November 17, 2024
LXVIII — Otman Qrita
Otman Qrita is a French-Moroccan photographer and director.

Below are Otman’s selects for influential works:

Movies
La Collectionneuse by Éric Rohmer
France
1967

I love Rohmer’s simplicity; everything is in the dialogue. The image can stay the same for several minutes. The roles are made for the actors, and everything feels very real. These are real people, and the stories are very ordinary.

Documentary Short
The Green Line by Francis Alÿs
Jerusalem
2004

This work is the synthesis of everything I love in visual storytelling. A simple idea, easy to execute, with a lot of meaning and likely done with few resources.

Music Video
‘Pour ceux’ Mafia K’1 Fry by Kourtrajmé
France
2003

One of the first music videos made by Kourtrajmé, at a time when everyone wanted high-budget music videos. This DV-shot video etched the song in our minds forever. Even when I just hear the music, the images come back to me.

Movies
Un Chien Andalou by Luis Buñuel
France
1929

The highest level of surrealism; this film doesn’t even seem to be made to please. It’s a blend of ideas around a romantic relationship. The rest, no one could have predicted. There’s nothing rational; everything is designed to provoke. Two people in 1929 dared to make this film.

Campaign
‘Mr. Boombastic’ Levi’s by Deiniol Morris & Michael Mort
United Kingdom
1995

The first time I saw stop motion—and then the music! Honestly, at first, I was scared of this ad, and it aired so much during the summer when I was little that I ended up watching it like a cartoon.

Campaign
‘The Mission’ Nike by Tarsem Singh
United Kingdom
2000

As a huge football fan, this ad literally changed me. After that, my brother and I only wanted to wear Nike. We tried to recreate the moves at home, much to the dismay of our parents and their home decor.

PEOPLE IN THIS ARTICLE
Éric Rohmer
Featured
Francis Alÿs
Featured
Kourtrajmé
Featured