A Magical Substance Flows into Me
![](/media/filmstills/2016/forum/201606706_1_RWD_1380.jpg)
Courtesy of the artist
![](/media/filmstills/2016/forum/201606706_1_RWD_1380.jpg)
A Magical Substance Flows into Me by Jumana Manna
PSE/DEU/GBR 2016, Forum
Courtesy of the artist
![](/media/filmstills/2016/forum/201606706_2_RWD_1380.jpg)
A Magical Substance Flows into Me by Jumana Manna
PSE/DEU/GBR 2016, Forum
Courtesy of the artist
![](/media/filmstills/2016/forum/201606706_3_RWD_1380.jpg)
A Magical Substance Flows into Me by Jumana Manna
PSE/DEU/GBR 2016, Forum
Courtesy of the artist
![](/media/filmstills/2016/forum/201606706_7_RWD_1380.jpg)
Jumana Manna
A Magical Substance Flows into Me by Jumana Manna
PSE/DEU/GBR 2016, Forum
© Michel Koczy
Robert Lachmann was a German-Jewish ethnomusicologist. In the 1930s, his radio show "Oriental Music" explored the musical traditions of Palestine and included regular live performances by musicians from different ethnic and religious groups.
Inspired by Lachmann’s musicological studies, Palestinian 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 Moroccan, Kurdish, or Yemenite Jews, by Samaritans, members of the urban and rural Palestinian communities, Bedouins and Coptic Christians?
When a true fascination for history meets the sounds of the rababa, the saz, the oud 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 you can’t help but dance along.
Inspired by Lachmann’s musicological studies, Palestinian 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 Moroccan, Kurdish, or Yemenite Jews, by Samaritans, members of the urban and rural Palestinian communities, Bedouins and Coptic Christians?
When a true fascination for history meets the sounds of the rababa, the saz, the oud 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 you can’t help but dance along.
Additional information
![](/media/bilder/2016/boulevard_2016/17_02/170216_dl_2967_ORG.jpg)
Jumana Manna
The director during Q&A.
A Magical Substance Flows into Me · Forum · Feb 17, 2016
A Magical Substance Flows into Me
Film Excerpt