In this series of short films, women take the center stage. Through documentary and narrative films from countries like Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia, the women depicted in each film make space for their needs, desires, and lives.
On an engagement night, a denied request pushes two sisters to their edge. Salsabel, a 13-year-old Saudi girl who fights to go to the grocery shop in a city where it is socially unacceptable, experiences hardship in her relationship with her older sister Wasan, who fears the night's darkness and refuses to go. Later that day, the two sisters find a way to fulfill their desires by burning the night.
Festivals and Awards
Special Mention Award, Palm Spring International ShortFest, USA, 2021 The Jury Special Honorable Mention, Cairo International Film Festival, Egypt, 2020
Beirut International Women’s Film Festival, Lebanon, 2020
Toronto Arab Film Festival, Canada, 2021
About the filmmaker
Sara Mesfer is a Saudi Director based in Saudi Arabia. She has a Bachelor's degree in Cinematic Art from Effat University. Mesfer has explored cinema and filmmaking through her studies, and in 2016, she joined forces with a group of independent filmmakers in Saudi Arabia and started making short and feature films that vary in story, style, and character development. She also worked as an assistant director for commercials and music videos and on television shows as a second assistant director and script supervisor. The first short film she produced Sadeya Left Sultan (2018) won the Jury Prize at Saudi Film Festival. In 2019, she wrote and produced the short film Quareer, Chapter Three as part of Quareer, a collective feature film, which highlights five different stages of a woman's life in Saudi Arabia. In addition to filmmaking, Mesfer was part of the writing team for the first immersive theatre in Saudi Arabia Bait Al Dahaleesi, 2019, and she participated in the production, playing the role of Assistant Director. Her short film The Girls who Burned The Night (2019), has screened at numerous festivals and won multiple awards.
- Year2019
- Runtime24 minutes
- LanguageArabic
- CountrySaudi Arabia
- PremiereMinnesota
- DirectorSara Mesfer
- ScreenwriterSara Mesfer
- ProducerJawaher Alamri
- CastJana Gomri, Haya Maraabi, Zain
In this series of short films, women take the center stage. Through documentary and narrative films from countries like Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia, the women depicted in each film make space for their needs, desires, and lives.
On an engagement night, a denied request pushes two sisters to their edge. Salsabel, a 13-year-old Saudi girl who fights to go to the grocery shop in a city where it is socially unacceptable, experiences hardship in her relationship with her older sister Wasan, who fears the night's darkness and refuses to go. Later that day, the two sisters find a way to fulfill their desires by burning the night.
Festivals and Awards
Special Mention Award, Palm Spring International ShortFest, USA, 2021 The Jury Special Honorable Mention, Cairo International Film Festival, Egypt, 2020
Beirut International Women’s Film Festival, Lebanon, 2020
Toronto Arab Film Festival, Canada, 2021
About the filmmaker
Sara Mesfer is a Saudi Director based in Saudi Arabia. She has a Bachelor's degree in Cinematic Art from Effat University. Mesfer has explored cinema and filmmaking through her studies, and in 2016, she joined forces with a group of independent filmmakers in Saudi Arabia and started making short and feature films that vary in story, style, and character development. She also worked as an assistant director for commercials and music videos and on television shows as a second assistant director and script supervisor. The first short film she produced Sadeya Left Sultan (2018) won the Jury Prize at Saudi Film Festival. In 2019, she wrote and produced the short film Quareer, Chapter Three as part of Quareer, a collective feature film, which highlights five different stages of a woman's life in Saudi Arabia. In addition to filmmaking, Mesfer was part of the writing team for the first immersive theatre in Saudi Arabia Bait Al Dahaleesi, 2019, and she participated in the production, playing the role of Assistant Director. Her short film The Girls who Burned The Night (2019), has screened at numerous festivals and won multiple awards.
- Year2019
- Runtime24 minutes
- LanguageArabic
- CountrySaudi Arabia
- PremiereMinnesota
- DirectorSara Mesfer
- ScreenwriterSara Mesfer
- ProducerJawaher Alamri
- CastJana Gomri, Haya Maraabi, Zain