We Syrians are haunted by the wind. The saying goes, “be ready, the past is coming.” And I say, “be ready, Syrian films are coming like the wind.” -Ahmad Alhaj
REVOLUTION OF THE WIND is a series of autobiographical Syrian fiction and documentary films exploring migration, grief, memory and history following the political instability of the Arab Spring. Within this program, the wind is understood to be the central metaphor that represents destiny and which links the films together. Whether through unleashing its wrath, or by leading in flight, the wind is an element that guides the lives of countless people in ways unseen. Primarily shot across North America and Europe, the films present deeply humanizing narratives of Syrian experiences, shedding light of the contradictions and irreconcilable realities of longing for a past that haunts the present.
REVOLUTION OF THE WIND is curated by Ahmad Alhaj and presented by ArteEast. This program is part of the legacy program Unpacking the ArteArchive, which preserves and presents 20 years of film and video programming by ArteEast. The program will be screened online on artearchive.org from April 11 - 21. The in-person screening takes place on Sunday, April 21 at IAIA, Institute of Arab and Islamic Art.
Back (2022)
A chase, footsteps closing in; as you approach your house, it moves further away. This is a recurring nightmare, shared by many Syrians who have fled their homeland. At night they find themselves back in their hometowns, running, chased by invisible men. They’re looking for a safe place they can never reach. BACK dives into this nightmare to examine where it stems from. Did the trauma start at the protests against Bashar al-Assad, like it did for director Yazan Rabee? Or do we have to go back further to the terror during the reign of Bashar’s father, Hafez al-Assad?
About the Filmmaker:
Yazan Rabee (1994) was born in Syria and fled to the Netherlands in 2016, with the singular goal to become a filmmaker. He had no plan B. Six years later he graduated from film school and went on to release two short films nearly simultaneously: fiction short, “Beyond the Sun,” about the brainwashing program of the Syrian regime, and “BACK,” an introspective documentary about a recurring nightmare shared by many Syrians who have fled their homeland. In his work, which spans the range from fiction to documentary and often intertwines the two, he chooses to focus on mentally and socially damaged persons, often drawing from his own memories and dreams.
- Year2022
- Runtime7 minutes
- LanguageArabic
- CountryNetherlands, Syrian Arab Republic
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- DirectorYazan Rabee
- ProducerYazan Rabee
We Syrians are haunted by the wind. The saying goes, “be ready, the past is coming.” And I say, “be ready, Syrian films are coming like the wind.” -Ahmad Alhaj
REVOLUTION OF THE WIND is a series of autobiographical Syrian fiction and documentary films exploring migration, grief, memory and history following the political instability of the Arab Spring. Within this program, the wind is understood to be the central metaphor that represents destiny and which links the films together. Whether through unleashing its wrath, or by leading in flight, the wind is an element that guides the lives of countless people in ways unseen. Primarily shot across North America and Europe, the films present deeply humanizing narratives of Syrian experiences, shedding light of the contradictions and irreconcilable realities of longing for a past that haunts the present.
REVOLUTION OF THE WIND is curated by Ahmad Alhaj and presented by ArteEast. This program is part of the legacy program Unpacking the ArteArchive, which preserves and presents 20 years of film and video programming by ArteEast. The program will be screened online on artearchive.org from April 11 - 21. The in-person screening takes place on Sunday, April 21 at IAIA, Institute of Arab and Islamic Art.
Back (2022)
A chase, footsteps closing in; as you approach your house, it moves further away. This is a recurring nightmare, shared by many Syrians who have fled their homeland. At night they find themselves back in their hometowns, running, chased by invisible men. They’re looking for a safe place they can never reach. BACK dives into this nightmare to examine where it stems from. Did the trauma start at the protests against Bashar al-Assad, like it did for director Yazan Rabee? Or do we have to go back further to the terror during the reign of Bashar’s father, Hafez al-Assad?
About the Filmmaker:
Yazan Rabee (1994) was born in Syria and fled to the Netherlands in 2016, with the singular goal to become a filmmaker. He had no plan B. Six years later he graduated from film school and went on to release two short films nearly simultaneously: fiction short, “Beyond the Sun,” about the brainwashing program of the Syrian regime, and “BACK,” an introspective documentary about a recurring nightmare shared by many Syrians who have fled their homeland. In his work, which spans the range from fiction to documentary and often intertwines the two, he chooses to focus on mentally and socially damaged persons, often drawing from his own memories and dreams.
- Year2022
- Runtime7 minutes
- LanguageArabic
- CountryNetherlands, Syrian Arab Republic
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- DirectorYazan Rabee
- ProducerYazan Rabee