A Magical Substance Flows Into Me

Synopsis

Robert Lachmann was a German-Jewish ethnomusicologist. In the 1930s, his radio show "Oriental Music" explored the musical traditions of Palestine and included regular live performances by musicians from different ethnic and religious groups. Inspired by Lachmann’s musicological studies, Palestinian artist Jumana Manna travels through Israel and the Palestinian territories of today with recordings from the programme. When a true fascination for history meets the sounds of the rababa, the saz, the oud and tin cans, a cultural diversity emerges that subverts the distinction between "Arab" and "Jewish".

Director Biography

Jumana Manna born in the US in 1987, she is of Palestine origin and is established in Berlín. A graduate from CalArts, the Oslo National Academy of the Arts and Jerusalem’s Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, her works have been shown at London’s Tate Modern, New Work’s Sculpture Center and Berlin’s Kunstlerhau Bethanien.