COTTONOPOLIS 2025

Cottonopolis 
Khaled Hafez, 2025
5 minutes 29 seconds
AI Computer-generated imagery and sound

Cottonopolis is a 5-minute film created in AI in 2025, dwelling on the history of modern Egypt during the colonial period in the first half of the 20th century, and the mobility of Egyptian cotton from the field of Egypt to the mills of Great Britain during and between World Wars I and II, through the eyes of the grandson of Hafez Donia, a resistance figure and a separatist, considered a hero in the North Delta region of Egypt in the year 1919 and after. 
The work is part of a larger trans-media trans-disciplinary project entitled Illustrated History of the Mundane: Dwelling Histories, where my very own personal family history as the grandson of Hafez Donia intertwines with histories of the two monarchies of Egypt and Britain during a particular moment in time. The project comprises mummified sculptural elements, limited edition six archival silk-screen 80x60 cm illustrated family photographs, site-specific hanging carpets, as well as collage works on the walls. 
The entire History of the Mundane: Dwelling Histories project is commissioned by the Imperial War Museums, UK for the permanent collection of the Harris Museum, Preston, UK.