EAT AT JOE'S!
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HD Video/Audio-Installation
synchronos 3-channel projection 16 : 9
27 min 33 sec (Loop)
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> Auswahl 09
Aargauer Kunsthaus Aarau 2009
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Production, director, script
Barbara Meyer Cesta
Text
English Barbara Meyer Cesta
Hebrew Effi Weiss
Arabic Amir Borenstein
Cast
Diana Calvo Salvanés
Racha Faris
Diaeldin Hamed
Ahmed Hussein
Mirette Mechail
Mohammad Roshdy
Saad Samir
Tarek Shalaby
Wafaa’ Wali
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Recording Supervisior & Director of Photography
Rudolf Steiner
2nd camera Hadil Nazmy
3rd camera Louly Seif
Cut Barbara Meyer Cesta, Rudolf Steiner, Effi & Amir
Effects Barbara Meyer Cesta, Rudolf Steiner
Video editing Videocompany Zofingen
Music
Conzept / Musical director Mario Batkovic
Production / Technical director Urs Gilgen
Accordeon Mario Batkovic
Bass clarinet Hans Koch
Stand-up bass Ivan Nestic
Co-operation
Production organisation Cairo Roby & Ruth, Hadil Nazmy, Diaeldin Hamed, Louly Seif
Interpretation consultants Hayhat El Bokeili, Ziad Bitar, Sofia Iberg Hidalgo, Regula Tanner
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Presentation
Three screens are placed in a U shape so that they cannot be viewed simultaneously. They show – mostly in synch – the same event but seen from different camera angles. Each screen has its own voice – bass on the left, accordeon in the centre, bass clarinet on the right. The sound is an accompaniment; it does not illustrate events.
Camera left: zooming in and out, it follows the protagonist carrying a banner and sloga
Camera centre: static, Übersicht des Geschehen
Camera right: zooming in and out, it follows the group persecuting the protagonist
Synopsis
A man with a slogan-inscribed banner runs across an empty landscape under a cloudless sky. The man is being persecuted by a mob. They catch him, beat him up, embrace him and release him before they capture him again. It is impossible to interpret the mob's behaviour. This repeats itself in three chapters in which only the slogans are different. In the first chapter, the inscription on the banner is in Arabic; in the second it is in Hebrew; in the third it is an English slogan. The three slogans have been photoshopped into the image. The clearly visible, inadequate montage technique (motion tracking) gives the slogans a certain slapstick character, a life of their own. Half-way through each of the parts, the image fades into white while the slogan continues to move as though guided by a ghost, transforming into the version in the next language before the image fades in again.
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Scene 1: slogan in Arabic: 
Scene 2: slogan in Hebrew: 
Szene 3: slogan in English: EAT AT JOE’S!
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When I wrote the script it was clear that the slogan EAT AT JOE’S! had to have its parallels in Arabic and Hebrew. The phrase is part of a typical advertisement for a fictional everyman's restaurant, often describing a diner in smalltown U.S.A. Numerous franchises actually cashed in on its popularity by adopting the name of "Joe's" and the slogan "Eat at Joe's!" was further popularised by cartoons. For example, Tex Avery's cartoon character Barney Bear carries a sign inscribed with it back and forth acros many hunting scences, an action that has nothing to do with the plot.
I wanted to do justice to the Middle East's complex political and cultural situation, which is why I consulted two experts on the Middle East. The slogans in Hebrew and Arabic were created by the Israeli artist couple, Effi & Amir. Their choice is complex and wise: the Hebrew word has various meanings ranging from "empty" to "fearless", including "idle, "fake" or "blank ammunition". The Arabic word means "for free", "gratuitous"; in Egyptian Arabic it also means "no matter". The great variety of interpretations in the cultures addressed by my choice of languages is intentional.
Inspired by "Ssaki" Roman Polanski's last short film (1961), EAT AT JOE’S! was originally planned in 2005 as a b/w production shot in deep snow. However, climate change forced us to transpose the shoot to a desert location. Having adapted the script, I was enabled by a Pro Helvetia studio grant to record the film in Egypt in the height of summer 2007.
If at all possible, EAT AT JOE’S! will be shown in Arabic countries and in Israel. For the time being at least, it will not be possible to present the film in Egypt, which has been in a state of emergency since 1981. The mere use of a Hebrew word in the film may provoke unforeseeable repercussions and clashes with Egyptian authorities. While it was a great challenge to recruit a film crew in Egypt, everyone involved in the production of the film was willing to take personal risks. A clever trick enabled us to reduce the risk to both local crew members and to the project as a whole: the banners were blank during the actual shoot, with the slogans later inserted digitally – a manoeuvre that enhances their surreal nature.
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© Translation from German: Margret Powell-Joss | www.powelltrans.ch
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