Welcome back to the CML! A chance to get to know the work of CML Artist in Residence Tamer Hassan

Work-In-Progress: A Three-Part Screening Series with CML Visiting Artist Tamer Hassan

Pt. 1 - Merciful Distance

Rough cut screening and discussion 

Synopsis:

In 2023, the Muslim communities of Astoria, Queens, New York were given permission to amplify the call to prayer from their mosques during the month of Ramadan. Merciful Distance explores the ways sensory memory is evoked by the call to prayer for the diasporic communities living in the neighborhood.

Runtime: 53min

Location: Peterson Hall 108

Bio:

Tamer Hassan makes films that consider the social and historical constructs that shape perception, engaging with the way others perceive their environment and material culture. He draws from avant-garde and ethnographic filmmaking, foregrounding the unexpected forms that arise through process. He uses documentary conventions to produce a feeling of not knowing and to create space for an audience to participate in making meaning. Rather than describe his subjects, his films guide attention, alerting us to what may exceed our understanding.

His films have shown at festivals and venues worldwide including Viennale, Cinéma du Réel, Lincoln Center’s Art of the Real, Courtisane, and Punto de Vista, and he has exhibited in art spaces such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje, Lithium Gallery (Chicago), Mana Contemporary (Chicago), and Articule (Montréal). He has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Parsons School of Design. He also works regularly as an editor on short and feature films, in both non-fiction and fiction