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, offers a subtle, comic portrait of a historic aspect of Palestinian identity. Having come across the biography of Alfred Roch, a Palestinian urbanite who threw European-inspired pierrot parties in 1920s Palestine, Manna created a film around an archival image from one of Roch’s soirees. A semi-grand, dusty house lays still, a man curled on a sofa, breathing softly. Here he is in the bath, wiping thick white makeup from his face, before reapplying it. Both gestures are caught in a small round mirror; the paint has the sticky texture of gesso. Guests drift in. A formal voice offers historical commentary. Everyone gathers into a living portrait, to restage the archival photograph. Actors stand statue-like as the camera pans over their faces; puppets in full costume, anticipating performance.
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