Publication launch: Al-Mashrou’ A conversation between Shuruq Harb and Samira Makki
Published
At the Bergen Art Book Fair, BEK launched the new publication Al-Mashrou’ A Conversation Between Shuruq Harb and Samira Makki. Project developer Åse Løvgren presented the publication at the Bergen Art Book Bath at Nordnes Sjøbad.
To order a copy, contact us at bek@bek.no.
Bergen Art Book Bath
Thursday, April 3, 16:00
Nordnes Sjøbad
Al-Mashrou’ – A conversation between Shuruq Harb and Samira Makki is an interview between Samira Makki and Shuruq Harb about Harb’s film al-Mashrou’. The interview discusses the film’s themes, the process of making it, and the historical and political context surrounding the project. It also touches on broader topics like documentary filmmaking in Palestine, the concept of archives, and the idea of interrupted futures.
From November 2024 to January 2025, Shuruq Harb worked on her new film Al-Mashrou’ at BEK as part of our Off-Centred Residency. Originally designed as a remote program, Off-Centred supports artists whose mobility is limited by personal, political, or structural barriers.
Filmed mostly in Jericho, Palestine, Al-Mashrou’ explores the futuristic visions of the Arab Development Society (ADS)—a proposal for an independent Palestinian future that remains obstructed. The film merges archival and present-day footage, highlighting how geographic and economic fragmentation continues to shape the region.
To fully immerse herself in editing and script development, Shuruq relocated to Bergen, where BEK provided studio space, technical resources, and production support. Al-Mashrou’ is co-produced by BEK and Kunstnernes Hus, commissioned for the 2025 exhibition Interrupted Futures.
Shuruq Harb
Shuruq Harb is a Palestine-based artist, filmmaker, writer, and editor. In her works she focuses on online visual culture, and traces subversive routes for the circulation of images and goods. She received the award for best short film at Cinéma du Réel festival in Paris for her short film The White Elephant (2018). Harb won the 2019 Han Nefkens Foundation – Fundació Antoni Tàpies Video Art Production Grant, which provides an international platform for emerging video artists.
Samira Makki
Samira Makki is a PhD student in Film Studies at the department of Art and Media Studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). She is interested in the notion of the militant image, the depictions of belonging in film, and the rapport between politics and aesthetics. Her writings appear in Frames Cinema Journal; The Reservoir; Radical Film, Art and Digital Media for Societies in Turmoil; and Film-Philosophy.
BEK Off-Centred
BEK Off-Centred is a remote artist-in-residence programme, organised by BEK in 2023–2025. The programme is inviting international artists, for different reasons barred from travelling, to create new projects with BEK. Developing new commissions, workshops, and methods, invited artists continue working in their homes or studios during the three-month residency, while drawing on unique resources offered by BEK, from remote access to software and hardware to an interdisciplinary resource group. The programme is supported by Vestland County Council.
Published by
BEK – Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts, 2025
With thanks to
Shuruq Harb
Transcribed and edited by
Samira Makki
Editors
Siren Løkaas
Pip Rowson
Maria Rusinovskaya
Design
Vera Gomes
Printing
Pamflett