ZEKI YAHYA
Experimental Film Director, Writer & Creative Director.
Focusing on philosophical, dystopian, and avant-garde cinema.
THE CINEMATIC EXCAVATION: A DIRECTOR'S MANIFESTO
Cinema, for me, is not merely a medium for storytelling; it is an act of spiritual and philosophical excavation. It is the pursuit of visualizing the unmanifested, capturing the silent struggles of existence before they take form.
My cinematic inquiry is deeply rooted in the search for the ontology of truth. Drawing upon the profound existential weight of Nietzschean philosophy and the meditative, melancholic stillness of the Tarkovskian tradition, I approach the screen not as a canvas, but as a mirror reflecting the ruins of the modern soul.
In my continuous journey—from dissecting the mechanics of reality in The Illusion Industry to exploring post-industrial alienation in The Great City—I have always sought to push the boundaries of visual expression. Today, we stand at the precipice of a new frontier: the synthetic image.
With my latest work, Archaeology of Unborn Faces, I delve into the "latent space" of Artificial Intelligence. I do not view algorithms simply as tools, but as a "digital purgatory" where memories that never existed and identities yet to be born agonizingly struggle for manifestation. Through a somber, monochromatic lens and the stark power of silent cinema, I aim to unearth these unborn faces, questioning what it means to be human in an era where machines can dream of human sorrow.
I make films to document the quiet collapse and the silent resurrections of the human spirit. My work is an invitation to look into the abyss, not with fear, but with the profound desire to understand the architecture of our own illusions.
CASE 0: TOMORROW (2026)
A cinematic prosecution of time. Moving beyond conventional narrative, this project materializes the bureaucratic deferral of existence—a visual translation of Kafkaesque nightmare and the Nietzschean dread of the modern industrial soul. By stripping the narrative of dialogue and musical comfort, the viewer is forced to physically endure the erosion of waiting, transforming the screen into an existential purgatory.
ARCHAEOLOGY OF UNBORN FACES (2026)
A profound cinematic excavation of the AI "Latent Space." Moving beyond the critique of digital deception, this project investigates the very ontology of synthetic existence. Adopting Tarkovsky’s philosophy of sculpting in time, the agonizingly slow takes and heavy silence force the viewer to endure the physical weight of time inside a machine that does not comprehend mortality. The flawless faces that emerge are not reflections of reality, but a Baudrillardian "hyperreality" concealing the absence of an origin.
THE GREAT CITY (2026)
Inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical masterpiece, "Thus Spoke Zarathustra," this avant-garde project serves as a grim cinematic mirror to the contemporary metropolis. It visually dissects the chilling prophecy of the "Last Man"—the ultimate manifestation of spiritual nihilism and cultural decay within the modern crowd. Through an uncompromising experimental lens, the film strips away the romanticism of urban progress to expose the hollow essence of a society trapped in mechanical repetition.
THE ILLUSION INDUSTRY (2026)
An intense cinematic critique of hyperreality and digital deception. This project explores the blurring lines between authentic human existence and simulated realities, questioning the manufactured narratives that dominate our visual culture. Stripped of superficial cinematic conventions, the film challenges the viewer to dissect the ontology of the image and the systematic production of illusion in the modern world.