Sou’oud –
Mahraganat From Street to Stage
A film by Nataliya Nikolska
In “صعود” (Ascent), dancer and choreographer Islam Elarabi takes us on a personal journey of rediscovery — reclaiming Mahraganat, a dance and music culture often dismissed as “unartistic.” Initially drawn to contemporary dance for its institutional validation after facing dismissal for dancing Mahraganat, the artist questions what counts as “art” and who gets to decide it.
Protagonist: Islam Elarabi
Director, editor, camera: Nataliya Nikolska
Title design: Aya Bendary
Original Music: Walad
Cairo, Prague, Berlin 2025
Forest Walk
A solitary walk through a forest, experienced from a first-person perspective. Subtle shifts in perception begin to unsettle the seemingly quiet surroundings.
Director, Editor & Sound design: Nataliya Nikolska
Protagonist: Giulia D'addato
Cinematography: Gabriel D. Pfenning
Location: Grunewald, Döbritzer Heide
Berlin 2026
A Morning Routine
Sometimes you make a Morning Routine to take control over your life, but what if the morning routing takes control over you?
Director & Sound Design: Nataliya Nikolska
Visual: Ahmed Fathy
Egypt, Germany 2023
The Swim Team
A short film created by Nataliya Nikolska and Carolin Martin.
The short film is based on a short story written by Miranda July (2007) in which a young lady is teaching three elderly people how to swim. As there is no swimming place nearby, they have their lessons in the kitchen.
Swimmers: C. Martin; N. Nikolska; Heiko; P. Puzlijaj.
Voice: C. Martin.
Concept, Sound and edit: N. Nikolska
Voice: C. Martin.
Concept, Sound and edit: N. Nikolska
Berlin 2019
