In Praise of Slowness

Set in modern-day Tangier, In Praise of Slowness follows the laborious journey of a man collecting empty bottles, which he later sells to bleach vendors that roam the labyrinthic streets of the old city. In the face of the global economic and technological forces reshaping the city of Tangier, the profession of the bleach vendors seems to be on the verge of disappearing, yet this film portrait of their supply chain – and notably their insistent chanting – conveys acoustic and visual images of endurance. In Praise of Slowness speaks to the accelerated urbanization and industrialization of Tangier, but also attests to how locally situated choreographies of slowness articulate modes of resistance to the speed of capitalism.

Hicham Gardaf works across photography, film, and installation, using these media as vehicles to engage people in critical conversations with their immediate environment. A large part of Gardaf’s practice looks into transformations of contemporary landscapes in relation to time, space, and politics of place. He is drawn to the social spaces we inhabit, such as buildings, streets, and cities; and researches practices we apply to these places by reshaping, appropriating, and controlling them.

Production Hicham Gardaf. Production companies Hicham Gardaf (London, United Kingdom), Fondazione MAST (Bologna, Italy). Director Hicham Gardaf. Screenplay Hicham Gardaf. Cinematography Hicham Gardaf. Editing Hicham Gardaf. Sound design Hannan Jones. Sound Ilyass Sefrioui. With Khalid Mousmi, Abdellah Ben Messaoud, Fatima Benabbou.

Films: 2022: F(I/U)GUE (video installation, 8 min.), The Storyteller (16 min.). 2023: In Praise of Slowness.