Voices and Faces of the Adhan: Cairo
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Images
repose (at Amr Ibn El-Aas Mosque)
Dusk Walk (Cities of the Dead)
From the Citadel
Evening Prayer (from cafe Near Sultan Al-Ghuri Masjid)
Together (Masjid Al Azhar)
Volunteer Muezzin, Mohamed Abdel Miniem of Masjid Sidi Omar in Al-Abagiya
Masjid Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, in Al-Gamaliya
On Location at Masjid Sidi Omar in Al-Abagiya
On Location at Masjid Sultan Qansuh Al-Ghuri in Arab Al-Yassar
Sunset Prayer from the Citadel Wall
Sunset Prayer from the Citadel Wall: Layers of Mosques
Cairo Skyline
View (of Islamic Cairo) from Taxi
Website
Topics
Arts & Culture: Nonfiction, World Music
Human Development: Education, Intermediate Technology, International Cooperation, Poverty, Social Exclusion, Urban
Human Rights: Religion, Social Exclusion
Information & Media: Communication, Culture, Freedom of Expression, Knowledge, Media
Peace and Conflict: Conflict, Conflict Resolution, Peace, Terrorism
Politics: Activism, Civil Society, Codes of Conduct, Corruption & Transparency, Democracy, Ethics & Value Systems, Globalization, Governance, Law
Project Geography
US: National, Illinois, New York, Ohio
International: Africa, Europe, North America
Identity Niches
Budget
Raised to date: $58,338.00
Estimate to complete: $304,762.00
Total Estimated Budget: $363,100.00
The budget numbers above are accurate as of 01/07/2010
Status
Research & Development
Media Type
Video
Project End Use
Other: Film and Audio Archive
Key Personnel
Anna Kipervaser
Executive Producer
Anna Kipervaser is a Ukrainian-born Chicago artist with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Art Academy of Cincinnati. Her work has been consistently shown in galleries and arts publications across the country since 2001, and she has been the recipient of numerous grant awards and residencies including the George Sugarman Foundation Grant, Tacheles Arthouse Artist-in-Residence, Berlin, New York Studio Program Residency, Bertha Langhorst Werner Award and the Stephen H. Wilder Traveling Scholarship. She is slated for an upcoming solo exhibition at the Jerusalem Fund Gallery in Washington DC for July of 2010.
Voices and Faces of the Adhan: Cairo was conceived by Executive Producer Anna Kipervaser. At a young age, Anna immigrated with her family to the United States as religious refugees from Communist USSR. As an artist, Anna’s interest in the duality of the immigrant—preserving cultural heritage while adapting to a new way of life—has driven her work. Keenly aware of the price tradition pays under religious persecution, Anna brings her unique experience to Voices and Faces of the Adhan: Cairo as she seeks to preserve important cultural heritage in the face of modernization.
Miguel Silveira
Director
Miguel Silveira is an award-winning director whose films have consistently been recognized at national and international film festivals such as the Cannes International Film Festival, Euroshorts, Moondance and the Chicago International Film Festival. He has received recognition and generous support for his filmmaking from the Cannes Film Festival Student Filmmaking Program, Columbia College Chicago Production Fund, the Albert P. Wiseman Memorial Scholarship and The Telluride Film Festival Student Symposium. Receiving a BA with Honors in film from Columbia College Chicago, he has taught filmmaking and documentary production at Columbia, San Antonio de Los Banos, Cuba and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Ahmed Rasheed
Producer: Cairo
Ahmed Rasheed is an ambitious independent filmmaker in Cairo, Egypt. He has directed and produced films such as Morphine and The Lost Valley, and directed a TV spot, Sailing the Nile to End Poverty, for the United Nations Development Programme. With his work, Ahmed continues to be interested in culturally relevant films that deal with urban life as well as the fabric of Cairo’s diverse social classes. His films have been featured around the world in festivals and residencies such as the Berlinale Talent Campus and the Culture Wheel Independent Film Festival. Ahmed holds a BA in Broadcasting from Modern Sciences and Arts University, Cairo. He has worked as Assistant Director on numerous films including The Yacoubian Building, Ibrahim Labiad, and Dam El Ghazal. Currently working on several projects locally and internationally, Ahmed Rasheed works independently and with Lighthouse Films, one of the biggest production houses in Egypt, where he is Assistant Director and Producer.
Outreach/Engagement Plan(s)
Voices and Faces of the Adhan: Cairo naturally lends itself to the new media marketplace. Through its website, archiving project and art installation, On Look Films looks to cross platforms in its outreach and engagement strategies by encouraging participation of several venues to promote the project, such as libraries, museums and academic organizations, both Islamic and secular.
On Look Films seeks partnerships with learning and governmental institutions both in the United States and in the Middle East to create community and provide feedback not only as the film progresses, but also throughout the process of community screenings and discussion panels. On Look Films is reaching out to national and international non-profit and educational organizations, and look forward to gaining partnership with several museums worldwide to create interactive and educational programs around the film. On Look Films is exploring partnerships with Abraham’s Vision, Children of Abraham, Finding Our Common Humanity, The Joseph Interfaith Foundation, the Magical MUJU Crew, The Pluralism Project and Psychosemetic. Voices and Faces of the Adhan: Cairo already has the partnership support of the Hartley Film Foundation and National Geographic through its All Roads Film Project.
On Look Films will partner with similarly-themed websites and organizations to exchange links and engage in affiliate marketing. We are also investigating apps for iPhones and other smart phone devices as well as other handheld entertainment and communication devices. Lastly, On Look Films seeks partnerships with such library-focused distributors as Learning Media America, Inc. to provide schools and libraries with copies of the film and attendant literature.
Funders
| Name | Amount | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Donors | $8,138.00 | 07/01/2011 | |
| Lucius & Eva Eastman Fund | $5,000.00 | 07/01/2010 | |
| National Geographic's All Roads Film Project | $9,700.00 | 11/04/2009 | |
| Hartley Film Foundation | $15,000.00 | 06/29/2009 | |
| Self Invested | $20,500.00 | 06/01/2009 |
Location
824 West Superior Street
Suite 307
Chicago, IL, 60642
Short Synopsis
Voices and Faces of the Adhan: Cairo is a documentary film and audio archiving project about the adhan, or call to prayer, in Cairo – a 1400 year old oral tradition that will change forever in 2010.
Description/Treatment
Voices and Faces of the Adhan: Cairo is a documentary film and audio archiving project about the adhan, or call to prayer, in Cairo – a 1400 year old oral tradition that has never been documented or recorded for historical study. Voices and Faces of the Adhan: Cairo is a not-for-profit project fiscally sponsored by The Hartley Film Foundation.
Each day in Cairo, muezzins cry out the adhan from their mosques, calling believers to each of the five daily prayers from the city’s 4000 mosques. The muezzins and their distinctive calls have never been recorded on film in their entirety, nor archived for historical study.
One muezzin begins the call, another joins several seconds later from a neighboring mosque, and then another, until the echoing of their diverse voices envelops the eighty-three square mile city. This a cappella harmony creates an overwhelming wave of sound which hushes and transforms the chaotic cacophony of the streets of Cairo, beginning with the first rays of dawn and ending as night enfolds the city.
In early 2010, the Egyptian government will implement its plan to systemize the adhan by broadcasting the voice of a single muezzin from a state radio station five times a day to all of the capital’s 4000 mosques via wireless receivers. By removing muezzins from their mosques, the Tawheed Al Adhan, or Adhan Unification Project, effectively erases 1400 years of Islamic tradition.
As the Tawheed Al Adhan spreads through Egypt and the Muslim world, it will lead not only to the end of the 1400 year old tradition of the adhan, but also to unemployment. While the city government officially recognizes only 827 muezzins, it is estimated that nearly 10,000 men of fine religious character act as muezzins across Cairo. The Tawheed Al Adhan calls for a rotation of only 30 muezzins, hand-picked by the Minister of Religious Endowments, turning the remaining muezzins out of work in a country already suffering severe unemployment.
Before the Tawheed Al Adhan takes effect, it is necessary to document and honor this tradition before it ceases to exist. Through documentary film and digital audio recording, Voices and Faces of the Adhan: Cairo seeks to preserve and record Cairo’s muezzins and the adhans they recite for the first -- and only -- time in history. The azan is beautiful in its invitation to worship, and centralizing that, forcing each individual mosque to give up what makes it unique among its kind, is not the best solution.-- Theresa Cecka, Cairo resident
Over the course of a single day, Voices and Faces of the Adhan: Cairo presents the magic and beauty of the call to prayer through footage of the uniquely chaotic streetscapes of Cairo that signal moments of quiet and serenity that wash over the city five times a day. The film interstitially includes interviews with muezzins as well as Cairenes from all walks of life, tracing the impact the tradition of the adhan has had and continues to have on the general population of Cairo -- for Muslims and non Muslims, scholars, businessmen, shopkeepers, residents and tourists alike. Voices and Faces of the Adhan: Cairo creates a visual and aural portrait of a soon-to-be-lost ancient tradition in the modern world.
Click here to ask for more information about this project: