Sudan, near the Merowe Dam. Maher works in a traditional brickyard fed by the waters of the Nile. Every evening, he secretly wanders off into the desert to build a mysterious construction made of mud. While the Sudanese people rise to claim their freedom, his creation starts to take a life of its own.
Ali Cherri penned the script together with Geoffroy Grison and in collaboration with Bertrand Bonello. Maher El Khair plays the main role.
The film was produced by France’s KinoElektron in coproduction with France’s Galerie Imane Fares, Sudan’s DGL Travel, Germany’s Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion GmbH, and Serbia’s Trilema. Janja Kralj is the producer and the coproducers are: Rémi Bonhomme, Vladimir Perišić, Vanja Milanović, Thanassis Karathanos, Imane Fares, Alsamoual Hussein and Martin Hampel.
The project has been supported by Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée, Institut Français, the Doha Film Institute, ARTE/COFINOVA 17, the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, the World Cinema Fund, Art Jameel, Onassis Culture, Indie Sales Company, Image/Mouvement du Centre National Des Arts Plastiques, Fondation Nationale Des Arts Graphiques Et Plastiques, [N.A!] Project, Hubert Bals Fund of International Film Festival Rotterdam, Film Center Serbia and the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia.
Ali Cherri is a Lebanese visual artist and filmmaker. Combining films, videos, sculptures and installation, his work examines the construction of historical narratives. Cherri is currently the Artist in Residence at the National Gallery in London and participates in the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. His short films The Disquiet and The Digger have been shown at prominent film festivals. The Dam, a feature film shot in Sudan during the revolution, is his debut feature film.
The French Indie Sales Company is handling the sales.
Production Information:
Producer:
KinoElektron (France)
Coproducers:
Galerie Imane Fares (France)
DGL Travel (Sudan)
Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion GmbH (Germany)
Trilema (Serbia)
Credits:
Director: Ali Cherri
Scriptwriters: Ali Cherri, Geoffroy Grison, in collaboration with Bertrand Bonello
DoP: Bassem Fayad
Editors: Isabelle Manquillet, Nelly Quettier
Main cast: Maher El Khair
