The Uprising

This documentary, composed entirely of videos recorded by citizens and residents of Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, offers a view of the Arab revolutions from within. The Uprising does not aim to recount events in chronological order however; instead, it seeks to construct an imaginary pan-Arab uprising on screen—capturing a fragile, impulsive, and unrepeatable moment. As Snowdon notes, “the smartphone is less an extension of the eye than of the arm—a tool used not only to record, but also to act.”