Soundtracks from films all over the world. Ya Sharr Mout (Switzerland/Lebanon, 2007).
The meaning of Ya Sharr Mout depends on its pronunciation. It could mean: "oh, evil, die" or "son of a bitch". Mahmoud Turkmani was called this by certain Arab musicologists because he tried to renew classical Arab music. The Arabic script is very suitable for word games. Turkmani discovered that when words were written backwards, it resulted in very interesting other words such as contrasts and antonyms. Subtly, he criticizes the Arab stagnation and rigidity. He has also applied inversions and retrogrades in his compositions. The Swiss VJ Michael Spahr animated the words and paired it with fitting images.
The documentary Ya Sharr Mout, directed by the Swiss Sabina Gisiger, is about the establishment of the audiovisual project. A great part of the film is taken up by the interesting life of Mahmoud Turkmani himself. Turkmani tells about the free life before the civil war and about his young career as a guitar player, among other things. At a later age he studied at the conservatory of Russia and moved to Switzerland. The film is shown on Swiss TV but also enclosed with the CD and released as a package on Enja Records.
SCHEDULE
The coming weekend (14 and 15 February), the Himalaya Filmfestival again takes place at De Griffioen, the cultural centre of the VU University of Amsterdam. Lectures and documentaries are shown that paint a beautiful and realistic picture of life on the Himalaya.
