Viola Shafik – författare

Situated within an emerging academic interest in documentary film in the Middle East and North Africa, this book studies the development of diverse documentary forms in relation to revolutionary and emancipatory movements that took place across the twentieth century in the so-called Arab World. Inspired by Deleuze and Guattari’s image of a “rhizome,” the author takes a de-territorialized approach to revolutionary filmmaking, embracing the diversity and fluidity of revolutionary works in the “Arab World.” As well as outlining the documentary film histories of the main film-producing nations of the region – Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco – the book analyzes the formal and esthetic features of individual works in relation to specific socio-political historical developments. Topics addressed include de-colonization, the wars of liberation, the Tricontinental movement, the Palestinian question, the Rif Uprising, the Leaden and Black Years, civil war in Lebanon, the recent Arab revolutions, state authoritarianism and totalitarianism, gender, collectivism and political subjectivity. Ultimately, the book contributes to a general theory of revolutionary documentary film forms by studying the works of consecutive periods from different ideological contexts. The book is much-needed reading for students and academics interested in film and media studies and the history, culture and politics of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Situated within an emerging academic interest in documentary film in the Middle East and North Africa, this book studies the development of diverse documentary forms in relation to revolutionary and emancipatory movements that took place across the twentieth century in the so-called Arab World. Inspired by Deleuze and Guattari’s image of a “rhizome,” the author takes a de-territorialized approach to revolutionary filmmaking, embracing the diversity and fluidity of revolutionary works in the “Arab World.” As well as outlining the documentary film histories of the main film-producing nations of the region – Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco – the book analyzes the formal and esthetic features of individual works in relation to specific socio-political historical developments. Topics addressed include de-colonization, the wars of liberation, the Tricontinental movement, the Palestinian question, the Rif Uprising, the Leaden and Black Years, civil war in Lebanon, the recent Arab revolutions, state authoritarianism and totalitarianism, gender, collectivism and political subjectivity. Ultimately, the book contributes to a general theory of revolutionary documentary film forms by studying the works of consecutive periods from different ideological contexts. The book is much-needed reading for students and academics interested in film and media studies and the history, culture and politics of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Since it was first published in 1998, Viola Shafik's Arab Cinema: History and Cultural Identity has become an indispensable work for scholars of film and the contemporary Middle East. Combining detailed narrative history-economic, ideological, and aesthetic-with thought-provoking analysis, Arab Cinema provides a comprehensive overview of cinema in the Arab world, tracing the industry's development from colonial times to the present. It analyzes the ambiguous relationship with commercial western cinema, and the effect of Egyptian market dominance in the region. Tracing the influence on the medium of local and regional art forms and modes of thought, both classical and popular, Shafik shows how indigenous and external factors combine in a dynamic process of "cultural repackaging."Now updated to reflect cultural shifts in the last two decades, this revised edition contains a new afterword highlighting the latest developments in popular and in art-house filmmaking, with a special focus on Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and the Gulf States.While exploring problematic issues such as European co-production for Arab art films, including their relation to cultural identity and their reception in the region and abroad, this new edition introduces readers to some of the most compelling cinematic works of the last decades.