Hassan Said
HassanSaid.com
The film was purely done by hand, cut on a flat bed, with no digital intervention what-so-ever. The film contains of 5700 frames, made with direct manipulation, acrylic paint, scratching, bleaching, among some of the techniques.
A surreal remembrance of the tragedy at the world trade center, on September 11th.
The day of September 11th, 2001, is a day that will live in infamy. That is the name I chose for the film, for it is an event that forever changed my life. I was attending high school in New York at that time.
I wanted to create a film that would reflect the way I remembered the event of that day and how it resonated in my mind. Seeing the buildings on fire, the rubble accumulating and the screams of the people was an overwhelming experience for me. The news channels were running the event non-stop, and the whole world was glued in front of the television.
I tried to think of the best way to tell a story of that day, to make it stand out, not in a political light, but as a film that reflects the intensity and disturbance of the event. I started shooting images of industrial buildings, smoke, and rubble. I also decided to hand process the film, paint on clear 16mm film, and cut up super 8mm film to use the halves for the representation the twin towers. As I was working on making the film, I decided to also paint, scratch and bleach the film to reflect the explosion of images with the sound effects I gathered. I event went as far to the extent of burning the film to be able to intensify the experince.
I hope with this film people realize that this is an event in history that changed our lives forever. I want this film to bring closure to people and see it as an awareness to something that will always live with our generation and generations to come, on a global scale.
Shot, Edited, Sound Design, Produced and Directed by Hassan Said
Music by Edison
• WINNER of Best Experimental at Epidemic Film Festival
• Official Selection - Edinburgh International Film Festival
RUNNING TIME: 4 min 30 sec
DATE OF COMPLETION: 2009
SHOOTING FORMAT: Super 8mm, 16mm
Cut on a Flat Bed
Film processing by hand.
1.33:1, Color, Stereo