11/10/2021
(08) Quartair, Den Haag & Arab Film Festival, Rotterdam
Until 17 October 2021
ROSH ABDELFATAH & RODI KHALIL
Here and There Lockdown
2021, multimedia installation, 2 x 2 x 2 m
‘Here and There Lockdown’ is an inner journey, both surreal and realistic, into the world of Rosh Abdelfatah and Rodi Khalil. The multimedia installation consists of paintings, photographs and a video work.
Rosh Abdelfatah is a Kurdish-Syrian artist, filmmaker, artistic director of the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam, who graduated at the St. Joost Academy in Breda, 2006. Currently he makes freelance productions for different Arabic TV stations and works as an independent artist in the Netherlands and Middle East.
“As an individual you hardly have any control over the environment. Reality forms while you look at it helplessly. As an artist and filmmaker I search for images where I can get a grip of time. In my work I look for moments of support. They are anchors in a deteriorating, changing environment. The search for what is in disappearance forms visual benchmarks that, if well done, can convey both pain and comfort.” Rosh Abdelfatah
Rodi Khalil was born in Tal Hedat, Syria and currently living in Bremen, Germany. He studied art and design at the university of Damascus. He worked as an Stage Designer at the Theatre of Damaskus, made decoration of different TV films, broadcasted in Syria and exposed his paintings and sculptures at several places: London, Rotterdam, Beirut, Turkey, Spain, New York, Sweden and Germany. In Germany he was involved in a movie decoration and became a member of the National Association of Artists (BBK Bremen) and the International Association of Art (IGBK, IAA, AIAP).
“My images are dealing with the beauties of our culture, especially our myths. But they also show suffering, hunger and repression. That‘s a part of it: I come from a land of myths and repression. For me these myths are building a connection to the present. They offer topics which are fascinating for me and which are seen as ageless by me. I want to build a bridge from past to present for all those people, who are open or can be interested for that. My images are showing elements of manifold cultures: Those of the Assyric, Meder, Marer, which I am a child of. I want to transfuse their rich symbolic and spirit to the present. This impulse is forming my paintings. The richness of these traditions is a heavy part of my thinking. Here I want to mediate - not at last through expressing peace and love.“ Rodi Khalil, 2021
https://www.rodi-khalil.de
arabfilmfestival.nl
At the Arab Film Festival Evening on 09 October 2021 Rosh Abdelfatah talks about the Arabic Cinema in Corona times: The lockdown situation has ensured that many initiatives arose in the various Arab coutries. In the online field, vlogs, sketches and series emerged full of seriousness, doubt, a laugh and a tear. In Jordan, young filmmakers were encouraged to make short films. In addition to the pandemic, Lebanon also has to deal with the aftermath of the fire explosion. Perhaps the urgency was even greater here to give young makers more space to express themselves through various projects. With the help of stories, photos and film fragments, Abdelfatah gives us a glimpse into the Arab world.
