Bab Sebta (2019)
Ceuta is a Spanish enclave on Moroccan soil. Randa Maroufi has frequented the area since she was a child, her father being a customs inspector. In 2015, Maroufi stayed at the nearby Trankat Art Residency, filming the ‘ballet’ of individuals around the border crossing of Bab Sebta (Ceuta’s Gate). The setting of the border crossing leads to a special experience of time: it’s a world in itself, a kind of endless cyclical route, back and forth between the edges of Moroccan territory and the ‘khzayenes’ (huge border warehouses) of Ceuta. Maroufi observes the extraordinary energy of this small area, that separates Europe from Africa, from a distance. In her award-winning movie, she tries to transcribe the particular tension that is felt in the enclave to the general state of the world and she looks at the passage between continents from the perspective of everyday life.
Maroufi belongs to a generation that grew up in an image-dominated era. She collects images with equal measures of eagerness and suspicion, and ceaselessly questions their veracity. Her experimental films revolve around themes as the occupation of public space and gender issues an explore an elastic awareness of reality. Maroufi often uses special effects that change the perception of time, space and movement.
single channel video, 20:00 min.
production: Barney Production & Montfleuri Production
