FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, November 14, 2024

New York, New York — Art21 proudly announces the release of a new film, Salah Elmur: Fixing Time, which will have its world premiere at DOC NYC on Monday, November 18. The film will make its digital debut on Wednesday, December 4, at 12:00 p.m. ET on Art21.org and YouTube. This final 2024 release from Art21’s Extended Play series captures Elmur in his Cairo studio, where he paints dream-like images of life in Khartoum, Sudan, drawing on cherished memories from the “boxes in his mind.”

Watch the trailer.

Referencing photographs found in his father’s archive or purchased from dealers in Cairo, Elmur’s surreal paintings combine the documentary and the subjective, capturing the essence of Khartoum. “Ninety percent of my art comes out of Sudan,” says the artist. “I remember the dams, the swimmers, the electricity towers, lovers sitting by the river, horses passing. I feel nostalgia for my past.” Today, Elmur is unable to return to Khartoum due to political conflict, censorship, and war.

This documentary short follows the artist’s journey to the past through his paintings, drawing from his vast photographic archive to paint idyllic images of his childhood spent alongside the Blue Nile contrasted with images of imprisonment and violence that emerge from Sudan today.

“Salah immortalizes a people now caught in turmoil, generating a poignant act of resistance against the forces of time and war,” says Matteo Lonardi, director of the film. “Through this film, I hope to honor Salah’s vision, capturing the beauty with which he renders history, both personal and collective.”

The film will have its world premiere at DOC NYC as part of the Shorts program “Far From Home” on Monday, November 18, at IFC Center, and again on Tuesday, November 19, at Village East by Angelika. Both screenings will include a Q&A with director Matteo Lonardi. Tickets and more information are available on the DOC NYC website: Salah Elmur: Fixing Time – DOC NYC.

Tune in to the digital premiere of “Salah Elmur: Fixing Time” on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. ET at Art21.org and on Art21’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/art21org. To learn more, email Art21 Associate Director of Communications, Hannah DeGarmo, at [email protected].

About Extended Play

Art21’s Extended Play digital series provides unmediated, behind-the-scenes access to today’s leading artists. Through process-revealing footage and intimate interviews, these curatorially-driven films chronicle a diverse scale of international projects, ranging from major commissions to exploratory sketches. Produced in close collaboration with artists, Extended Play uncovers provocative ideas, timely cultural influences, and biographical anecdotes that inspire the artists featured throughout the series.

Extended Play is presented by the Marina Kellen French Foundation, with support from John and Deborah Beckmann and Jacob Kotzubei. Additional support is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Every Page Foundation, the Henry Nias Foundation, and individual contributors.

About Art21

Art21 is the world’s leading source to learn directly from the artists of our time. A nonprofit organization, the mission of Art21 is to educate and expand access to contemporary art, producing documentary films, resources, and public programs. Learn more at Art21.org.

Press Contact

Hannah DeGarmo
Associate Director of Communications, Art21
[email protected]