The Fayum Portraits: Funerary Painting of Roman Egypt
15m

This enigmatic short film presents fifty Egyptian funerary portraits from the region of Fayum. Painted during Roman rule between 100 and 300 A.D., these striking, psychological works were executed in encaustic while their subjects were alive and later used to cover their faces after mummification. Narration includes excerpts from late Hellenistic texts including religious works and first-hand accounts from the dwellers of Fayum themselves, along with commentary from the art historian Richard Brilliant.
Recommendations
view all
The Love Witch

Mifune: The Last Samurai

Land of the Pharaohs

Unknown: The Lost Pyramid

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy

Titus

After.Life

Joseph: King of Dreams

Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind

Hamnet

The Loved One

Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb

Zelig

Bernie

Eulogy

What Dreams May Come

King of Kings

Things We Lost in the Fire

Ghost Town

Burke & Hare