Having an exciting week of research at the Eye Filmmuseum’s collection centre #EyeScholarinResidence #workinprogress

Originally conceived as an installation (which unfortunately never made its way to the NL!) by ‘private ear’ and forensic audio analyst Lawrence Abu Hamdan, this is a fascinating register of ‘atmospheric violence’ created by high noise levels and constant humming of Israeli planes polluting the sky.

the famous phrase ‘archives teach us about our present’ can be evoked for this film, which depicts the continuum of various forms of violence inflicted on Palestinians using a wide variety of archival footage.

#4 Dargeçit / Hold Still. This incisive doc follows the kafkaesque legal process concerning the forced disappearances in 1995 in the eponymous district. Like the likenesses of victims appearing on the surfaces of stones in an art installation depicted in the opening sequence +

#3 The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing. Based on 16mm footage of wildflowers filmed by Scottish missionaries in Palestine in the 1940s, this short doc probes into the unsettling absence of Palestinians in these images, ruminating on the continuum of erasure and violence to this day.

#2 Dahomey. Feeling kinda double about this one but still has strong moments and a great addition to the growing attention to return/restitution/repatriation of cultural heritage.
Tip: also watch Statues Also Die (1953), You Hide Me (1970), The Story of Ne Kuko (2023), The Cemetery of Cinema (2023)

A few films that left an enduring mark in 2024: #1 Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat!
Tip: also watch Alain Kassanda’s Colette et Justin (2022) and Raoul Peck’s Lumumba, la mort d’un prophète (1990)

Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922) is far scarier and more immersive than this “modern” iteration. It’s proof that great cinema transcends time, and new doesn’t always mean better.

Eggers’s Nosferatu is a disappointing remake. It made me want to rewatch Murnau’s original—a film I already revisit at least 2 times a year for my class!

This is a strong case against the idea that early/silent cinema is “primitive” while contemporary cinema is its apex +

and settler colonialisms and apartheid regimes

snapshots from today’s Decolonial Futures of Audiovisual Archives and Archiving session at the Eye Filmmuseum, with Nikolaus Perneczky mapping the complexities around the restitution/return of displaced film heritages

Just watched (finally!) Soundtrack to a Coup d’État, after a wonderful introduction by Grâce Ndjako. Please see this film whenever wherever you can.

Today we protested —students and colleagues all as one— against the draconian cuts to higher education ✊🏽🟥

My favourite sign was ‘historici voor een actieve herinnering’ 👌🏽

excited to dive into this gigantic volume in preparation for a new phase of archival research 🤓 #KurdishStudies