The many disparate short videos produced by Abounaddara often call to mind the postulates of Dziga Vertov for what he called ‘Kino-Eye’ and ‘Kino-Pravda’ (Michelson 1984, pp. 14-21). The observational videos such as Just Do It (2016), The Butcher of Aleppo (2016), or And Yet it Moves (2016) register everyday situations or activities of citizens without any visible involvement of the film-maker. In his writings and manifestos, Vertov calls for a new ‘factory of f ilm footage in which life, passing through the camera lens, does not vanish forever, leaving no trace, but does, on the contrary, leave a trace, precise and inimitable’ (Michelson 1984, p. 45). Registering life as it is implies that scripts, costumes, and play-acting should be abandoned. Life should be ‘caught unawares’, without any pretence or masquerade (Michelson 1984, p. 41). Cinema becomes a prosthesis of the human eye, observing the chance occurrences it encounters.
