A Magical Substance Flows into Me

Robert Lachmann was a German-Jewish ethnomusicologist. In the 1930s, his radio show "Oriental Music" explored the musical traditions of the Palestine region and included regular live performances by musicians from different ethnic and religious groups.

Inspired by Lachmann's musicological studies, Palestinian-Israeli artist Jumana Manna travels through Israel and the Palestinian territories of today with recordings from the programme. What do these songs sound like now when performed by Samaritans, Bedouins, by Moroccan, Kurdish, or Yemenite Jews?

When a true fascination for history meets the sounds of the ribab, the saz, the oud, the darbuka and tin cans, a cultural diversity emerges that subverts the distinction between "Arab" and "Jewish". There are no national borders here, only different kitchens where people make music together – with their guests, while cooking, while someone makes the coffee. Until the music becomes so infectious that the neighbours come over and start dancing along.

Source: 66. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)