Concrete Sky / (سماءٌ اسمنتية) / Betonsko nebo

Basel Nasr, Ahmad Saleh (ALMASNA alrusoom almutaharrikah)
2016, Palestine, 5'45''

With every sunrise, the Balloon Girl floats above the separation wall in Palestine, easing the concrete grip it holds on people’s daily lives.

Deklica z baloni ob vsakem sončnem vzhodu poleti nad ločitvenim zidom v Palestini in zmehča betonski primež, ki ga ima ta nad vsakdanjim življenjem ljudi.

Recommended for children under 14 years old: Yes
Technique: 2D, 3D, Live-action

Team

Written and directed by Basel Nasr, Ahmad Saleh
Animation: Dia' Al-Azzeh, Farag Ghniem, Abdullah Awwad
Artwork: Abd Al-Rahman Haj Yahya
Production assistant: Majdal Soboh
Camera: Ashraf Dowani
Camera assistant: Muhanad Mitwali, Mishal Qawasmi
Compositing and color correction: Salah Hussein
Actors: Salma Abu Hilal, Khaled Abu Hilal, Aseel Shaheen, Kareem Nasr
Music: "Braveness" by Styve Bolduc
Special thanks: Vision Association for Culture & Arts
Inspired by the graffiti of Banksy, Sam3, Blu, Vince7
Masna' Alrusum Almutaharrikah
Concrete Sky is part of Yaseer Arafat Museum's permanent exhibition

Basel Nasr

is a Designer and Producer working in the field of Animation, Illustration and interactive design. Nasr earned a BSc in Architecture from Birzeit University In 2003. In 2005 Along with a group of young artists, Nasr established ZAN Studio; a multi-discipline art studio specialized in digital art and new media, working on a range of Animation, Interactive and Visual Art projects. In 2008 he received a scholarship from HQSF to pursue his Master’s degree in Animation from the University of California Los Angeles. During his study, Nasr also had the chance to work in two companies as an Interactive Designer for tablet and online children content. After his return to Palestine in 2013, Nasr founded maṣna‘ al rusūm al mutaḥarrikah, an Animation and Interactive Studio. Basel Nasr is one of our 2022 AFIELD fellows, based in Ramallah, Palestine. Animator, producer and trainer, Basel Nasr founded the initiative “Almasna : The Animation Factory”, in 2015 as a collaborative studio that uses animation to tell stories inspired by daily life, and create videos that help raise awareness about local issues calling for political and social change. In 2022, they also established “The Almasna Workshop”, a space for learning, experimentation and training in the field of animation. Their aim is to promote animation as an ever-evolving art form, and to help develop this art into an industry in Palestine.

Find more: www.afield.org/person/basel-nasr + www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRUvdj3v9I0

Ahmad Saleh

is a Palestinian writer and director. His first film, House, 2012 won a second place in the German Short Film Award and his second film, Ayny, 2016 won an Academy Award. Recently he finished his third short film, Night and is developing his first feature. He collaborates artistically with his brothers: Saleh, Halah, and Huda. Ever since they made their first film, House, Ahmad, Saleh, Saed and the entire family made films together and established their own family studio. Inspired by their mother’s hobby of making ceramic flowers, the kids grow loving hand crafts. And that is probably what made building puppets and movie sets the natural medium to tell their stories. Ahmad Saleh also presents an original storytelling performance Inside the TV Box, I Found the True Story of the People of Palestine of which the artist says: I stand before the audience and narrate true stories from my journey – from outside Palestine to inside, and back out again. The films serve as chapters in this narrative, complementing my live narration. Throughout the performance, I intermittently dim the lights to allow the films to speak for themselves, before resuming the live narration.

Filmography: 
2021 (debut) Night, Stop Motion Animation, 16’
2016 (graduation film) AYNY - MY SECOND EYE Stop Motion Animation, 11’ 
2015 (student film) MAA BAA Hand Drawn Animation, 6’ 
2012 (student film) HOUSE Stop Motion Animation

Interview with Ahmad Saleh (2024): Palestinian Animation at StopTrik: An Interview with Ahmad Saleh  https://www.zippyframes.com/festivals/palestinian-animation-at-stoptrik-an-interview-with-ahmad-saleh