APOLEON
Video - 14min - 2024 - France - Egypt
This film begins by a visit to the Military Museum of Paris in 2017, where a small group of figurines depicting Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt caught my attention. In the museum, these tiny figures were part of a deteriorating diorama showing Napoleon standing before the Sphinx, a frozen moment from a grand narrative of conquest. In the film, the figurines come to life and decide to follow Napoleon on his journey to Egypt. Along the way, they encounter the broken nose of the Sphinx, which becomes the starting point for a surreal and unexpected conversation between Napoleon and the ancient monument.
By combining humor with historical reflection, the film contrasts the seriousness of its subject, including war, empire, and colonization, with the playfulness of miniature models and stop-motion animation. Through this blending of past and present, and the tension between lightness and gravity, the work invites viewers to reconsider how history is told and to question the political narratives embedded within museum displays and collective memory.
Festivals:
Visions du Réel 2024 – world premiere , Switzerland
Afriques en vision festival, 2024, Bordeaux, France
12th Ajyal Film, 2024, in Doha, Qatar
Film My Design, 2024 Cairo, Egypt
ALFILM Arab Film Festival Berlin, 2025, Germany
Festival Aflam 12e édition, 2025, MUCEM, Marseille, France
Manassat FF, 2025-Cinema Zawya, Cairo, Egypt
Toronto Arab FF, 2025-Toronto, Canada
11th Long Night of Berlin Film Festivals, 2025, Berlin, Germany
RAM FF, 2025, Rovereto, Italy
Festival Film Dokumenter (FFD), 2025, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Beirut Shorts International Film Festival, 2025, Beirut, Lebanon
16th Ethnofest, 2025, Athen, Greece
7ème Lune - Festival International des Jeunes Cinéastes (11th Edition, 2024) , France