Of Sheep and Men
Fall Grant 2015 - Production Stage
Karim Sayad / Feature Documentary / Algeria, Switzerland, Qatar / 2017 / 80 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Politics, Youth, Creative Documentary
Synopsis
Bab el Oued, Algiers, 2016. Men and sheep. Sixteen-year-old Habib dreams of becoming a veterinarian. He has not yet been able to study for his hoped-for profession, but he has bought a sheep named El Bouq. His hope? Training the animal to become a fighting champion. Meanwhile, 42-year-old Samir no longer has any dreams, other than to make enough money by selling sheep that he can survive the hardships of daily life. With the Eid celebration coming closer, Samir has a unique opportunity to maximise his profits, as everyone in the country will be buying sheep for slaughter. But for Habib, it’s another story… Will El Bouq become a champion ? Or will he face a more tragic destiny?
Credits
- Director
- Karim Sayad
- Producer
- Joëlle Bertossa
- Production Company
- Close Up Films
- Production Company
- Close Up Films
About the Director
Born in 1984 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Karim Sayad has both Swiss and Algerian citizenship. After earning a Master’s degree in International Relations from Geneva’s IHEID, he directed his first short documentary, ‘Babor Casanova’ (2015). The film received awards at Doclisboa, Festival dei Popoli, and Clermont-Ferrand. His first feature, ‘Of Sheep and Men’ (2017), won the 2018 Prix de Soleure at TIFF DOCS, where ‘My English Cousin’ also premiered.
Awards and Festival History
Festivals
TIFF 2017, DOCS (WP)
Contacts
-
Director
Karim Sayad
- Company:
- close up films
- Email:
- karim.sayad@graduateinstitute.ch
-
Main Contact
Joëlle Bertossa
- Company:
- Close Up Films
- Email:
- joelle@closeupfilms.ch