Lina Saneh tells the story of her dream to her mother who lies in bed, the mother’s expressive face being filmed throughout.  This head shot of the listener interacting with the out of shot storyteller provides an emotional narrative to the dream.  Saneh’s dream builds in detail as the 45 minute film progresses.  Her original visit to an empty city which allows tourists to visit only during the day time is with her sister, the second visit is with her friends.  She chooses to leave the well-preserved ruins of this ancient colonial style city as night falls because that is when the phantoms return.  The people who were removed from the city return in spirit to haunt it at night.  The joy of this video installation is in the way the mother teases the details out of her daughter then celebrates the unique sight Saneh has seen in her dream.  The mother is hungry for a better story than the details first offered and the daughter uses her considerable skills as an actress to colour in the detail.  The irresistible question is whether the Artist has genuinely had the dream or not and as the mother switches between speaking in French and Arabic my opinion wavers but I never truly decide.

 

How well the mother knows the inner workings of a city is a surprise.  Suddenly her relaxed face is providing telling details of how she is familiar with the way inhabitants are organised in conducting their lives around the city.  The mother is surprised the hotels are open but no one can stay and that the ruins of the city are well-preserved so the passage around the place is easy.  As the mother engages and contributes to the storytelling process her face shows wisdom, experience and beauty.  ‘I had a dream, Mom’ documents the dynamics of the mother and daughter relationship.  The mother is cajoling the daughter to get to the point but credits her with being such a good actress. Lina Saneh, the Artist and daughter does not allow her subject to take a cigarette break as the filming continues.