Spirit of a Place Dir: Veena Rao Final Cut 6-22-17 Pan of photo studio Ali Alamedy (VO) Through my work, I wish that I could take people back in time, even briefly, to a different time and place. Ali cleaning photo studio Ali Alamedy (VO) I think my main inspiration behind making miniatures were the novels I used to read and the places I used to imagine when I was young and wished to visit but haven’t had the chance to. Pan of photos of Ali as a child Ali Alamedy (VO) I was born two years after the Iraq- Iran war broke out. I never truly felt I belonged to the area where I grew up in. Photos of Ali’s work Ali Alamedy (VO) In the past years I have built many miniatures scenes. I’ve made a French café scene, a bookstore in London, a scene of an avenue from New York, and a scene from Havana. Ali placing objects into the photo studio Ali Alamedy (VO) It took me about nine months to work on this photography studio, two months of which were dedicated to research work. Ali interview CU I started working on the studio, which probably is my biggest project yet, one year after we had arrived to Turkey in 2015. Ali dusting bellows of tiny camera Ali Alamedy (VO) When I tried to make a tiny bellow for the old cameras it had to be very very small. One fold had to be less than one millimeter in thickness and I needed about 124 folds. Ali placing objects into the photo studio Ali Alamedy (VO) The challenge is that when I do those details I don’t try to make them close to the real thing. I actually want them to be hundred percent compatible. And this is very exhausting, yet I find it quite enjoyable. Ali working on cash register, CU of unfinished cash register Ali Alamedy (VO) I haven’t made anything from my own culture. Maybe because I don’t feel qualified to do something from Iraq. CU curtain, WS Yosef playing on the floor Ali Alamedy (VO) My son once asked me: “dad, what does ‘home’ mean?” Ali interview MS Honestly I didn’t know how to answer him. I didn’t know how to define homeland because I never felt what it was. One day soon I wish I could answer him. Ali applying glue to cash register Ali video calling his parents, his son Yousef joins in Ali Alamedy (VO) My father, mother, sister and brother still live in Iraq and of course that worries me a lot. But not everybody has the ability to place the where they live. Shots of the view from Ali’s Balcony Ali Alamedy (VO) After ISIS entered into Iraq, the situation became very dangerous for me and for my family and me. We had to leave Iraq and came to Turkey, and applied for asylum for security reasons. Yes we do feel secure here in this place, but the future is still ambiguous and that worries me. Ali working on cash register Ali Alamedy (VO) Honestly, working on miniatures has been a bit part of motivating me to move on in life and get through this difficult stage I still go through. When I sit and work, I stop thinking of anything else. I can’t think of anything else because all my attention is poured into the piece I am making. Ali working on final part of cash register Ali Alamedy (VO) I wish that when I leave this life, there will be something people will remember me with. Ali puts final touches on cash register Ali Alamedy (VO) When the situation there improves, I wish I could do something about Iraq that both my viewers and I can cherish. Credits Directed, Produced & Edited by Veena Rao Camera Veena Rao Composer Eliot Krimsky Color Correction Begonia Colomar Sound Mix Pete Karam Archival Stills Photographs courtesy of Ali Alamedy Translation Isra Abdulhadi Supported by New York State Council on the Arts’ Electronic Media and Film Finishing Funds grant program Thank You The Alamedy Family Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective Esra Saydam Guillermo Sanchez Maryam Hussain Mohamed Abdelfattah