abstract

16mm Colour
7’49’’
2005

Death of an Icon was filmed in Ramallah, Palestine, a few hours before the official announcement of the President of the Palestinian National Authority Yasser Arafat’s death on 11 November 2004. The film is an hors champ of this decisive moment for Palestine. The day before Marine Hugonnier entered Ramallah with a fake journalist’s card and made a portrait of the city. The film shows the population of Ramallah that day through a series of still shots: the market, passers-by in the street, the newsagent, a school, a café’s interior, until the official announcement triggers an uprising in Ramallah’s Al-Manara main square. The crowd can be heard proclaiming that they will continue the fight: “You are the leader and we are the people."

Location: Ramallah, Palestine, 10 and 11 November 2004
Camera: Éclair ACL
Lenses: Zeiss 25 mm, 50 mm and 75 mm primes
Stocks: 7245/50D and 7277/320T Kodak
Director of photography: Cristian Manzutto and Marine Hugonnier
Sound: Cristian Manzutto
Editing: Helle le Fèvre
Processing: Soho Images, London
Executive producers: Alec Steadman, Del Ruby Winters