Cabaret Crusades Trilogy

Overview

Wael Shawky in his Cabaret Crusades skillfully juxtaposes historical narrative with the childish world of puppetry—seriousness with naivety, fear with humor, horror with entertainment—to focus on events crucial to the development of an Arab identity. While prior to the Crusades different groups coexisted more or less peacefully, the trauma of the European invasions shaped today's familiar dichotomies—East and West, Christianity and Islam, Shi’ism and Sunni’ism. At first sight a history lesson for children, the project ultimately raises important questions about the historicity of identity and consequently the role of history itself.

Details

Status

Released

Release date

December 1, 2013

Original language

English

Director

Wael Shawky

Budget

Not recorded

Revenue

Not recorded

IMDb

tt2356398