Omar Amiralay ( ar, عمر أميرالاي) (1944 – 5 February 2011)
was a Syrian documentary film director and
civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.[Damascus Spring
The Damascus Spring ( ar, ربيع دمشق, ) was a period of intense political and social debate in Syria which started after the death of President Hafiz al-Asad in June 2000 and continued to some degree until autumn 2001, when most of the act ...]
of 2000.
Life and work
Amiralay was born in
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
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, ...
in 1944. Amiralay studied in Paris at
Théâtre de la Ville
(meaning the City Theatre) is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement.
Inc ...
between 1966-7 and later at
La Fémis
La Fémis (French: ''École Nationale Supérieure des Métiers de l'Image et du Son''; "National Superior School for the Professions of Image and Sound", formerly known as the ''Institut des hautes études cinématographiques'', IDHEC) is a Fren ...
, before returning to Syria in 1970. He thus had a different artistic formation from the majority of Syrian film-makers, who studied in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
or in Eastern Europe.
His films include a trilogy of documentaries concerning the
Tabqa Dam
The Tabqa Dam ( ar, سَدُّ الطَّبْقَةِ, Sadd aṭ-Ṭabqah, ku, Bendava Tebqa; syc, ܣܟܪܐ ܕܛܒܩܗ, Sekro d'Tabqa), or al-Thawra Dam as it is also named ( ar, سَدُّ الثَّوْرَةِ, Sadd aṯ-Ṯawrah, ku, Bendav ...
on the
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
. The first, ''
Film Essay on the Euphrates Dam
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
'' (1970), is a tribute to Syria's greatest development project, but the second and third take a more critical approach. ''
Everyday Life in a Syrian Village'' (1974) shows the dam's ambiguous impact on the lives of ordinary people in a nearby village, and portrays their relationship with the authorities, seen as distant and disconnected from them. Amiralay revisited the region in 2003 with ''
A Flood in Baath Country'', which contains trenchant political criticism (it had the working title ''Fifteen reasons why I hate the Baath Party''). Due to the films strong indictment of the government, the film was removed from the Carthage Film Festival. In act of solidarity with Amiralay, Arab filmmakers Yousry Nasrallah, Annemarie Jacir, Nizar Hassan, Joana and Khalil Joreige, and Danielle Arbid subsequently pulled their films out of Competition to protest the festival's actions. As a result, ''
A Flood in Baath Country'' was re-programmed and screened to enthusiastic crowds.
Another notable film was ''
There Are So Many Things Still to Say'', based on interviews with the Syrian playwright
Saadallah Wannous
Saadallah Wannous ( ar, سعد الله ونوس) (1941 – 15 May 1997) was a Syrian playwright, writer and editor on Arabic theater. He was born in the village of Hussein al-Bahr, near Tartous, where he received his early education. He studied ...
recorded while the latter was dying of cancer. The film juxtaposes Wannous' remarks with scenes from Syria's wars against Israel and the Palestinian
First Intifada
The First Intifada, or First Palestinian Intifada (also known simply as the intifada or intifadah),The word ''intifada'' () is an Arabic word meaning "uprising". Its strict Arabic transliteration is '. was a sustained series of Palestinian ...
, as the playwright recounts, with some regret for the lost opportunities that resulted, how the Palestinian struggle became a central part of intellectual life for an entire generation.
His other films include a portrait of former Lebanese prime minister
Rafiq al-Hariri
Rafic Bahaa El Deen Al Hariri ( ar, رفيق بهاء الدين الحريري; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese business tycoon and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from ...
, ''
The Man with the Golden Soles'', co-directed with
Hala Al-Abdallah Yacoub
Hala Alabdalla (born 1956 in Hama, Syria) is a Syrian cinematographer and director. She currently lives in Paris, producing movies. She is known for '' Je suis celle qui porte les fleurs vers sa tombe'' ("I Am She who Brings the Flowers to her G ...
and one of French academic and student of Middle Eastern society
Michel Seurat Michel Seurat was a sociologist and researcher at the CNRS, born 14 August 1947 in Tunisia and died in Beirut in 1986.
He was kidnapped on 22 May 1985, in Lebanon, by the Islamic Jihad Organization, a Lebanese terrorist organization that was the pr ...
, who died in
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
during the
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...
, ''
On a Day of Ordinary Violence, My Friend Michel Seurat...''.
Activism
In 2000 Amiralay was a signatory to the "Declaration of the 99", a manifesto signed by 99 prominent Syrian intellectuals calling for an end to the
state of emergency
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
in force since 1963, the release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, and the permitting of political parties and independent civil society organizations. This was seen as an expression of the general goals of the Syrian democratic opposition and of the movement known as the Damascus Spring in general. Amiralay was a prominent participant in the various debates and petitions that marked the
Damascus Spring
The Damascus Spring ( ar, ربيع دمشق, ) was a period of intense political and social debate in Syria which started after the death of President Hafiz al-Asad in June 2000 and continued to some degree until autumn 2001, when most of the act ...
.
In 2005, in the aftermath of the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister
Rafiq al-Hariri
Rafic Bahaa El Deen Al Hariri ( ar, رفيق بهاء الدين الحريري; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese business tycoon and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from ...
, Amiralay signed a declaration by Syrian intellectuals calling for a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon and an end to the attacks on Syrian workers in that country. Despite these activities, Amiralay does not consider himself to be involved in politics, but in "civil society".
Omar Amiralay died on 5 February 2011, either from cardiac arrest
or a cerebral thrombosis. In her film ''Omar Amiralay - Sorrow, Time and Silence'' (2021),
Hala Al-Abdallah Yacoub
Hala Alabdalla (born 1956 in Hama, Syria) is a Syrian cinematographer and director. She currently lives in Paris, producing movies. She is known for '' Je suis celle qui porte les fleurs vers sa tombe'' ("I Am She who Brings the Flowers to her G ...
features private moments of her discussions with Omar before his death, a unique testimony of his life.
Synopsis of film Omar Amiralay - Sorrow, Time and Silence
Retrieved 2022-10-30.
Filmography
* ''Film Essay on the Euphrates Dam
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
'' (1970)
* '' Everyday Life in a Syrian Village'' (1974)
* '' The Chickens'' (1977)
* ''On a Revolution
On, on, or ON may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* On (band), a solo project of Ken Andrews
* ''On'' (EP), a 1993 EP by Aphex Twin
* ''On'' (Echobelly album), 1995
* ''On'' (Gary Glitter album), 2001
* ''On'' (Imperial Teen album), 200 ...
'' (1978)
* '' The Misfortunes of Some...'' (1981)
* '' A Scent of Paradise'' (1982)
* '' Love Aborted'' (1983)
* '' Video on Sand'' (1984)
* '' The Intimate Enemy'' (1986)
* '' The Lady of Shibam'' (1988)
* '' East of Eden'' (1988)
* '' For the Attention of Madame the Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto'' (1990)
* ''Light and Shadows
''Light and Shadows'' is the thirtieth album by the jazz fusion group Casiopea recorded and released in 1997. This album features guest drummer Harvey Mason and also marks the return of the band's former drummer Akira Jimbo.
Track listing
Pe ...
'' (1994)
* '' The Master'' (1995)
* '' On a Day of Ordinary Violence, My Friend Michel Seurat...'' (1996)
* '' There Are So Many Things Still to Say'' (1997)
* ''A Plate of Sardines
''A Plate of Sardines'' ( ar, طبق السردين) is a Syrian documentary film by the director Omar Amiralay.
References
1997 films
1990s Arabic-language films
Syrian documentary films
Films directed by Omar Amiralay
1990s short documen ...
'' (1997)
* '' The Man with the Golden Soles'' (1999)
* '' A Flood in Baath Country'' (2003)
References
External links
*
Rawafed: Documentary Interview with Omar Amiralay "part one". Alarabiya.net
* ttp://freesyriantranslators.net/2012/05/01/3000/ Free Syrian Translators: Flood in Baath Land (with English subtitles)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amiralay, Omar
1944 births
2011 deaths
Politicians from Damascus
Syrian democracy activists
Syrian dissidents
Syrian documentary filmmakers
Syrian film directors