Mariam Mekiwi formally engages with genre while maintaining a strong sense of identity, using montage as a manipulative storytelling tool inspired by conspiracy theories and other fictions.
Mariam Mekiwi, born in 1987 in Alexandria, Egypt, is a filmmaker and film editor whose work often explores speculative fiction and experimental narratives. She completed her Master of Fine Arts in film at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Hamburg (HfbK) in 2017. Her debut fiction film, 'abl ma 'ansa (Before I Forget), premiered at the Berlinale's Forum Expanded section in 2018 and was nominated for the First Steps Award of the German Film Academy the same year.
Mekiwi's films have been showcased at various international festivals, including the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Ayam Beirut Al Cinema’iya, Haifa Independent Film Festival, and Sharjah Film Platform. In addition to her filmmaking, Mekiwi has been involved in academic and artistic research. She was a fellow at the Graduate School of the University of the Arts in Berlin, where she worked on projects that intersect film, art, and speculative narratives. Mekiwi is currently based between Berlin and Cairo, continuing her work in film direction and photography.
'abl ma ansa
HD Video / 30:00 min / 2018
A science-fiction story set in an indistinct coastal region, between land and sea, above and below water. El Captain disappears, one of his disciples takes a journey in the ocean to cut off the internet cable, the water level is rising, an amphibian woman appears at the shore looking for her mother, and the memories of two women in a ward intertwine. Scientist Dr. Sharaf is trying to congregate all of them – the members of the secret society of amphibians – in an attempt to save the world.