‘The Distance from Here’ Film Programme

Gallery 9’s film programme is curated in conjunction with the exhibition, ‘The Distance from Here’, currently on display at Jameel Arts Centre on Level 1 until January 22, 2022. Focusing on similar themes, the films explore personal responses to and interactions with space and time. The programme features works by Bani Abidi, Mohamed Soueid and Mohammad Alfaraj.

The Insomnia of a Serial Dreamer

Mohamed Soueid, The Insomnia of a Serial Dreamer, 2020, Single channel video, 2 h 50 mins. Courtesy of Mohamed Soueid.

Mohamed Soueid has collected stories from friends and acquaintances on and off for 18 years, in hope that the stories will result in a restful sleep and ease his insomnia. The Insomnia of a Serial Dreamer unfolds over time and locations across Beirut. The film is captured using different video technologies including a mobile phone, providing a personal account of Soueid’s wanderings through the city and the camaraderie of his day-to-day interactions. These intimate conversations evoke a sense of melancholy, longing, tenderness and personal histories.

About Mohamed Soueid 

Mohamed Soueid (b.1959, lives and works in Dubai, UAE) is a Lebanese writer, director and producer. He is currently the Head of Documentary Department at Al Arabiya News Channel. He has directed several films, including The Insomnia of a Serial Dreamer, 2020; As Far As Yearning, 2018; Hanging Dates Under Aleppo’s Citadel, 2013; A Spell of Absence, 2011; How Bitter My Sweet, 2009; My Heart Beats Only For Her, 2008; The Sky Is Not Always Above, 2007; Civil War, 2002; Nightfall, 2000; Tango of Yearning, 1998. Soueid was also the winner of the Best Documentary Director Prize at Beirut International Film Festival in 2000, and has written several essays and publications including, Postponed Cinema: Lebanese Films During the Civil War, 1986; O Heart: A Film Autobiography on the Late Movie Theatres of Old Beirut, 1996 and Cabaret Souad, 2004.