Signals

Inbi Michiko Sakuraba (Mami Ogawa), a secretary at the Morio Kikuchi Law Office, located in a corner of the business district, takes out a concert ticket from her handbag and smiles. After her work is finished, she is going to go with Kikuchi. Then a woman around 20 years old appeared. Kikuchi introduced Michiko to her fiancé, who was surprised. That night, Michiko, deeply saddened, drank a glass alone at the cafe bar. The other guests were couples. Some men and women grope each other's bodies. Michiko returns to her room and comforts herself with a hot shower...

Organized Violence: Bloo... After the events of the first part, the fight seemed to stop for a while. However, the enmity between the Udagawa-gumi and the Seishinkai continued to smolder. Maki and Hayase are targeted by an killer, and Hayase's younger brother Ishioka kills the leader of the Udagawa-gumi due to a threat from Miyauchi, the leader of the Seishinkai. And the conflict flares up with renewed vigor.

Michael Jackson: v=X7czO... Video work by Ahaad Al Amoudi

Dear Mama A twenty-year old daughter with Autism Spectrum Disorder is left alone at home after her mother, a frontliner putting in work against the COVID-19 pandemic, fails to come home one night. The emotional and psychological struggles are then shared by people whom she meets or sees throughout her isolation.

Those who don't know fal... In Those who don’t know falcons grill them (2018), a cohort of young male dancers perform the Khabayti, a hybrid style influenced by both Hejazi and Sufi dance. The choreographed pageantry of swirling, sword-wielding men and boys was once used in preparation for war, and is now typically performed at social gatherings by male dancers, with the exception of segregated events, at which only female dancers are allowed to perform. In the video, the troupe is seemingly propelled by the hypnotically mastered sounds of the mizmar, a wind instrument common in traditional Arabic music. Drawing on her background in print making, Alamoudi outfits her dancers in custom-made garments patterned with falcons, the national bird of Saudi Arabia, which represents an emblem of courage, power, and national identity.

Bahara (Men of the sea) For Bahara (Men of the sea) (2019), Alamoudi stages a soundscape in which the reverberations of the sea are merged with a modernized version of the song of “El Yamal,” a folkloric anthem sung by Saudi pearl divers and sailors, known in Arabic as Bahara , to give them strength in their seafaring endeavors. A slideshow of static imagery — fragmented body parts in the desert, an orange backdrop, and a digitally-rendered silicone vessel — provide the mise-en-scène for this video, creating an atmosphere of relative calm in stark contrast with the arduous task of fishing and pearl diving . For the artist, this work honors the traditions of these seamen, especially the pearl divers, whose now defunct trade was in its heyday a crucial part of the economy of the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula.

Lift Up A story of a community that finds light and strength in each other’s courage amidst the hypercritical and pejorative world they live in. As they look for a final resting place for their departed friend, Julie, their faith in each other and in the world is challenged.

NIUN Made in collaboration with American artist Michael Mogensen, Alamoudi’s video NIUN (2018) is inspired by thirteenth-century Persian physician, geographer, and writer Zakariya al-Qazwini’s story, Awaj bin Anfaq, which considered one of the first works of science fiction, about an alien who visits Earth to study the oddities of human behavior. Alamoudi’s video follows two extra-terrestrial protagonists (NIUN 1 and NIUN 2) who claim the desert as their own and begin to lay down the foundation for a new civilization. Together, the pair devise seven essential components that will fortify a prosperous future: energy, water, mobility, biotechnology, entertainment, technology, and manufacturing. Together and in sync, the outlanders chant mantras—ardi (“my land”), noor (“light”), hajira (“traveller”), and hajirati (“my rock”)—that, in the artist’s view, reinforce the importance of language and open communication in cultivating the future.

See You, George! While everything is now slowly settling in its new normal state, a group of hospital workers commemorates the life of a “lost” colleague through a virtual necrological service. The solemn gathering suddenly turns into a recollection of dark and haunting memories. This short is a stand-alone sequel to the 2020 QCinema short film “Miss You, George!”.

Zuzana je zase sama doma A television adaptation of the successful 1961 Semafor Theatre performance of the same name. The Zuzana who listens to songs from a tape recorder and meditates on them is Zuzana Stivínová. The songs by Jiří Suchý and Jiří Šlitr, which were performed by the theatre stars of the time, became hits and are still sung today. Who doesn't know "Aria of the Moon", "Little Kitten", "Na konče seděla kočka", "Ach, ta láska nebeská", "Zuzana" and many others.