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The Diary of a Sky film image; jet streams crossing blue sky

The Diary of a Sky

MODES

A self-described ’Private Ear,’ Turner Prize winner Lawrence Abu Hamdan gathers, investigates, and analyzes audio and video recordings of Israeli fighter jets illegally infringing on the otherwise peaceful skies above Lebanon. Since Israel’s invasion in 2006, the repeated aerial hum of choppers and planes has escalated steadily toward terrorizing noise pollution. These incursions insinuate an intentionally weaponized proximate border, but to what end? Abu Hamdan’s meticulous video-essay pieces together evidence of the normalization of this eroding sensorial boundary, exposing what appear to be tactics verging on auditory torture. Combining monologue with archival record, video recordings, eye witness testimonies and shrewd observation, The Diary of a Sky documents contemporary life in Lebanon, in which the people on the ground must navigate the fickleness of two domineering and opposing forces: Hezbollah and Israel.

 

Community Partner

Director
Featuring

Mazen El-Sayed

Credits
Country of Origin

Lebanon

Year

2024

Language

In Arabic with English subtitles

Film Contact
Links
Content Warning

Self harm

18+
45 min
Documentary Experimental & Avant Garde Human Rights & Social Justice Shorts

Credits & Director

Producer

Lawrence Abu Hamdan

Cinematography

Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Amir Afshar, Ghalya Albani, LarissaAoun, Jad Atoui, Zeinab Awada

Editor

Mohamad A. Gawad

Lawrence Abu Hamdan headshot; The Diary of a Sky director

Lawrence Abu Hamdan

Lawrence Abu Hamdan is an independent investigator or Private Ear. His investigations focus on sound and linguistics and have been used as evidence at the UK Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and as advocacy for organizations such as Amnesty International and Defense for Children International together with fellow researchers from Forensic Architecture. Abu Hamdan received his PhD in 2017 from Goldsmiths College University of London and in 2021 completed a professorship at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz where he developed his research airpressure.info. Past fellowships have been held at the University of Chicago and the New School, New York.

Photo by Diana Pfanmatter

 

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