AZEEMA x VIBE: What Lies Beneath

Last month AZEEMA was commissioned by the Elisava Research Institute in Barcelona, to create a short film as part of ‘ACTIVE ACTIVISM ACT’ an exhibition curated by VIBE. Exhibited at contemporary Art Gallery IDEAL Barcelona - the exhibition sought to make activism and new digital formats and narratives visible through a multi-platform experience to compile and encourage participation and reflection. The exhibition nurtured the experience to compile and give space to participation and reflection on political and environmental topics.

What Lies Beneath (AZEEMA Agency, 2022) explores how our community navigates British society and how the political, social and economic landscape of the UK has affected ethnic minorities. The film considers how we, collectively and individually, are constantly fighting for our right to exist freely. This was an incredibly important and very personal topic to all involved in this project.

AZEEMA dedicates this film and stands by the oppressed and most vulnerable in our societies, we dedicate this work to the rebellious, the risk takers and the revolutionaries. To those who commit themselves to the resistance, to fighting for justice and a better life for all. 

We stand in eternal solidarity with the survivors of a broken and inhumane system, with those who cross oceans and borders to find safety in other lands, to be met with hostility and aggression, with refugees and asylum seekers who are constantly denied access to basic human rights, and especially with those held at detention centers.   

In our thoughts remain Grenfell, the undocumented, the erased and the purposely silenced. We remember those who have lost lives crossing the English Channel, victims of police brutality, the religious who are forced to tiptoe around a culture that breeds racism and discrimination, and those suffering at the hands of Britain’s Tory government.  

We will continue to stand by the oppressed and most vulnerable in our societies, elevate the voices of our community and loved ones, and share their stories at every opportunity.

Film Credits: 

Written, Directed & Produced by AZEEMA Agency - Jameela Elfaki, Sunayah Arshad, Evar Hussayni

Editor - Jameela Elfaki

Subtitles - Sunayah Arshad

Grade - Carter Simpkin

Sound Design -Olivia Melkonian

Voices - Larena Amin, Nour Khairi, Dalia Al-Dujaili, Mumtaz Sheikh, Tahera Khalifa, Ghaith Hilal

Digital + VHS footage - Jameela Elfaki, Sunayah Arshad, Evar Hussayni, Dalia Al-Dujaili, Naailah Khalifa, Fatima Benjelloun, Samara Amjad

Drone footage + Operator - Stem Studios