Overview
Sherif El Azma has been working on experimental video in Cairo since 1997 and his work explores how contemporary idioms used in Egyptian documentary and cinema can dissect what it means to be Egyptian. Donia Amar is one of Al Azma’s earlier works, it essentially observes the relationship between two pop singers, Mostafa Amar and Donia - each from a different social class - and their fans.
Al Azma follows the two pop stars and their fans around recording fragments of concerts, interviews, and rehearsals at their studios. The film differs from mainstream documentary by using a wide range of images and techniques to reveal and interpret the wider context of the social and political reality of popular culture in Cairo.
This project was part of Sharjah Biennial 9