Free

Screening: Al Ard (The Land), 1969, dir. Youssef Chahine, 130 mins

The Centre for Possible Studies is hosting Direct Speech Acts II, a programme of experimental workshops exploring the relationship between political speech and action initiated by members of film collective no.w.here, Karen Mirza and Brad Butler and led by theatre director Frances Rifkin involving activists, artists and members of the Migrant Resource Centre. The theatre group are preparing for a political theatre piece that will be presented in 2012.

Theatre group participant and artist Karem Ibrahim will host January's Free Cinema School Salon. Marking a year since Egypt's 'day of rage' on Tuesday 25 January 2011, where millions took to the streets to oppose President Hosni Mubarak's regime, the Salon will feature a screening of the late Youssef Chahine's Al Ard (The Land). Produced in 1969, Al Ard tells the story of a group of Egyptian peasants struggling to retain their land and a sense of solidarity in the face of the landed gentry's attempts to usurp it and maintain oppressive rule. With elections underway in an Egypt ruled by military forces, Karem Ibrahim will discuss the film's themes of political speech, struggle and action.

Upcoming Free Cinema School Salons will visit the history of political theatre in Brazil and the UK and their filmic counterparts.

For more information please contact

Janna Graham, Education Projects Curator
+44 (0)20 7298 1535
jannag@serpentinegallery.org

Amal Khalaf, Edgware Road Projects Assistant
+44 (0)20 7723 3162
amalk@serpentinegallery.org