Difference between revisions of "Struggle In Jerash"

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'''As the first Jordanian audio-visual works begin to fall into the public domain, a constellation of interests are translating, drafting and revising copyrights laws, trade agreements and licences to control the flow of culture and build new markets.'''
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Against the backdrop of these emerging intellectual property markets, in 2008 artists Eileen Simpson and Ben White embarked on a period of research in Amman, Jordan – speaking to lawyers, copyright activists, software developers, artists, musicians, journalists, curators, filmmakers and critics – in an attempt to seek out the common cultural resources of Jordan’s public domain. 
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The result is ''Struggle in Jerash'' – a project convened around a lost 1957 Jordanian feature film of the same name, which fell out of copyright the year of the artists’ residency, and is used as a catalyst to explore value and meaning in archival material.
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As part of an [http://www.gasworks.org.uk/international/ international fellowship] at [http://www.makanhouse.net/ Makan] organised by Gasworks we have been researching Jordanian copyright. Based on the latest English translation of copyright law  we have come to the conclusion that film productions over 50 years old are now in the public domain in Jordan.  
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Artists Eileen Simpson and Ben White re-animate ''Struggle in Jerash'' by appropriating the tactic of the commercial DVD director’s commentary, subverting its standard authorial voice and placing the audience at the centre of a copyright-expired film.
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In 2008, whilst on residency at Makan House in Amman, Jordan, the artists gained access to the last surviving copy of ''Struggle in Jerash'', a VHS transfer of the original 35mm film. Part 1950s gangster flick and part tourist documentary, the 1957 film is set in historical Jordan and Jerusalem and was produced by a self-organised group of aspiring filmmakers.  
  
'''Article (31): Works Included in the Fifty-Year Protection Period:'''
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The artists watched the film with Amman-based artists, curators, filmmakers and critics, inviting them to both translate and provide live commentary. Each session was recorded and edited to assemble a new multi-voiced soundtrack, creating a new film. A multiplicity of parallel commentaries emerge, anchored to the real-time of this remarkable footage of 1950s Jordan. As we are guided through the film, exclamations and reactions echo from one voice to another while laughter erupts and resonates across the composite group. Remarks on shifting borders, liberty, politics, everyday life, national identity, religion and cinema collide, forming an intricate discussion that reveals the discursive potential of the material.  
 
The protection period for the following works shall apply for fifty years as of the date
 
of their publication, provided that the calculation of this period starts as of the first of
 
January of the calendar year following the actual publication date thereof:
 
 
 
a) Cinematic and television production works. However, if same are not published
 
with the consent of the right’s holder within fifty years as of the date of completing
 
this work then the protection period shall commence as of the date of its completion,
 
which is considered the first of January of the calendar year during which the actual
 
completion of the work was realized.
 
 
[...]
 
  
We understand that there have been a number of amendments to the law since 1992 which are currently only available in Arabic. We working with intellectual property lawyer Ziad Maraqa who is helping us to make sense of the interrelated legal documents and agreements which map out the terrain of Jordan's public domain.
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Although notorious as the country’s first feature, the original film has not until now been in general circulation. In deciding to redistribute the film, the artists make a reciprocal gesture, ensuring that they return the original film – and offer their new work – to the public sphere.  
  
During our research we have come across a Jordanian feature film called Struggle In Jerash produced in 1957 (dir. Wassif Sheik Yassin / prod. Jordanian Film and Performing Arts Co). Struggle In Jerash is the first feature film produced in Jordan. This film is bound by Jordanian copyright law and entered the public domain in 2008.
 
  
== Project ==  
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== Film ==
  
Struggle In Jerash is part 50s gangster flick and part tourist documentary. During the residency we recorded a series of discussions with Jordanian artists, curators, critics, musicians and filmmakers to create a multi-voiced audio commentary for the film. Our cut-and-paste commentary subverts the standard authorial voice of the DVD bonus feature and, guided by our interlocutors, we tour the shifting borders of the region interrogating value and meaning in the material. Although notorious as the country’s first feature, the film is not in general circulation. Later this year we plan to use established pirate networks in downtown Amman to manufacture and distribute this public domain film on a Jordan Creative Commons licensed DVD.
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{{#ev:vimeo|54785569}}
  
 
== Images ==
 
== Images ==
 
  
 
[[Image:IMG_0822.JPG|300px]]
 
[[Image:IMG_0822.JPG|300px]]
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[[Image:ALMA.jpg|300px]]
 
[[Image:ALMA.jpg|300px]]
  
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== Transcript ==
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[[Ambulante_Reader|Transcript edited from a series of conversations between film critic and historian Adnan Madanat and artists Eileen Simpson & Ben White in Amman Jordan, May 2008]]
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== Exhibition ==
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[[File:Sala3 SimpsonWhite.jpeg|300px]]
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[[Struggle_In_Jerash|Struggle in Jerash]] was shown as part of [http://www.tabakalera.eu/en/moving-image-contours-points-surrounding-movement Moving Image Contours: Points for a Surrounding Movement], the inaugural exhibition of [http://www.tabakalera.eu Tabakalera], San San Sebastián.
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'''11th September 2015 - 3rd January 2016'''
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[http://www.tabakalera.eu Tabakalera]<br/>
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Paseo del Duque de Mandas 32<br/>
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20012 San Sebastián
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''curated by: Anna Manubens and Soledad Gutiérrez''
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[[Image:Gasworks struggleinjerash.jpg|243px]] [[Image:2010-04-16 Gasworks I-Want-to-See MG 7211.jpg|260px]]
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Struggle in Jerash was part of:
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[https://www.gasworks.org.uk/exhibitions/i-want-to-see-struggle-in-jerash/ I Want to See / Struggle in Jerash]<br/>
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Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige / Eileen Simpson and Ben White
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Gasworks<br/>
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155 Vauxhall Street<br/>
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London SE11 5RH
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'''16th April 2010 - 30th May 2010'''
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== Screenings ==
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[http://www.tabakalera.eu/en/moving-image-contours-points-surrounding-movement Moving Image Contours: Points for a Surrounding Movement] Tabakalera, San San Sebastián 2015/2016
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[https://www.facebook.com/TheRiverHasTwoBanks The River Has Two Banks] Ramallah Palestine 2012
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[http://www.topkino.at Top Kino] Vienna 2012
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[http://www.sam-basel.org Swiss Architecture Musuem] Basel 2011
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[http://www.makanhouse.net Makan] Amman 2011
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[http://www.veralistcenter.org/engage/event/234/united-states-of-palestineisrael-here-and-elsewhere/ Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School], New York 2011
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[http://www.tempofestival.se Tempo Documentary Festival], Stockholm 2011
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[https://www.biennaleofsydney.com.au 17th Biennale of Sydney], Sydney 2010
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[https://www.facebook.com/AlexandriaContemporaryArtsForumacaf/ Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum (ACAF)], Alexandria 2010
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[http://hkw.de/en/programm/projekte/2010/berlin_documentary_forum/berlin_documentary_forum_1.php Berlin Documentary Forum # 1], Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin 2010
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[http://www.loop-barcelona.com LOOP Barcelona], Barcelona 2010
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[http://www.ambulante.com.mx Ambulante Documentary Film Festival], Mexico, 2010
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== Essays and Texts ==
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Erika Balsom, [https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/copyright-and-the-commons%28ecb0cbd9-8222-4d93-b712-08f62ad0d3d5%29.html Copyright and the Commons: Eileen Simpson and Ben White's Struggle in Jerash], Discourse: Journal for Theoretical Studies in Media and Culture, 2015
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Erika Balsom, [http://www.lux.org.uk/blog/distribution-dossier-5-%E2%80%9Cno-need-fear-or-hope%E2%80%9D-hito-steyerl-and-poor-image Distribution dossier 5: “No Need to Fear or Hope”: Hito Steyerl and the Poor Image], Lux Blog, 2013
  
== Links ==
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Anna Colin, [http://www.cataloguemagazine.net/contemporary-art/magazine/selected-pieces/open-music-archive/ Struggle In Jerash, 2009], Catalogue Magazine, 2010
  
Article about Struggle In Jerash (1957)<br>
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== Acknowledgments ==
http://jordnianfilms.blogspot.com/2007/11/defending-our-pioneers-struggle-in.html
 
  
Article about Jordanian Film <br>
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The project was initiated during an Arts
http://ammanfilmmakers.alif.com/mar-13-05-jordancinema.htm
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Council [http://www.gasworks.org.uk/international/detail.php?id=370 International Fellowship] organised
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by [http://www.gasworks.org.uk Gasworks], London and [http://makanhouse.net Makan House],
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Amman.  
  
Amman Filmmakers Cooperative <br>
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Thanks to: Ola Khalidi, Diala Khasawnih,
http://jordanianfilms.com/
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Adnan Madanat, Ziad Maraqa, Donatella
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Della Ratta, Alessio Antoniolli, Anna Colin,
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Mia Jankowicz, Catalina Lozano, Jamie
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Stevens, Nick Alexander, Espen Haslene,
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Neil Cummings, Oraib Toukan, Abdullah
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Khasawnih, Eduardo Thomas, Nina Höchtl,
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Elizabeth Baines, Marysia Lewandowska,
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Rifqi Assaf, Samah Hijawi, Saba Innab, Alma
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Khasawnih, Karma Hijawi, Anees Maani,
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Rafique Nasereddin, Ruba Saqr, Hanan
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Toukan, Ala Younis

Latest revision as of 12:12, 15 November 2019

Struggle In Jerash Poster.png

As the first Jordanian audio-visual works begin to fall into the public domain, a constellation of interests are translating, drafting and revising copyrights laws, trade agreements and licences to control the flow of culture and build new markets.

Against the backdrop of these emerging intellectual property markets, in 2008 artists Eileen Simpson and Ben White embarked on a period of research in Amman, Jordan – speaking to lawyers, copyright activists, software developers, artists, musicians, journalists, curators, filmmakers and critics – in an attempt to seek out the common cultural resources of Jordan’s public domain.

The result is Struggle in Jerash – a project convened around a lost 1957 Jordanian feature film of the same name, which fell out of copyright the year of the artists’ residency, and is used as a catalyst to explore value and meaning in archival material.

Ammanairport.jpg Riverjordan.jpg Bethlehem.jpg
Bethlehem2.jpg Domeoftherock.jpg Domeoftherock2.jpg

Artists Eileen Simpson and Ben White re-animate Struggle in Jerash by appropriating the tactic of the commercial DVD director’s commentary, subverting its standard authorial voice and placing the audience at the centre of a copyright-expired film.

In 2008, whilst on residency at Makan House in Amman, Jordan, the artists gained access to the last surviving copy of Struggle in Jerash, a VHS transfer of the original 35mm film. Part 1950s gangster flick and part tourist documentary, the 1957 film is set in historical Jordan and Jerusalem and was produced by a self-organised group of aspiring filmmakers.

The artists watched the film with Amman-based artists, curators, filmmakers and critics, inviting them to both translate and provide live commentary. Each session was recorded and edited to assemble a new multi-voiced soundtrack, creating a new film. A multiplicity of parallel commentaries emerge, anchored to the real-time of this remarkable footage of 1950s Jordan. As we are guided through the film, exclamations and reactions echo from one voice to another while laughter erupts and resonates across the composite group. Remarks on shifting borders, liberty, politics, everyday life, national identity, religion and cinema collide, forming an intricate discussion that reveals the discursive potential of the material.

Although notorious as the country’s first feature, the original film has not until now been in general circulation. In deciding to redistribute the film, the artists make a reciprocal gesture, ensuring that they return the original film – and offer their new work – to the public sphere.


Film

{{#ev:vimeo|54785569}}

Images

IMG 0822.JPG STUDIO2.jpg STUDIO.jpg ANEESKARMA.jpg ADNAN.jpg ALMA.jpg

Transcript

Transcript edited from a series of conversations between film critic and historian Adnan Madanat and artists Eileen Simpson & Ben White in Amman Jordan, May 2008

Exhibition

Sala3 SimpsonWhite.jpeg

Struggle in Jerash was shown as part of Moving Image Contours: Points for a Surrounding Movement, the inaugural exhibition of Tabakalera, San San Sebastián.

11th September 2015 - 3rd January 2016

Tabakalera
Paseo del Duque de Mandas 32
20012 San Sebastián

curated by: Anna Manubens and Soledad Gutiérrez

Gasworks struggleinjerash.jpg 2010-04-16 Gasworks I-Want-to-See MG 7211.jpg

Struggle in Jerash was part of:

I Want to See / Struggle in Jerash
Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige / Eileen Simpson and Ben White

Gasworks
155 Vauxhall Street
London SE11 5RH

16th April 2010 - 30th May 2010

Screenings

Moving Image Contours: Points for a Surrounding Movement Tabakalera, San San Sebastián 2015/2016

The River Has Two Banks Ramallah Palestine 2012

Top Kino Vienna 2012

Swiss Architecture Musuem Basel 2011

Makan Amman 2011

Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School, New York 2011

Tempo Documentary Festival, Stockholm 2011

17th Biennale of Sydney, Sydney 2010

Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum (ACAF), Alexandria 2010

Berlin Documentary Forum # 1, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin 2010

LOOP Barcelona, Barcelona 2010

Ambulante Documentary Film Festival, Mexico, 2010

Essays and Texts

Erika Balsom, Copyright and the Commons: Eileen Simpson and Ben White's Struggle in Jerash, Discourse: Journal for Theoretical Studies in Media and Culture, 2015

Erika Balsom, Distribution dossier 5: “No Need to Fear or Hope”: Hito Steyerl and the Poor Image, Lux Blog, 2013

Anna Colin, Struggle In Jerash, 2009, Catalogue Magazine, 2010

Acknowledgments

The project was initiated during an Arts Council International Fellowship organised by Gasworks, London and Makan House, Amman.

Thanks to: Ola Khalidi, Diala Khasawnih, Adnan Madanat, Ziad Maraqa, Donatella Della Ratta, Alessio Antoniolli, Anna Colin, Mia Jankowicz, Catalina Lozano, Jamie Stevens, Nick Alexander, Espen Haslene, Neil Cummings, Oraib Toukan, Abdullah Khasawnih, Eduardo Thomas, Nina Höchtl, Elizabeth Baines, Marysia Lewandowska, Rifqi Assaf, Samah Hijawi, Saba Innab, Alma Khasawnih, Karma Hijawi, Anees Maani, Rafique Nasereddin, Ruba Saqr, Hanan Toukan, Ala Younis