The return of our Visions shorts program, showcasing outstanding, world-class short films by some of the most talented filmmakers of the day. Filled with diverse stories about youth, discover the stunning Miyazaki-esque animation of Dana Durr as she takes us through a story of loss under occupation, the unique and unlikely reunion of two lovers as told in the Cannes Palme d'Or winning work of Sameh Alaa and the beautiful filmmaking and empowering story that won Suzannah Mirghani over 18 awards in the past year. Peer into the new frontiers of storytelling from throughout the Arab World.
This programs includes the following films:
Mariam (Palestine) dir. Dana Durr
I'm Afraid to Forget Your Face (Egypt) dir. Sameh Alaa
The Departure (Morocco) dir. Saïd Hamich
The Girls Who Burned the Night (Saudi Arabia) dir. Sara Mesfer
Trumpets in the Sky (Lebanon, Palestine) dir. Rakan Mayasi
Al-Sit (Sudan) dir. Suzannah Mirghani
In a cotton-farming village in Sudan, 15-year-old Nafisa has a crush on Babiker, but her parents have arranged her marriage to Nadir, a young Sudanese businessman living abroad. Nafisa’s grandmother Al-Sit, the powerful village matriarch, has her own plans for Nafisa’s future. But can Nafisa choose for herself?
About the filmmaker:
Suzannah Mirghani is a writer, researcher, and independent filmmaker. She is a media studies and museum studies graduate. Mixed-race Sudanese and Russian, she is interested in stories about the complexity of identity. Suzannah is the writer, director, and producer of AL-SIT (2020, Sudan/Qatar), which won several international awards, including three Academy Award qualifying prizes in 2021: Best of Fest at LA Shorts; Grand Prix at Tampere Film Festival; and Best Short Film at BronzeLens. Other awards include the Canal+ Award at Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival; Best Short Film at Zanzibar Film Festival; and Jury Award at Busan Short Film Festival. Her latest short is the experimental VIRTUAL VOICE (2021), which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival. Suzannah is working on her first feature COTTON QUEEN, a magical realist tale set in the cotton fields of Sudan.
- Year2020
- Runtime20 minutes
- LanguageArabic
- CountrySudan, Qatar
- DirectorSuzannah Mirghani
- ScreenwriterSuzannah Mirghani
- ProducerSuzannah Mirghani, Eiman Mirghani
- CastMihad Murtada, Rabeha Mahmoud, Mohammed Magdi, Haram Basher, Alsir Mahjoub, Murtada Eltayeb, Fatma Farid, Talaat Farid
- CinematographerKhalid Awad
- EditorAbdelrahim Kattab, Suzannah Mirghani
- Sound DesignFalah Hannoun
The return of our Visions shorts program, showcasing outstanding, world-class short films by some of the most talented filmmakers of the day. Filled with diverse stories about youth, discover the stunning Miyazaki-esque animation of Dana Durr as she takes us through a story of loss under occupation, the unique and unlikely reunion of two lovers as told in the Cannes Palme d'Or winning work of Sameh Alaa and the beautiful filmmaking and empowering story that won Suzannah Mirghani over 18 awards in the past year. Peer into the new frontiers of storytelling from throughout the Arab World.
This programs includes the following films:
Mariam (Palestine) dir. Dana Durr
I'm Afraid to Forget Your Face (Egypt) dir. Sameh Alaa
The Departure (Morocco) dir. Saïd Hamich
The Girls Who Burned the Night (Saudi Arabia) dir. Sara Mesfer
Trumpets in the Sky (Lebanon, Palestine) dir. Rakan Mayasi
Al-Sit (Sudan) dir. Suzannah Mirghani
In a cotton-farming village in Sudan, 15-year-old Nafisa has a crush on Babiker, but her parents have arranged her marriage to Nadir, a young Sudanese businessman living abroad. Nafisa’s grandmother Al-Sit, the powerful village matriarch, has her own plans for Nafisa’s future. But can Nafisa choose for herself?
About the filmmaker:
Suzannah Mirghani is a writer, researcher, and independent filmmaker. She is a media studies and museum studies graduate. Mixed-race Sudanese and Russian, she is interested in stories about the complexity of identity. Suzannah is the writer, director, and producer of AL-SIT (2020, Sudan/Qatar), which won several international awards, including three Academy Award qualifying prizes in 2021: Best of Fest at LA Shorts; Grand Prix at Tampere Film Festival; and Best Short Film at BronzeLens. Other awards include the Canal+ Award at Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival; Best Short Film at Zanzibar Film Festival; and Jury Award at Busan Short Film Festival. Her latest short is the experimental VIRTUAL VOICE (2021), which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival. Suzannah is working on her first feature COTTON QUEEN, a magical realist tale set in the cotton fields of Sudan.
- Year2020
- Runtime20 minutes
- LanguageArabic
- CountrySudan, Qatar
- DirectorSuzannah Mirghani
- ScreenwriterSuzannah Mirghani
- ProducerSuzannah Mirghani, Eiman Mirghani
- CastMihad Murtada, Rabeha Mahmoud, Mohammed Magdi, Haram Basher, Alsir Mahjoub, Murtada Eltayeb, Fatma Farid, Talaat Farid
- CinematographerKhalid Awad
- EditorAbdelrahim Kattab, Suzannah Mirghani
- Sound DesignFalah Hannoun