Digital

Kneaded by the storm, particles, grains, sand, body, and landscape intertwine. Seemingly caught in a continuity of multiple speeds, the film unfolds as the landscape is gradually revealed. This video was created spontaneously, caught in the intensity of the moment. It attempts to capture the energy of the wind and explore the surface of this turbulent landscape.

This video is based on an observation I made on a stormy day. Watching the wind carry sand across the ground, I felt as if I were watching a film reel moving at an incredible speed, taking grains, dust, and matter with it.

Faced with this landscape, I remember imagining the inside of an analog camera like a box containing a storm of grains and pixels.

Filming the wind has a unique aspect: the filmmaker breathes in the wind he films. He inhales it, then exhales it, giving the wind back to the camera, and then inhales it again. This idea fascinated me, and since then, I have dreamed of a cinematic gesture that goes beyond the eye. I want to film with my entire body, ingesting and inhaling the recorded material. I know this is ambitious. I can barely achieve it.

I filmed by letting my body be affected by its surroundings. The storm filled my eyes with sand, blinding me as I filmed, and endurance was pushed to its limit. Eventually, fatigue turned the camera off.

The film is arid and abrasive. It feels like touching a rough surface that scratches the skin and stings the eyes. The wind carries anxiety, intoxicating and exhausting. The storm disorients, sweeping everything away, and I believe the camera captured the collapse of its references.

Ismaïl Bahri