Talking about Trees

Berlin Int'l FF (2019) – Panorama Audience Award: Documentary Film

Istanbul Int'l FF (2019) – FIPRESCI Prize and Special Prize of the Jury

Istanbul Int'l FF (2019) – Nominee: Golden Tulip

Berlin Int'l FF (2019) – Glashütte Original: Documentary Award

Millennium Docs Against Gravity (2019) – Nominee: Grand Prix Bank Millenium Award

Charming and sad in equal measure is this paean to the love of cinema as two of the one-time luminaries of Sudanese cinema – Ibrahim Shaddad, Suleiman Mohamed and their cineaste friends Suliman Enour and Eltayeb Mahdi – attempt to revive a cinema in a country where movies have been banned for years. The two filmmakers, who studied in Moscow and whose early work received great praise, hit a stumbling block when political changes in the Sudan led to cinema’s condemnation. From 1989 they have headed the Sudanese Film Centre, trying to keep the flame burning. Here they take the fight further and try to navigate their way through bureaucracy and censorship to hold a screening in an enormous outdoor cinema. The fight is doomed but their spirit is triumphant. A gorgeous experience for those who travel in the projector’s beam.

SA Premiere African Feature
Cape Town
Labia2
Fri 7 June / 6.30pm
Labia3
Wed 12 June / 6.30pm
Johannesburg
Bio
Mon 10 June / 8.45pm
Bio
Thu 13 June / 7pm
Director(s):
Suhaib Gasmelbari
Country:
France, Sudan, Chad
Year:
2019
Duration:
90 minutes
Language(s):
Arabic