The Camera Never Cries
Fall Grants 2020 - Development Stage
Abuzar Adam, Elsadig Abdelgayoum / Feature Documentary / Sudan, Qatar / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Creative Documentary, Middle Eastern, Politics, Art/Literature, Human Rights
Synopsis
From the beginning of the film, we land in an intimate space with two friends trying to revisit their memories of the revolution through their extensive collection of footage. While commenting on their different filming approaches, Elsadig and Abuzar begin to recall their first encounter with a camera and how it affected their life choices. The self-isolation of Covid-19 contrasts the images of Khartoum during the revolution of the year before. The calmness of self-isolation is a ripe time for self-reflection and brings the two friends closer to their unresolved questions and traumas of the past year. They interview each other about their personal expectations and disappointments as the story of the revolution unfolds. From January to April 2019, the Sudanese protest was in full swing; people protested peacefully even as violence against them escalated. On April 6, 2019, millions of Sudanese marched through teargas and bullets and occupied the area around the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum. The Albashir regime fell, but a sit-in ensued to ensure the people’s demands were met. After two months, the sit-in was brutally attacked, leaving hundreds dead, and a nation traumatised. While navigating through the footage, Abuzar and Alsadig realise that all the stories they captured are really just reflections of their own story—two artists seeing their dreams, fears and disappointments coming to life through the characters they filmed.
Credits
- Director
- Abuzar Adam, Elsadig Abdelgayoum
- Screenwriter
- Abuzar Adam, Elsadig Abdelgayoum
- Producer
- Alyaa Musa
- Production Company
- Black Balance
About the Director
In 2012, Abuzar Adam graduated from the telecommunication engineering college at the University of Al-Neelain, Khartoum Sudan. His passion for classic photography was encouraged by his father, who used to collect old vintage cameras to document their life in rural Darfur.
Elsadig Abdelgayoum is a Sudanese photographer and filmmaker. He was born and grew up in Omdurman, Sudan. From 2005 - 2008, he studied Multimedia. Elsadig employs filmmaking and photography as tools to tell stories. He is interested in researching and developing further understandings of his own reality through his work.