Alia Syed: Eating Grass
Alia Syed (b. 1964) is an experimental filmmaker whose work explores issues of identity, representation, and intercultural communication through storytelling and language.
Filmed in Karachi, Lahore, and London, Eating Grass comprises five overlapping narratives, each representing different emotional states experienced throughout the day that are marked by the Muslim tradition of five daily prayers. Eating Grass captures the ebb and flow of urban dwellers as they move between the bustling streets and marketplaces and quiet interior spaces from morning to night. A layered soundtrack mixed with passages of Syed's prose, recited alternately in English and Urdu, plays over this landscape, adding yet another narrative dimension.
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Cinematography: Noski Deville, Farjad Nabi, Alia Syed
Camera Assistance: Emily Richardson, Sam Adam, Pete Baldwin, Emma Bailey, Shalalae Jamil, Shahid Karim
Translation: Syed Ali Ahmed, Nasood Nabi, Farooq Saleem
Voice Over: Maryam Rehman
Optical Printing: Genista Dunham, David Leister
Editing Assistance: Genista Dunham, Tanya Syed, Sheena Macrae
Produced by: Alia Syed, Tanya Syed, Maheen Zia
Sound Recording: Farjad Nabi, Maheen Zia
Dubbing Mixer: Chris Trussler
Kathak Dancer: Priya Pawar
Laboratory: Soho Images, Len Thornton
Film Stock: Kodak Eastman
Eating Grass was originally produced with funds provided from Film London and Arts Council England.
With Special Thanks to: Tony Curran, Maggie Ellis, Sama Fabian, Bukhat Khalid, Laraib Khalid, Nighat Khalid, Badarul Syed Hassan, Salma Hassan, H E Abdul Khader Jaffer, David Leister, Matteela, Fakir Mohammed, Maria Fakir Mohammed, Quratulain Fakir Mohammed, Rehana Fakir Mohammed, Rizwaan Fakir Mohammed, Huma Mulji, Saeeda Sharif, Abdul Nasser, Sharif Nabila Nasser, Lee Rogan, Julie Romain, Alia Saleem, Rif Sharif, Humera Syed, Giilane Tawadros, Marie-Thais, Len Thornton, Deepak Talwar, Talwar Gallery, Eddy Vajarakitipongse, Mathew Walter, Sharif Khalid Yaqoob, and Mazhar Zaidi.
Photo: Alia Syed (Wales, b. 1964), Stills from Eating Grass, 2003, 16mm film, transferred to HD DVD, Sound, 22:56 min. Photos courtesy of the artist and Talwar Gallery, New York/New Delhi.
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