Omar & Lawrence - Work in Progress

‘Omar and Lawrence’ is a found footage moving image work that undertakes the de/reconstruction of the seminal film Lawrence of Arabia (1962), as well as investigate the public persona of the historic T.S. Lawrence, and one of the stars of the aforementioned film, actor Omar Sharif. In this visual archaeology, the filmmaker dredges through moving image digital archives to stitch together, with irony, humour, adoration and contempt, a collage of news footage, film material, music, and web-based content as it explores the relationship between Lawrence, the white savour, and Sharif, the colonial subject. In the process, the film weaves together a larger non-linear narrative to tell a story of the colonial history of the Middle East and the geopolitical effects that are still felt to this day. It also performs an autopsy on political images and highlights the role of storytelling, media, and moving image culture in the colonial project.