Nom à la mer

Nom à la mer is an experimental film that captures the passage of time through a single location in Nijar, Spain. Filmmaker Safaa Fathy recorded reflections on the surface of Isabel Esteva's water basin—used to irrigate the surrounding land—at one-second intervals every half hour, from dawn to dusk, over many days. The resulting images reveal how light and shadow transform across hours. Jacques Derrida's voice accompanies the visuals, reciting a poem Fathy wrote and translated from Arabic. The film exists in the space between sound and image, interior and exterior, creating a meditative exploration of how time leaves its mark on seemingly static scenes.