Valentin Noujaïm + Space Afrika

Film: Valentin Noujaïm and Space Afrika (Joshua Inyang and Joshua Reid)
Live music: Space Afrika (Joshua Inyang and Joshua Reid)

Opera Omnia, directed by Valentin Noujaïm, was shot on 35mm and 16mm film using surveillance cameras. It unfurls a dreamlike atmosphere carried by the haunting melodies and evocative soundscapes of the Space Afrika duo. Inspired by Dante Alighieri's Inferno, the film follows the night journey of two young black boys through the abandoned industrial spaces of Manchester, taking forgotten souls back to life. The deserted places are haunted by an opera singer (Axelle Fanyo), who lends a ghostly, lyrical presence to this melancholy universe.

Lulled by their voices reciting verses from Dante's Inferno, the film explores industrial landscapes imbued with the memories of vanished workers, often replaced in cities obsessed with transformation and the erasure of the past. As they wander through Manchester's urban labyrinth, the two protagonists' encounters and experiences reveal an inner quest for their identity and place in the world.
Combining live performance, video and sound installation, this immersive audiovisual experience transports viewers into the heart of a sonic and visual odyssey.

Filmed between Manchester and Paris, the world premiere of this live and video performance will take place at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain.

Biographies

Valentin Noujaïm (b. 1991, French-Lebanese) graduated from the Screenwriting Department of La Fémis in Paris and was a guest student at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main. Valentin Noujaïm’s work challenges dominant narratives in society, shedding light on the lives of individuals and communities historically marginalized by systemic discrimination. The fantasized worlds he creates through his films also underline his commitment to explore different formats: 16mm film, archives, digital footage, and special effects. His films have been selected in numerous festivals, including CPH:DOX, Visions du Réel, IFFR, DocLisboa, BAFICI, DokuFest, BlackStar Film Festival and Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur. His work has also been presented in several group exhibitions: Nîmes Triennale (2024), Museo Madre (2024), Magasins Généraux (2023), CNAC Magasin (2022), Salon de Montrouge (2022), Air de Paris Gallery (2022), Exo Exo Gallery (2022), Saatchi Gallery (2021), among others. His works are part of the collections of the CNAP, FRAC Bretagne and Lafayette Anticipations.

Producers, contemporary composers, visual artists, performers and NTS Radio hosts, Space Afrika are pioneers of electronic music encompassing UK Dance, Ambient, Alternative, Trip-hop, Pop, Modern Classical and Experimental. To date, they have released two critically acclaimed albums, Somewhere Decent To Live (2018) and Honest Labour (2021). In spring 2021, Space Afrika stepped into film by releasing Untitled (To Describe You), a collaboration with photographer, filmmaker and poet Tibyan Mahawah Sanoh, creating what has been described as “a living, breathing study of the duo’s Northern working-class Black British reality”. In 2022, the duo was selected as one of The 15 Top Live Acts Of The Year 2022 by Mixmag, performing at world-renowned art institutions and festivals across Europe and North America. Expanding on their work into film and cinema, the duo provided music for Pacific Club, a short-film documentary directed by Valentin Noujaïm.