The Dam
Fall Grants 2018 - Production Stage
Ali Cherri / Feature Experimental or Essay / Lebanon, France, Qatar / 2020 / 70 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Arthouse, Experimental
Synopsis
North Sudan, Merowe Dam. Abu Salma, a seasonal worker from Darfur, works in a traditional brickyard on the Nile, downstream of the dam. Just like his exiled companions, he spends his days in the mud, far from his loved ones and in exhausting labour. Each night, he secretly works on the erection of a structure, a tall shape made out of mud, wood, and plastic. As the mud builds over the solid skeleton of the structure, it begins to take on an almost organic-looking form. One day, as he returns from Jebel Barkal, the mystical mountain, his creation has mysteriously disappeared. Soon strange occurrences begin to take place, and Abu Salma starts to get the uneasy feeling that someone or something is watching him.
Credits
- Director
- Ali Cherri
- Screenwriter
- Ali Cherri
- Producer
- Janja Kralj
- Production Company
- KinoElektron
About the Director
Ali Cherri is a filmmaker and visual artist based in Beirut and Paris. His work has been screened at festivals such as New Directors/New Films, MoMA NY, Cinéma du Réel, CPH: DOX (NewVision prize), Dubai International Film Festival (Best Director prize), Berlinale, Toronto, and San Francisco. He's had exhibitions at the Jeu de Paume, the Jönköpings läns Museum, Sweden, the Sursock Museum, and Beirut among others. His works have been presented in numerous international expositions, including Centre Pompidou or the Guggenheim New York. Ali Cherri has received the Harvard University’s Robert E. Fulton Fellowship, the Rockefeller Foundation Prize and the Abraaj Group Art Prize.
Contacts
-
Main Contact
Janja Kralj
- Company:
- KinoElektron
- Phone:
- +33 1 48 24 51 34
- Email:
- info@kinoelektron.com