Roger Anis: The First Stone

"He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." 

Roger Anis is a photojournalist at the Egyptian daily newspaper Al Shorouk, and is based in Cairo. He graduated with a degree in Fine Arts, and was awarded a scholarship for the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, during whch he attended Hemrik Kastenkov's Storytelling For An Online Audience class.

His project is titled The First Stone, inspired by the passage in the Bible in which Jesus confronts the Pharisees over whether an adulterous woman ought to be stoned. 

The project was filmed and photographed in Loi Kroh Road, a well known area in Chiang Mai where bar girls can be seen plying their occupation, providing company (and more) to Western tourists. The story is of Un, a 36 year old bar girl, who agrees to be featured in Roger's project and opens up about her life and her future.

I find it remarkable that Roger was able to gain the trust of Un and others to make this project in such a short time. Filming, photographing and editing this 5 minute movie was made over less than a week...in less than ideal conditions, and under constant pressure. It's a testament to the dedication and perseverance that Roger, and the rest of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop attendees, bring to it...and succeed.

Roger is thinking of smoothing some of the frames in The First Stone, and even translating it to Egyptian Arabic. That would be interesting! I think the title of the project is particularly smart...the perfect title.