I attended a 10-day hands-on intensive workshop organized by Mathaf + DFI and mentored by Sabine El Chamaa, a film-maker. The workshop was part of the new exhibition by the well-known Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang. My target was to learn still-film-making and create a 5-minute movie connected to the theme ‘transformation’. I based my work on ‘Razor’ a short story by Vladimir Nabokov. Nabokov because I am reading a collection of his short stories. Nine of us took part in the workshop. I thoroughly enjoyed it and DFI + Mathaf provided fantastic support that extented all the way to professional equipment, tutors etc. Our mentor Sabine was a tough drill master. She put us through the grind, particularly the last couple of days.

If you happen to visit Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, the movies are all exhibited in the library. If you do not see them on loop ask the staff for ‘Still Films’.