Ajyal Film Festival 2023

All Films

Talking About Trees (Al hadith 'an al'ashjar)

Special Screening - Ajyal Film Festival 2019

Suhaib Gasmelbari / Feature Documentary / France, Sudan, Germany, Chad, Qatar / 2019 / 94 min / DCP / In Arabic, English, Russian
Rated: Parental guidance is advised for viewers under the age of 13. Individuals under the age of 13 are not admitted into cinemas unless accompanied by an individual aged 18 or older.

Synopsis

Ibrahim, Suleiman, Manar and Altayeb are founding members of the ‘Sudanese Film Group’. Friends for over four decades, but after years apart due to exile, the quartet of filmmakers are reunited and rekindle their dream of bringing cinema to the masses in their home country of Sudan. From the rubble of their wounded nation’s film industry, and using whatever materials are on hand, the four intrepid friends attempt to restore their country’s cultural history through the power of film.

‘Talking About Trees’ is a genuine labour of love, both for the director Gasmelbari, who clearly has great admiration for the four directors, and also for his subjects whose infectious enthusiasm for cinema is a joy to behold. Inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s quote—“What kind of times are these, when to talk about trees is almost a crime because it implies silence about so many horrors?”—the film is a poignant and thoughtful look at artists forced to come to terms with the fact that their life’s passion for cinema can no longer be expressed or enjoyed where they live.

About the Director

Suhaib Gasmelbari Mustafa was born in 1979 in Sudan, where he lived until the age of 16. He attended Cinema Studies in France at the University Paris VIII and has worked as a freelance cameraman and editor, collaborating with journalists to direct reports for Al Qarra, Al Jazeera and France 24. He has written and directed multiple short films, both fiction and documentary. 'Talking About Trees' is his first feature film. Suhaib Gasmelbari is also a researcher and was able to find precious lost Sudanese films and took part in saving and digitising them through his work.

Credits

Director
Suhaib Gasmelbari
Screenwriter
Suhaib Gasmelbari
Producer
Marie Balducchi
Editor
Nelly Quettier, Gladys Joujou
Executive Producer
Marie Balducchi
Co-Producer
Melanie Andernach, Mahamat Saleh Haroun
Cinematographer
Suhaib Gasmelbari
Sales Company
Wide House
Production Company
AGAT Films & Cie
Sound
ElSadig Kamal, Katharina Von Schroeder
Mixing
Jean-Guy Véran
Cast
Ibrahim Shaddad Suliman Ibrahim Eltayeb Mahdi Manar Al-Hilo Hana Abdelrahman Suliman

Contacts

  • Main Contact

    Marie Balducchi

    Company: 
    AGAT Films & Cie
    Phone: 
    0153363242

  • Production Company

    AGAT Films & CIE

    Company: 
    AGAT Films & CIE

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