Cinema on the Steps: Curated by Abdellah Karroum

Duke of York steps
8.20pm start (open from 7.30pm)

The first night of Cinema on the Steps, curated by Abdellah Karroum, features filmmakers Ala Eddine Slim, Ismaël and Youssef Chebbi’s Babylon.

Programme

Babylon, dir. Ala Eddine Slim, Ismaël and Youssef Chebbi, Tunisia 2012, 121 min

Filmed on the main border crossing between Tunisia and Libya, filmmakers Ala Eddine Slim, Ismaël and Youssef Chebbi’s video essay Babylon (2012) captures the displacement caused during the Arab Spring, as a modern day Babylon is constructed to house the thousands seeking refuge in Tunisia from neighbouring countries. Babylon’s observational style records the temporary camp’s construction, alongside intimate encounters with its diverse population including Africans and Bangladeshis as tensions rise in the uncompromising environment, mediated by humanitarian aid workers and media agencies.

Curator

Abdellah Karroum is Director of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha. The founder of L’appartement 22, Morocco’s first experimental art space, he has also worked on a range of international art events, including the DAK’ART Biennale of African Contemporary Art (2006), Venice Biennale (2007), Gwangju Biennale (2008) and the Arts in Marrakech International Biennale (2009). In 2012 Karroum was Associate Curator for La Triennale at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris, and Artistic Director of the Biennale Regard Benin 2012. He is also Associate Curator at La Kunsthalle de Mulhouse, France, for the year 2013.

Presented in association with Qatar Museums Authority. Part of Qatar UK 2013 Year of Culture.