Roxy Rezvany's newest film “Wifi Rider” is a short documentary portrait of Shukri Lawrence, a young Palestinian artist and fashion designer who is at the vanguard of contemporary Middle Eastern fashion, with his collective Trashy Clothing. Though living in Jordan, Shukri feels proud of his Palestinian identity, something he and his collective spread through their fashion brand.Â
“WiFi Rider” is Screening at London Palestine Film Festival
Like any good documentary, Reznavy's short manages to feel both highly personal and specific; after all, it is a profile of a young Palestinian artist and designer, yet speak about universal themes such as identity and Western cultural hegemony. Through Shukri's narration, much of which feels as if coming from diaries rather than interviews, the director shows us the metamorphosis of a young person who does not belong to the mold of what an Arabic person should be. A mold, imposed by the Western discourse and as such, feels out of place in his culture. Because of that lack of belonging, Shukri wants to go to France, or rather a France of his dreams, where he thinks he will finally be able to be himself. That is, until he finds the connecting power of the Internet, a tool that connects him with like-minded Palestinian expats and helps him both launch his clothing brand and more importantly, help him accept, embrace even, his cultural identity.Â
Shukri's growth as a person and a Palestinian is made possible by the disruptive power of the social media. This is a medium that helps him not only find artists like Lady Gaga and Kesha, which help him start finding his artistic identity, which he does through the Instagram profile Wifi Rider, but also connect with like-minded young Palestinians who feel out of place in society. With them, he creates the lo-fi clothing brand Trashy Clothing and through it, manages to show a different face of Palestinian culture. More importantly, social media opens Shukri's eyes to the beauty and depth of Arabic culture, showing the ability of this medium to be both a vehicle for globalization but also for the spread of grassroots movements and the opening of the eyes of young people from different parts of the world to the beauty and complexity of their own cultures.
“Wifi Rider” is not only intellectually pleasing for the viewer, but aesthetically too. The short is a visual and aural beauty to behold. The camerawork by Isaac Eastgate and Jaime Ackroyd is unobtrusive and has a homemade feel to it. Blending actual shots from Shukri's early years with ones of him doing everyday stuff, we feel closer to the subject of the documentary. This is helped by the grainy texture of the visuals, most of which are decided into warm pastel colors, furthering the sense of familiarity with the subject. Matt Huxley's warm shimmering synths that just slightly remind of Daniel Lopatin's work further strengthen the feeling of familiarity with Shukri. Â
Shot in a way reminiscent of a home video and narrated by film's subject, Roxy Rezvany's newest effort is a beautiful and poignant portrait of a young man who finds his identity, cultural belonging, and artistic voice and uses them to show a different face of Palestinian culture.
