The A77A Project – On Presidents and Superheroes

Film

by Khaled Hafez

Details

Egypt / 2009 / 3mins / Video Art / English

Every civilization looked for the imaginary super-hero for protection against evil forces, from ancient Anubis to modern Batman. In the fifties and sixties, the voice of president Nasser echoed from the Atlantic ocean to the Persian gulf, was broadcast live, every citizen stopped to listen to the superhero of modern times. Today, with the collapse of the Pan Arab theory and ideology, superheroes of religion took over, with their centuries-old dress codes and primitive behavior. The 3-minute work probes, ironically, social changes Hafez personally lived through his childhood, adolescence and adulthood in Egypt.

About the Director

Khaled Hafez

Khaled Hafez was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1963 where he still lives and works. He studied medicine and followed the evening classes of the Cairo Fine Arts in the eighties. After getting a medical degree in 1987 and M.Sc. as a medical specialist in 1992, he gave up medical practices in the early nineties for a career in the arts. He later obtained an MFA in new media and digital arts from Transart Institute (New York, USA) and Danube University Krems (Austria). Hafez’s practice spans the mediums of painting, video, photography, installation and interdisciplinary approaches. Learn More