Abounaddara, an underground Syrian filmmakers’ collective participating in the 2015 Venice Biennale and honored with a special mention from the jury on Saturday, confirmed early on Wednesday that it was pulling out of the Biennale and giving back the honor because of “an act of censorship.”
The group said in an email (collectively signed “Abounaddara”) that while the event’s organizers had agreed that it would provide weekly short films for screening in the Biennale’s “Arena” debate and performance area, the first short was not included in the Arena’s opening program. The Biennale never gave a “clear answer” why it was not included, Abounaddara said.
The Biennale did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Okwui Enwezor, the curator of this year’s event, told the website Hyperallergic on Tuesday, “There was, of course, no censorship whatsoever, but on the contrary, the films were shown exactly as agreed upon by Abounaddara.” The representative added that the films were also seen by jury members, “who honored Abounaddara’s contribution by giving them a special mention, the second-highest honor possible.”
The opening short, made available to journalists via email and uploaded on Vimeo.com, is titled “All the Syria’s Futures,” a reference to the Biennale’s main exhibition, “All the World’s Futures.” It shows President Bashar al-Assad of Syria solemnly walking down a red carpet past a military formation. Suddenly, the screen goes blank and reads: “Sorry for this technical failure. Please keep enjoying the spectacle.”
Abounaddara is known for depicting scenes of everyday life and satirizing all participants in the Syrian conflict. In its citation, the Biennale jury praised the collective “for documenting the current political strife and human struggle for survival in Syria, without taking sides.”