like a creature from a myth or legend): My child, my child, you will be born out of the powder that is my ashes and you shall be child of your mother.

[A low, warm, single hit of a drum - like the ground shifting beneath your feet]

PHOENIX: You will not turn away your face. I will teach you how to smile, but not in service of men.

Show you how to be strong, but not in order to dominate.

And if you play the trumpet, it will not be for the battlefield. 

[A rush of air, a shiver of light - a breeze rippling a curtain of glass beads, pierced by sunlight] 

PHOENIX: You see your heart I fashioned from a bit of mine. For indifference it has no place. Your wings I moulded with the greatest care. They might hold, but never take. Because the dreams I will instil do not speak of conquest. And if you love, it will not be in order to possess.

[Strings still moving steady and slow - the strength of a gently moving wing, the inhalation and exhalation of lungs. A shimmer of light]

PHOENIX: Let your tenderness not be mistaken for obedience. Let your voice not be silenced and your rage not be dismissed. Because for every child trampled upon, yes for every child lost, your heart will die a little too.

For you do not belong to me alone.

[Strings softer, more distant]

PHOENIX: You should not be held by me alone.

[A deep beat of a drum moves the scene into something more sparse - clearer, sparkling, glassier, slower. The beat reverberates again - metal and glass shimmer light across the surface]

VOICE: And the sun rising above sets fire to the twigs.

[A delicate vibration shivers through the twinkling light - like a spark caught in the air above a fire]

VOICE: Feathers they rustle, words fade out, the old world burning, the phoenix - dying.

[The glimmers slowly disappear]

Sound, Music and Audio Direction by Sami El-Enany

Text and Visuals by Dorine van Meel

In The Phoenix’s Last Song the listener is presented with the legend of the paradisiacal bird who descends to earth in order to die. Whilst the sun sets fire to the pyre of twigs on which she lays, the phoenix sings a song to the child that will be born from her ashes. Her words are a call to think and live against the patriarchal, capitalist and colonial power structures that define the world as we know it. The text draws on the work of feminist thinkers like Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, Simone de Beauvoir and Emma Goldman, who each look at the ways in which institutions like the bourgeois family, state education, the legal apparatus inscribe the child within these power structures. Against this background, Phoenix’s Last Song opens up a space to imagine how a new world may arise out of a burning of the old. 

The exhibition ends with a finnisage with contributions by participants of 'Decolonial Futures', an exchange project between artists from the Rietveld Academy / Sandberg Institute Amsterdam and Funda Community College in Soweto in South Africa. The artists wills respond through performances to the question that emerges from Phoenix’s Last Song : ‘What does a possible, alternative future look like, and what kind of present is needed to disrupt the course of history?

Phoenix's Last Song has been made possible through additional financial support from Stichting Stokroos.

The audio component of The Phoenix's Last Song was selected to be part of the second edition of Soundhouse: Intimacy and Distance at the Barbican.

A subjective description of the Sound Design and Music for The Phoenix's Last Song,  written for Soundhouse: Intimacy and Distance.

[Music rushes into the scene - like a train pushing air through a tunnel. A gentle melody - the image of small, glowing balls of light - slowly and delicately picked out]

[Enveloped by birdsong - the outside world starts to trickle through the music. The feeling is warm and immersive, like plunging your head beneath the surface of a swimming pool and feeling the water swirl around your head]

[A distant rumble like thunder. Occasional shimmers of light shiver through the sound. A gathering storm, the air thick and moist. Light glinting through the mist]

[Birdsong shimmers to the surface. A soft tone - glowing - begins to rise. Light emerging from the brush of metal - the sharpness of glass]

[A melody delicately trickles down - like drops of water, or glass beads - sunlight shining through them]

[The birdsong clears - underneath the music rises up and down - like breathing in and breathing out - crystals on the surface shimmering and refracting the shards of light]

VOICE (otherworldly): Curled upon the pile of twigs she has laid her body swan-like.

[Warm tones, shards of sunlight rise, metal shivers]

VOICE: Crimson in colour, she breathes...

[Shimmering metal]

VOICE: ...heavily.

[More light, glittering, a warm layer underneath]

VOICE: Out of Paradise she flew - her final flight - into the land of men - with eyes that witnessed otherwise, a vision, un-obscured.

Her long neck tilted backwards, her feathers sweet with moisture warmed by the rising sun, she looks down, opens her beak…

[Music continues - light, glowing, embers sparking. A drum skin is hit - metallic shimmering rises up out of the sound]

VOICE: ...the Phoenix sings and her words they travel widely over forests burned and oceans smeared.

Faint yet clear they travel, only barely to be discerned.

[Strings start to move in and out - like the slow beating of wings, or lungs expanding and contracting]

PHOENIX (doubled up, like a creature from a myth or legend): My child, my child, you will be born out of the powder that is my ashes and you shall be child of your mother.

[A low, warm, single hit of a drum - like the ground shifting beneath your feet]

PHOENIX: You will not turn away your face. I will teach you how to smile, but not in service of men.

Show you how to be strong, but not in order to dominate.

And if you play the trumpet, it will not be for the battlefield. 

[A rush of air, a shiver of light - a breeze rippling a curtain of glass beads, pierced by sunlight] 

PHOENIX: You see your heart I fashioned from a bit of mine. For indifference it has no place. Your wings I moulded with the greatest care. They might hold, but never take. Because the dreams I will instil do not speak of conquest. And if you love, it will not be in order to possess.

[Strings still moving steady and slow - the strength of a gently moving wing, the inhalation and exhalation of lungs. A shimmer of light]

PHOENIX: Let your tenderness not be mistaken for obedience. Let your voice not be silenced and your rage not be dismissed. Because for every child trampled upon, yes for every child lost, your heart will die a little too.

For you do not belong to me alone.

[Strings softer, more distant]

PHOENIX: You should not be held by me alone.

[A deep beat of a drum moves the scene into something more sparse - clearer, sparkling, glassier, slower. The beat reverberates again - metal and glass shimmer light across the surface]

VOICE: And the sun rising above sets fire to the twigs.

[A delicate vibration shivers through the twinkling light - like a spark caught in the air above a fire]

VOICE: Feathers they rustle, words fade out, the old world burning, the phoenix - dying.

[The glimmers slowly disappear]

I’m Good With Plants

Categories
animation film music narrative short

Film by Thomas Harnett O'Meara

Music by Sami El-Enany

Tim lives in a greenhouse suspended by a crane above the city. He has two wishes in life; to steal the office plant next to the water cooler at work and meet Francesca, the hot line operator he calls each day from a phone box in the street.

Film by Thomas Harnett O'Meara

Music by Sami El-Enany

Tim lives in a greenhouse suspended by a crane above the city. He has two wishes in life; to steal the office plant next to the water cooler at work and meet Francesca, the hot line operator he calls each day from a phone box in the street.

Contractor 014352

Categories
film music narrative short

Directed by Simon Ryninks

Written by Zak Klein

Produced by Tibo Travers & Zak Klein.

Music by Sami El-Enany

Starring: Johnny Flynn, Omar Khan and Daniel Ings

Real and imaginary worlds collide when a lonely data entry clerk reaches through his computer screen, in search of a genuine connection.

AWARDS


-Prix Europeén, Brest European Short Film Festival 2017
-Best International Voice, Literally Short Film Festival, Houston 2018
-Grand Jury Prize, Kinematic Shorts Film Festival, Moscow 2017
-Best Screenplay, Lift-Off Global Network Season Awards 2018
-Best Short, Vancouver International Lift-Off Festival 2017
-Best Actor - Johnny Flynn, Tweetfest, London 2018
-Best Cinematography - Andy Alderslade, Tweetfest, London 2018
-Special Mention, Los Angeles International Lift-Off Festival 2017

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS


Palm Springs International ShortFest 2017
Brest European Short Film Festival 2017
Rhode Island International Film Festival 2017
Heartland International Film Festival 2017
Kerry International Film Festival 2017
Kinematic Shorts Film Festival, Moscow 2017
London International Lift-Off Festival 2017
Los Angeles International Lift-Off Festival 2017
Vancouver International Lift-Off Festival 2017
Rio Grind Film Festival, Vancouver 2017
New Filmmakers Los Angeles 2018
Sci-Fi London Film Festival 2018
Manchester International Film Festival 2018
Corona Fastnet Film Festival, Cork 2018
Literally Short Film Festival, Houston 2018
Shortest Nights Film Festival, London 2018
La Postira Film Festival, Croatia 2018
La Guarimba Film Festival, Calabria 2018
San Antonio Film Festival 2018
Holly Shorts, Hollywood 2018
Les Utopiales Film Festival, Nantes 2018
Tweetfest, London 2018

Directed by Simon Ryninks

Written by Zak Klein

Produced by Tibo Travers & Zak Klein.

Music by Sami El-Enany

Starring: Johnny Flynn, Omar Khan and Daniel Ings

Real and imaginary worlds collide when a lonely data entry clerk reaches through his computer screen, in search of a genuine connection.

AWARDS


-Prix Europeén, Brest European Short Film Festival 2017
-Best International Voice, Literally Short Film Festival, Houston 2018
-Grand Jury Prize, Kinematic Shorts Film Festival, Moscow 2017
-Best Screenplay, Lift-Off Global Network Season Awards 2018
-Best Short, Vancouver International Lift-Off Festival 2017
-Best Actor - Johnny Flynn, Tweetfest, London 2018
-Best Cinematography - Andy Alderslade, Tweetfest, London 2018
-Special Mention, Los Angeles International Lift-Off Festival 2017

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS


Palm Springs International ShortFest 2017
Brest European Short Film Festival 2017
Rhode Island International Film Festival 2017
Heartland International Film Festival 2017
Kerry International Film Festival 2017
Kinematic Shorts Film Festival, Moscow 2017
London International Lift-Off Festival 2017
Los Angeles International Lift-Off Festival 2017
Vancouver International Lift-Off Festival 2017
Rio Grind Film Festival, Vancouver 2017
New Filmmakers Los Angeles 2018
Sci-Fi London Film Festival 2018
Manchester International Film Festival 2018
Corona Fastnet Film Festival, Cork 2018
Literally Short Film Festival, Houston 2018
Shortest Nights Film Festival, London 2018
La Postira Film Festival, Croatia 2018
La Guarimba Film Festival, Calabria 2018
San Antonio Film Festival 2018
Holly Shorts, Hollywood 2018
Les Utopiales Film Festival, Nantes 2018
Tweetfest, London 2018