Latest news with #Mazra'aNetwork
CairoScene
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Ferkesh Live: Egyptian Music Video Directors on Visual Storytelling
Ferkesh Live: Egyptian Music Video Directors on Visual Storytelling SceneNoise and Mazra'a Network, in collaboration with Red Bull, kicked off the first edition of Ferkesh [Live] at the French Institute in Mounira. The event brought together a focused circle of filmmakers, directors, and artists to reflect on the visual direction of Egypt's music scene—how it's being shaped, and who's shaping it. At the core of the evening was a panel discussion moderated by Youssef Mansour (founder and director of Mazra'a Network for Art and Culture). Directors Marwan Tarek, Mazen Bayoumi, and Zeina Aref broke down their working methods, revealing a process that's often less about chasing spectacle and more about negotiating form, limitations, and intent. Marwan Tarek, whose credits include El Waili and Kaim Osama's Nazlet Seman, described his approach with quiet clarity: the music comes finished, and the video builds from there. 'In music videos, it's different,' he said. 'I treat the track like a script. The artist has already completed their creative process, the sound is locked. So the question becomes: how do you see the track?' For Tarek, directing isn't just interpretation, it's construction. 'If you gave the same track to five different directors, you'd get five entirely different videos.' A cinematographer by training, Mazen Bayoumi, who's shot videos for Nour (Nogoum, Wana), Dirty Backseat, and Felukah, Bayoumi doesn't always begin with a concept, sometimes he just puts the track on loop and waits for it to unlock something. 'You listen and listen until images start showing up,' he said. 'Sometimes it's a flicker, sometimes it's a dead end. But one day, you hear it differently. And that version, that hearing, that's the one that sticks.' For Bayoumi, ideas aren't found so much as tripped over. Then there's Zeina Aref, a multidisciplinary artist, photographer, and director, who describes a slightly more grounded but no less poetic view of the process. Her collaborations with Ma-Beyn and Massar Egbari often feel stitched together with raw fabric: grainy, intimate, unvarnished. 'My favorite part is the craft,' she said. 'The early dreaming phase, building the story, drawing it out with the team.' But then, like a sudden cut to static: the budget hits. 'And all our ambitions get thrown in the trash.' You could hear the collective exhale from the crowd, filmmakers know this beat too well. And yet, Aref insists that these limitations don't just destroy dreams, they reshape them. 'That part where everyone's ideas meet the real world? That's where the actual magic can happen. If it's going to work, it has to work there.'
CairoScene
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
‘Ferkesh [Live]': Top Egyptian Music Video Directors on Building Visua
'Ferkesh [Live]': Top Egyptian Music Video Directors on Building Visua SceneNoise and Mazra'a Network, in collaboration with Red Bull, kicked off the first edition of Ferkesh [Live] at the French Institute in Mounira. The event brought together a focused circle of filmmakers, directors, and artists to reflect on the visual direction of Egypt's music scene—how it's being shaped, and who's shaping it. At the core of the evening was a panel discussion moderated by Youssef Mansour (founder and director of Mazra'a Network for Art and Culture). Directors Marwan Tarek, Mazen Bayoumi, and Zeina Aref broke down their working methods, revealing a process that's often less about chasing spectacle and more about negotiating form, limitations, and intent. Marwan Tarek, whose credits include El Waili and Kaim Osama's Nazlet Seman, described his approach with quiet clarity: the music comes finished, and the video builds from there. 'In music videos, it's different,' he said. 'I treat the track like a script. The artist has already completed their creative process, the sound is locked. So the question becomes: how do you see the track?' For Tarek, directing isn't just interpretation, it's construction. 'If you gave the same track to five different directors, you'd get five entirely different videos.' A cinematographer by training, Mazen Bayoumi, who's shot videos for Nour (Nogoum, Wana), Dirty Backseat, and Felukah, Bayoumi doesn't always begin with a concept, sometimes he just puts the track on loop and waits for it to unlock something. 'You listen and listen until images start showing up,' he said. 'Sometimes it's a flicker, sometimes it's a dead end. But one day, you hear it differently. And that version, that hearing, that's the one that sticks.' For Bayoumi, ideas aren't found so much as tripped over. Then there's Zeina Aref, a multidisciplinary artist, photographer, and director, who describes a slightly more grounded but no less poetic view of the process. Her collaborations with Ma-Beyn and Massar Egbari often feel stitched together with raw fabric: grainy, intimate, unvarnished. 'My favorite part is the craft,' she said. 'The early dreaming phase, building the story, drawing it out with the team.' But then, like a sudden cut to static: the budget hits. 'And all our ambitions get thrown in the trash.' You could hear the collective exhale from the crowd, filmmakers know this beat too well. And yet, Aref insists that these limitations don't just destroy dreams, they reshape them. 'That part where everyone's ideas meet the real world? That's where the actual magic can happen. If it's going to work, it has to work there.'
CairoScene
02-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Mazra'a Network Named New Programmer at the Institut Français d'Egypte
Mazra'a Network to curate a film lineup at Cinéma de Mounira, launching March 3rd and running every Monday until mid-July. Mar 02, 2025 Mazra'a Network for Arts and Culture has been appointed as the new programmer of Cinéma de Mounira at the Institut Français d'Egypte. The first lineup, under the title 'So That the Birds Return', explores themes of memory and belonging, featuring a selection of shorts and features that introduce emerging talent and unconventional narratives. 'I am glad that we are supporting the emerging scene in Egypt, and we will keep on doing it,' Eric Chevallier, the ambassador of France in Egypt, said. Mazra'a Network, a Cairo-based social enterprise, operates at the intersection of artistic expression and communal engagement. Founded by Youssef Mansour, its name - Arabic for 'Farm' - pays homage to Egypt's agricultural heritage and the collective spirit that once shaped its cultural landscape. Over the past five years, the organisation has cultivated creative initiatives that serve both artists and the public, with subsidiaries focusing on cultural entertainment and engagement through a grassroots approach. 'Mazra'a being selected as the programmer for Cinema de Mounira is an exciting opportunity to put concrete steps in democratising arts for both the public and the arts community,' Youssef Monsour tells CairoScene. 'We're proving that making art and having skill are the only tokens you need as an artist to be platformed.' The upcoming screenings will include a strong presence of women-led works and selections from the SWANA region, with an emphasis on young Egyptian filmmakers. The program launches March 3rd and continues every Monday until mid-July. A full schedule will be announced soon.
