Unpacking the ArteArchive

OBLIVION: Forced Disappearance, Memory, Absence, and Political Erasure

Available in 38d 11h 35m 31s
Available June 18, 2026 4:00 AM UTC
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6 films in package
My Father and Qaddafi
A daughter unravels the disappearance of her father, the peaceful opposition leader to Qaddafi, and pieces together her mother’s 19-year search to find him. Without any memory of her father, she tries to reconnect with him and reconcile with her Libyan identity.
Erased,__Ascent of the Invisible
Ghassan Halawani takes the viewer on a forensic paper chase, uncovering, layer by layer, the darkest chapters of Lebanese history on walls, in documents, and urban architecture.
Letter to My Sister
Nabila Djahnine, president of the feminist association Thirghri N'tmetout, died in hands of an armed group in Tizi Ouzou (Algeria) in 1995. The Islamists forced women, on pain of death, to wear the hijab or stop working. It was the first time a feminist woman paid with her life. Nabila wrote a letter to her sister Habiba in 1994. This documentary is her answer. In 2006 Habiba comes back to the place to restore her sister’s memory, her point of view, the day of her death and the political moment Algeria was going through at that time.
Screen Recording 2020-11-20 at 1.59.44 PM
My mother and I return to her childhood home, 46 years after she was forced to flee.
Prisoner and Jailer
“Prisoner and Jailer” tells the story of two contrasting Libyans: a key official in the former regime and one of the most prominent figures of the post-revolutionary period in Libya. Through these two characters, we discover the circumstances surrounding one of the most influential events in modern Libyan history: The Abu Salim Prison Massacre.
All is Well on the Border
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This film screening series examines forced disappearance as a political strategy and an enduring lived reality across the SWANA region. Through documentary and essay films, it centers testimony, memory, and visual absence as counterpoints to state violence and historical erasure. Anchored by My Father and Qaddafi (Jihan El-Tahri, Algeria), the series traces disappearance through intimate family histories shaped by authoritarian power. Erased, Ascent of the Invisible (Ghassan Halwani, Lebanon) extends this inquiry through an exploration of urban erasure and visual absence, emphasizing disappearance as an unresolved and ongoing condition. Additional works, including Letter to my Sister (Habiba Djahnine, Algeria) Screen Recording 2020-11-20 at 1.59.44 PM , (Argyro Nicolaou, Cyprus), Prisoner and Jailer, (Muhannad Lamin, Libya), and All Is Well On the Border Front (Akram Zaatari, Lebanon) expand the exploration of memory, absence, and unfinished histories across the region.


OBLIVION is curated by Laila Sharif and is co-presented by ArteEast and BAM. This program is part of the legacy program Unpacking the ArteArchive, which preserves and presents over 20 years of film and video programming by ArteEast.



This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Prisoner and Jailer (السّجين و السّجان)

Prisoner and Jailer tells the story of two contrasting Libyans: a key official in the former regime and one of the most prominent figures of the post-revolutionary period in Libya. Through these two characters, we discover the circumstances surrounding one of the most influential events in modern Libyan history: The Abu Salim Prison Massacre.


About the filmmaker

Muhannad Lamin is a Libyan director, editor, and producer. He graduated with a degree in directing and screenwriting from Tripoli’s Art Institute. His short films have been screened at festivals, including the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, JCC and IDFA.


Lamin worked as a production manager and coordinator on documentaries such as Freedom Fields and After a Revolution. He is also a co-founder of Khayal Productions, a collective focused on creating impactful short documentaries and online series.


In 2023, Muhannad premiered his debut feature documentary, Donga, at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), where it was nominated for the Beeld & Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award for Creative Use of Archive. The film also received a Special Mention in the Best Documentary category at the Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA). Additionally, Donga was nominated for the DOK.horizonte Competition at DOK.fest München in 2024.


He is now developing his first feature fiction film, The Guardian, an adaptation of Ibrahim Al-Koni’s acclaimed novel The Bleeding of the Stone. The project delves into themes of environmental preservation, spirituality, and the delicate balance between humanity and nature, set against the rich backdrop of the Libyan desert.

  • Year
    2019
  • Runtime
    15 minutes
  • Language
    Arabic
  • Country
    Libya
  • Premiere
    Carthage Film Days
  • Genre
    Political thriller/Drama
  • Subtitle Language
    English
  • Director
    Muhannad Lamin
  • Screenwriter
    Muhannad Lamin
  • Producer
    Yasmine Dhoukar / Muhannad Lamin
  • Executive Producer
    Yasmine Dhoukar
  • Filmmaker
    Muhannad Lamin
  • Cast
    Ali Elshol, Eisa Abdelhafiz
  • Cinematographer
    Ikbal Arafa
  • Editor
    Muhannad Lamin
  • Production Design
    Bessem Marzouk
  • Sound Design
    Sami Gharby
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