TRUTH: In the modern world, individuals with multicultural backgrounds often find themselves at the crossroads of identities, feeling like outsiders in both cultures.
INSIGHT: Despite feeling alienated, these individuals possess a unique perspective that allows them to blend and redefine societal norms (represented by nature), allowing for them to embrace their true selves; even if they are unseen.
PERSONAL INSPIRATION: Here, in a realm where dreams and reality intertwine, I was an outsider peering in, my Arab blood a silent whisper amidst the cacophony of American existence. Yet, in this surreal landscape, the American children, with their eyes like windows to distant worlds, labelled me Arab, an echo not quite fitting their melody of Americanness. Similarly, in the hushed corridors of the mosque, the Arab children, their voices like soft desert winds, called me American, a note discordant in their symphony of Arab identity.
During my high school years, I grappled with this dual existence, a phantom in two worlds, belonging to neither. It was as if I walked in a dream, my shadow stretched between two suns. "Do you see me?" I whispered to the void, seeking an answer in the starlit silence.
PROCESS: By blending my friend's background into the narrative we had conjured a film, a visual whisper of our shared story. Him, a Moroccan American, and myself, a Syrian American, both of us similarly lost in which identity we fit into.
This film is a journey through the mist of identity, a search for a place in this labyrinthine world where we could echo, "Do you see us?" Amidst our relationship with nature and the universe, we sought to unravel the complexity of our beings, inviting others to gaze through our kaleidoscope of self, and wonder, do you recognize us in the fabric of your universe?
TECH SPECS: The visuals were shot on a Sony A7SIII in SLOG-3 and color graded in Davinci Resolve. The Audio was shot on a Tentacle Sync Track E Lav Microphone and processed in Adobe Audition. The entire project was then compiled and edited within Adobe Premiere Pro.