Withered Green
+North American Premiere
+Egypt
Thursday, 9/28 at St Anthony Main Theatre
5:20 p.m.
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PHOTO
Sawsan Al-Areeqe
short / experimental
4 mins / 2014
Yemen
no dialogue
A man poses for a photo. Three women stand behind like a backdrop until one of them steps out of the shadows.
Sawsan Al-Areeqe was born in Yemen. She works as a research assistant at the Yemeni Center for Studies and Research. She is a journalist, a filmmaker, and a poet.
DEPARTURE
Ibi Ibrahim
short / documentary
9 mins / 2017
Yemen
Arabic with English subtitles
Minnesota premiere
Departure is a short film that recounts the struggle of Yemenis displaced by ongoing war. In the film, bird migrations visually represent the current status of the Yemeni citizen, living in exile and in a constant state of waiting.
Ibi Ibrahim is a multimedia artist from Yemen. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States, Europe, and the Middle East and is part of various public collections, including the Barjeel Art Foundation and Colorado College.
WITHERED GREEN
Mohammed Hammad
narrative / drama
73 mins / 2016
Egypt
Arabic with English subtitles
North American premiere
Iman (Heba Ali), a 34-year-old woman living in Cairo, is helping her younger sister Noha (Asmaa Fawzi) prepare to get married. In the absence of their parents, and in order to uphold tradition, Iman is forced to find a man from the family to give her sister away. However, beset by divisive social tensions, unexpected health problems, and contentious family negotiations, this proves to be more difficult than she anticipated. A compelling social drama that draws attention to the disconnect between traditional values and modern life, the film tells a familiar story about being a woman in a man’s world. Ali’s performance brilliantly captures the particular ways Egyptian women navigate a culture dominated by men.
Festivals and Awards:
Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland, 2016
Sarajevo International Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2017
Helsinki International Film Festival, Finland, 2017
Mohammed Hammad is an Egyptian director. He has written and produced many short films including The Fifth Pound (2006), Central (2008), and Pale Red (2010), which won several international awards. He has served as a juror for the Cairo International Film Festival and the Ismailia International Film Festival. Withered Green (2016) is his first feature film.
