1. Program
  2. /
  3. Yearnings and Unfulfilled Dreams: from the Personal to the Political.
  4. /
  5. Ouroboros

Ouroboros

Basma Alsharif, Palestine / France / Belgium / Qatar 2017, 77 Min., OV with English subs
Followed by a talk with Basma al-Sharif

Ouroboros, the debut feature film of acclaimed artist Basma Alsharif, is an homage to the Gaza Strip based on the dream of eternal return. In a forward momentum towards forgetting the past, we follow the itinerary of a single character through five different locations: the Gaza Strip in occupied Palestine, Los Angeles and the Mojave Desert in the USA, Matera and Martina Franca in Italy, and the 13th Century Trohaned castle in Brittany France. Like an Ouroboros, the symbol of the snake eating its tail, the film’s journey, moving through time and space, marks the end as the beginning, forgetting as the way forward, and the failure of civilization.

Basma al-Sharif is a Palestinian artist working in cinema and installation. She developed her practice nomadically between the Middle East, Europe, and North America and is currently based in Berlin. Her practice looks at cyclical political conflicts and confronts the legacy of colonialism through satirical, immersive, and lyrical works.