Sound from the Hallways
2012, color, no dialogue, 25’
“The true picture of the past flits by. The past can be seized only as an image which flashes up at the instant when it can be recognized and is never seen again.”
(Walter Benjamin “On the concept of history”)
The film documents the atmosphere of one of the most classic and visually dense collections on display in the world before its buildings and modus operandi becomes history.
Sound from the Hallways revisits history of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo to challenge concepts of historicism and museology, from a time of the early 20th century when history was still seen as universal, and man believed in its abundant truth, to a time where several histories and narratives challenge each other for the semblance of reality.
This cinematographic work takes us through a series of the museum’s antique collections, as objects of men, women, faros, animals, and armies slowly glide pass the gaze of the viewer something intrusive is on the verge of happening. It is an artistic collaboration with the Egyptian sound artist Maurice Louca.
Read more about Sound from the Hallways in the art magazine Ibraaz
Stills​
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |
Credits and Screenings
Prizes
- Award for Excellence in Film and Conceptual Art, Anamabra Book and Creativity Network, Awka 2014
- Honorable Mention Sunset Film Festival, Los Angeles, 2012
Solo Exhibitions
- Subjectivities - Institutions in Crisis, Fotografisk Center, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2019
- II Anambra Book & Creativity Festival, Awka, Nigeria, 2014
- Lumiar Cité, Solo-Exhibition, Lisbon, Portugal, 2012
Group Exhibitions
- Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea – Museu do Chiado, Lisbon, Portugal, 2017
- Edith-Russ-Haus fur Medienkunst, Oldenburg, Germany, 2017
- Fotografisk Center, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2015
- Medrar for Contemporary Art, 5th Cairo Video Festival, Cairo, Egypt, 2013
​
Selected Screenings
- Hanoi Doclab, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2019
- Goethe Filmweek, Goethe Institute, Cairo, Egypt, 2015
- Saison Video, Lille, France 2015
- Rafi Peer Film Festival, Lahore Pakistan, 2013
- British Museum, London, United Kingdom, 2013​
- Artissima Lido, Museo Diffuso della Resistenza, Torino, Italy, 2012
- Malmö konsthall, Sweden, 2012
- New Vision Competition, CPH:DOX, Denmark, 2012
- VI Istanbul International Architecture and Urban Festival, Turkey, 2012
- Darb 1718, Cairo, Egypt, 2012
- Cimatheque, Egypt, Cairo, 2012
- BOZAR, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Bruxelles · Paleis voor Schone Kunsten Brussel, Brussels, Belgium, 2012
a film by
Lasse Lau
produced by
Kran Film Collective
Seen Films
​
line producer
Mostafa Youssef
production manager
Amr Abdo
​
sound design
Maurice Louca​
Max Schneider
cinematography
Alessio Valori​
location assistants
Ahmed Hassan
Islam Mohamed
focus puller
Ahmed Zaytoun
steadicam operator
Youssef Baroud
key grip
Mohsen Tewfik
grip assistants
Amro Tewfik
Abdel Zaher Ibrahim
​
computer back up
Hossam Abdel Alim
​
steadicam machinist
Tamer Rabei
​
steadicam assistants
Totti
Sedky
​
drivers
Ahmed Awaga
Derwish Abdel Razek
​
edit
Lasse Lau
Max Schneider
​
color grading
Paulo Inês
​
flame
Ricardo Melo
​
thanks to
Flo Maak
Nadja Tomoum
Sarah Rifky
Rana Ibrahim
Yasmina ben Ari
Larry Cohen
Rie Hougaard
Jürgen Bock
Maumaus
Radius of Art
​
supported by
Danish Arts Council
DCCD Danish Center for Culture and Development
​
filmed on location at the Egyptian Museum,
Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt
©2020 by Lasse Lau