Neil Beloufa

As monuments continue to be toppled, relocated and reassessed all over the world, this documentary takes us to Dubai, Kuwait City, Abu Dhabi and Sanaa, questioning what defines monuments -what they are and what they could become, while retracing their non-linear biographical trajectories. In these cities, they have been virtually understudied and their stories remain invisible. Monumenting retraces them as we follow how participants to the research process engage in guessing rather than asserting what they know. Without noticing it, we are invited into a research journey in which diverse voices offer an unusual approach to cities in the Arabian Peninsula and a kaleidoscopic mapping of monuments and memory.

In an imaginary Los Angeles, a bunch of cow-boys, a group of activists, three hippies, four teenagers and a few gangsters are waiting for a major event that is supposed to happen tonight. Meanwhile, they talk about their values, dreams, ideal lovers, and about how politics affect their lives.

The mood is heated. Demonstrations are taking place across France, also in front of the Paris hotel where an Italian named Giorgio is booking the bridal suite for him and his boyfriend Antonio. Hotel manager Diana doesn’t trust them and calls the police to get rid of the odd couple. Italians? Homosexuals? Criminals? In the charged atmosphere of the Hotel Occidental, little is needed for initial suspicions to be aroused.