السينما هي الأداة الأكثر إفصاحا / Cinema is the Most Expressive Medium

Program

ALIF

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http://www.jstor.org/stable/521705

All Authors

ملص, محمد; Malas, Muhammad; ﺩﺭّﺍﺝ, مروان; Darraj, Marwan

Document Type

Research Article

Publication Title

Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics

Publication Date

1995

doi

https://www.doi.org/10.2307/521705

Abstract

[In this interview, the internationally known Syrian director discusses his view of film aesthetics and Arab cinema, as well as his own experience as a director. The following translated excerpts are from the complete interview published in the Arabic section of this issue: * I feel that cinema is the most expressive medium for rendering an intended idea. I don't believe there is any other medium that has the multiplicities of modes of communication as the cinema. If the cinematic medium is properly used, it can present the world to an audience and mobilize the potential of spectators. * In the last analysis, cinema is a passion for me. It is neither a pretext nor an ambition of mine, but an intrinsic need for expression which cannot formulate itself except in cinematic terms. * My experience with cinema does not stem from a subjective stance. It is founded on history and the film's subject matter; it communicates a painful charge that "lacerates" the spectator. This painful charge is personal but not individualistic: it is shared by everyone. * I don't believe that there is "Arab Cinema" at all. For cultural and political reasons, various scattered attempts in this direction have not achieved what can be termed Arab cinema, based on common conceptual grounds, formulating a cinematic orientation. There are only Arab films made in different Arab countries. * All filmmakers in the world that were or are controlled in their filmmaking by authoritarian regimes-such as in the former Soviet Union and in today's Iran-managed to turn expressive restrictions into a positive function. They modified cinematic expression and discovered a means of codification and complicity with the audience.]

First Page

127

Last Page

137

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