Sand Reckoner
Film 1 hour 38 minutes
by Haseeb Ahmed
Synopsis:
The film “Sand Reckoner” follows the scirocco wind from Venice, where it causes the acqua alta flooding to its origins in in the primordial dried lake beds of the Egyptian Sahara. We cannot see the wind only the way it shapes ecologies, cultures, and architectures which intertwine Egypt and Italy for millennia. As we move with the Scirocco we encounter Goethe’s palm at the Orto Botanico in Padua, the wind rose of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the harbor of Alexandria, the Pyramids of Giza, the ancient whales of the Fayyum Oasis, and the strange formations of the White Desert. The search for the scirocco wind inevitably lead to the importance origins for modernity.
See Credits below
Selected Stills:
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Credits:
Directed by
Haseeb Ahmed
Produced by
Ariane Koek
Written by
Haseeb Ahmed
Edited by
Haseeb Ahmed and Daniel van Hauten
Cinematography by
Haseeb Ahmed and Daniel van Hauten
Color Correction by
Haseeb Ahmed
Music by
Heavy Color- Ben Cohen and Sam Woldenberg
Sound Direction by
Haseeb Ahmed
Mastering by
Heavy Color and Audiobus
Voice-overs
Rebecca Polloni, Italian
Translation to Italian by Lieze Joye
Mostafa Adel Abdelhamid of Audiobus, Arabic
Translation to Egyptian Arabic by Farah Abed
Bedouin Love Song performed by
Ramadan Elswahly and Muhammad Gaddafi
Xenogogue Performers
Haseeb Ahmed, Ahmed Alzmly, Vittoria Caneva, Anna Kushnirenko, Red Dragonfly, and Blue Dragonfly
Fully Funded by
Fondation Didier et Martine Primat
Created during the Earth Water Sky Residency at
Ca Foscari, University of Venice and the Science Gallery International Network
Curated by
Ariane Koek
Scientific Partner
Professor Craig Martin, Ca Foscari University of Venice
Location Scouting and Arrangement by
Haseeb Ahmed and Ariane Koek
Cinematographic Contributions by
Johan Poezevara and Fabien Silvestre Suzor and Sharmin Akter and Astrid Krumins of Interspectral
Contributions in Egypt by
Ahmed Gamal and Professor Mohamed Abdel Mawgoud Radwan, Cairo
Ramadan Elswahly and Muhammad Gaddafi, Bahariya Oasis and Western Desert
Yacoub Nassar of the Athineos Hotel, Alexandria
St, Marks Coptic Orthodox Cathedral grounds management, Cairo
Omar Sheira and Biborka Anna Kis of Blue Cairo
Contributions in Italy by
Sara Celeghin, Artist and Organizer, Alberto Sonino of Vento de Venezia
Alvise Benetazzo and Filippo Bergamasco of the Institute of Marine Sciences, Venice CNR-ISMAR
Professor Emanuele Molinaroli, Professor Francesca Tamasari, Professor Susanne Franco, Professor Matteo Legrenzi, and Annachiara Panzeri and Young Voices Program of Ca Foscari University, Venice,
Maria Ansaldi Pania and Carlo Calore of Orto Botanico, Padua
Roberto Casarotto and Greta Pieropan of Centro per la Scena Contemporanea di Bassano del Grappa and Operaestate Festival, St. Marco Basilica Walks After Hours Tours
Laura Marcomin of Fondazione Venezia manager of Palazzo Contrani del Bovolo, Erica Villa, Curator and Producer
A Very Special Thank You to
Harlan Levey Projects, Professor Petra Van der Jeught, Leen Scholiers, Sajjad and Tahira Ahmed, Jan Huygh of Atelier Vilvoorde, Kettie Sambu and Naila van Hauten, Werktank VZW
Shot on location in Italy
Venice
Streets of Venice, Saint Marks Basilica and Square, Galleria dell’Accademia di Venizia, Ponte dell'Accademia, Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, Certosa Island, and Altana of Susanne Franc
Padua
Orto Botanico
Rome
Saint Peter’s Basilica and Square, Vatican Museum, Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II, Pantheon, Lateran Obelisk, Macuteo Obelisk, Minerveo Oblelisk, Agonalis Obelisk.
Shot on location in Egypt
Alexandria
Athineos Hotel, Little Venice, Corniche Harbor, Citadel of Qaitbay, Alexandria Aquarium, Sidi Morsi Abu al-Abbas Mosque, City Festival
Cairo
Tahrir Square, Saint Mark’s Cathedral, Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Streets of Cairo, Mosque and Madrasa of Sultan Hassan, Great Pyramids of Giza, National Museum of Egypt, and Saqqara Necropolis
Deserts
Karanis Ruins and Fayyum Oasis, Wadi al Haitan Valley of the Whales, Black Desert, White Desert National Park, Western Desert, and the Egyptian Sahara
Shot on location in Belgium
Atelier Vilvoorde, De Kruitfabriek, Vilvoorde, Kadoc, Leuven, Le Sceptre, Brussels
Works Cited
Archimedes, Sand Reckoner, 300 BCE
Aristotle, Meteorologica, 340 BCE
Allah, Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah, The Cow, 2:164, 622
Chris Cutrone, Lenin’s Libralism, 2011
Erich Classen, Djara: Cave Art in Egypt’s Western Desert, 2009
God, Old Testament, Genesis 1:2, 1400 BCE
Hoda S. H. Aly "Evaluation of pollen grains germination, viability, and chemical composition of some date palm males" 2018
Nico Israel, Spirals, 2015
Prosper Alpini, Book of Egyptian of Plants, 1592
Ralph A. Bagnold, The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes, 1942
Rohl, Chorography: History, Theory and Potential for Archaeological Research, 2012
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Metamorphosis of Plants, 1790
Nico Israel, Spirals, 2015
Prosper Alpini, Book of Egyptian of Plants, 1592
Ralph A. Bagnold, The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes, 1942
Rohl, Chorography: History, Theory and Potential for Archaeological Research, 2012
Film 1 hour 38 minutes
by Haseeb Ahmed
Synopsis:
The film “Sand Reckoner” follows the scirocco wind from Venice, where it causes the acqua alta flooding to its origins in in the primordial dried lake beds of the Egyptian Sahara. We cannot see the wind only the way it shapes ecologies, cultures, and architectures which intertwine Egypt and Italy for millennia. As we move with the Scirocco we encounter Goethe’s palm at the Orto Botanico in Padua, the wind rose of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the harbor of Alexandria, the Pyramids of Giza, the ancient whales of the Fayyum Oasis, and the strange formations of the White Desert. The search for the scirocco wind inevitably lead to the importance origins for modernity.
See Credits below
Selected Stills:
Credits:
Directed by
Haseeb Ahmed
Produced by
Ariane Koek
Written by
Haseeb Ahmed
Edited by
Haseeb Ahmed and Daniel van Hauten
Cinematography by
Haseeb Ahmed and Daniel van Hauten
Color Correction by
Haseeb Ahmed
Music by
Heavy Color- Ben Cohen and Sam Woldenberg
Sound Direction by
Haseeb Ahmed
Mastering by
Heavy Color and Audiobus
Voice-overs
Rebecca Polloni, Italian
Translation to Italian by Lieze Joye
Mostafa Adel Abdelhamid of Audiobus, Arabic
Translation to Egyptian Arabic by Farah Abed
Bedouin Love Song performed by
Ramadan Elswahly and Muhammad Gaddafi
Xenogogue Performers
Haseeb Ahmed, Ahmed Alzmly, Vittoria Caneva, Anna Kushnirenko, Red Dragonfly, and Blue Dragonfly
Fully Funded by
Fondation Didier et Martine Primat
Created during the Earth Water Sky Residency at
Ca Foscari, University of Venice and the Science Gallery International Network
Curated by
Ariane Koek
Scientific Partner
Professor Craig Martin, Ca Foscari University of Venice
Location Scouting and Arrangement by
Haseeb Ahmed and Ariane Koek
Cinematographic Contributions by
Johan Poezevara and Fabien Silvestre Suzor and Sharmin Akter and Astrid Krumins of Interspectral
Contributions in Egypt by
Ahmed Gamal and Professor Mohamed Abdel Mawgoud Radwan, Cairo
Ramadan Elswahly and Muhammad Gaddafi, Bahariya Oasis and Western Desert
Yacoub Nassar of the Athineos Hotel, Alexandria
St, Marks Coptic Orthodox Cathedral grounds management, Cairo
Omar Sheira and Biborka Anna Kis of Blue Cairo
Contributions in Italy by
Sara Celeghin, Artist and Organizer, Alberto Sonino of Vento de Venezia
Alvise Benetazzo and Filippo Bergamasco of the Institute of Marine Sciences, Venice CNR-ISMAR
Professor Emanuele Molinaroli, Professor Francesca Tamasari, Professor Susanne Franco, Professor Matteo Legrenzi, and Annachiara Panzeri and Young Voices Program of Ca Foscari University, Venice,
Maria Ansaldi Pania and Carlo Calore of Orto Botanico, Padua
Roberto Casarotto and Greta Pieropan of Centro per la Scena Contemporanea di Bassano del Grappa and Operaestate Festival, St. Marco Basilica Walks After Hours Tours
Laura Marcomin of Fondazione Venezia manager of Palazzo Contrani del Bovolo, Erica Villa, Curator and Producer
A Very Special Thank You to
Harlan Levey Projects, Professor Petra Van der Jeught, Leen Scholiers, Sajjad and Tahira Ahmed, Jan Huygh of Atelier Vilvoorde, Kettie Sambu and Naila van Hauten, Werktank VZW
Shot on location in Italy
Venice
Streets of Venice, Saint Marks Basilica and Square, Galleria dell’Accademia di Venizia, Ponte dell'Accademia, Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, Certosa Island, and Altana of Susanne Franc
Padua
Orto Botanico
Rome
Saint Peter’s Basilica and Square, Vatican Museum, Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II, Pantheon, Lateran Obelisk, Macuteo Obelisk, Minerveo Oblelisk, Agonalis Obelisk.
Shot on location in Egypt
Alexandria
Athineos Hotel, Little Venice, Corniche Harbor, Citadel of Qaitbay, Alexandria Aquarium, Sidi Morsi Abu al-Abbas Mosque, City Festival
Cairo
Tahrir Square, Saint Mark’s Cathedral, Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Streets of Cairo, Mosque and Madrasa of Sultan Hassan, Great Pyramids of Giza, National Museum of Egypt, and Saqqara Necropolis
Deserts
Karanis Ruins and Fayyum Oasis, Wadi al Haitan Valley of the Whales, Black Desert, White Desert National Park, Western Desert, and the Egyptian Sahara
Shot on location in Belgium
Atelier Vilvoorde, De Kruitfabriek, Vilvoorde, Kadoc, Leuven, Le Sceptre, Brussels
Works Cited
Archimedes, Sand Reckoner, 300 BCE
Aristotle, Meteorologica, 340 BCE
Allah, Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah, The Cow, 2:164, 622
Chris Cutrone, Lenin’s Libralism, 2011
Erich Classen, Djara: Cave Art in Egypt’s Western Desert, 2009
God, Old Testament, Genesis 1:2, 1400 BCE
Hoda S. H. Aly "Evaluation of pollen grains germination, viability, and chemical composition of some date palm males" 2018
Nico Israel, Spirals, 2015
Prosper Alpini, Book of Egyptian of Plants, 1592
Ralph A. Bagnold, The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes, 1942
Rohl, Chorography: History, Theory and Potential for Archaeological Research, 2012
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Metamorphosis of Plants, 1790
Nico Israel, Spirals, 2015
Prosper Alpini, Book of Egyptian of Plants, 1592
Ralph A. Bagnold, The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes, 1942
Rohl, Chorography: History, Theory and Potential for Archaeological Research, 2012