As part of the Sudan Cultural Program, The Africa Institute hosted a film screening of the documentary “Talking About Trees,” directed by Sudanese filmmaker Suhaib Gasmelbari Mustafa, on December 14, 2019. The film chronicles the endeavors of the Sudanese Film Group, led by retired filmmakers Ibrahim Shadad, Manar Al Hilo, Suleiman Mohamed Ibrahim, and Altayeb Mahdi, as they embark on the ambitious project of reviving an old cinema and bringing attention back to Sudanese film history.
Following the screening, a panel discussion ensued, featuring Dr. Yousif Aydabi, Advisor at the Dr. Sultan Al Qasimi Center for Gulf Studies, and representatives from the Sudanese Film Group, namely Ibrahim Shaddad, Manar Al Hilo, Suleiman Mohamed Ibrahim, and Altayeb Mahdi.
The members of the ‘Sudanese Film Club’; Ibrahim Shadad, Manar Al Hilo, Suleiman Mohamed Ibrahim, Altayeb Madhi have decided to revive an old cinema. They are united not only by their love of cinema and their passionate desire to restore old film stock and draw attention to Sudanese film history once more, but also by the fact that they have all enjoyed a film education abroad in the former Soviet Union. Tirelessly, they try to get the cinema’s owners on their side and make the place operational again, but repeatedly find themselves up against considerable resistance. In the meantime, they sit together and talk about the past – including their experiences of persecution and even torture as pro-democratic activists. They also read out old letters written while in exile and dream of a Sudan in which art and intellectual thought can be free. ‘We are smarter than them, but not as strong,’ is how they unanimously summarize their situation. It is in melancholic moments such as these that the viewer is able to perceive the friendship, as well as the bond and ideological solidarity that exists in the struggle for common ideals.
The Sudanese Film Group (SFG) is a noncommercial, voluntary, cultural group, founded in April of 1989. It is registered with the federal ministry of culture in Sudan. The SFG strives for cinema to be produced and spectated in the Sudanese cultural sphere, and the group hopes to achieve this goal through the production and screening of films, as well as spreading of the cinema awareness, capacity building and training in filmmaking. In all its activities, the SFG follows a communal and creative work model that is artistically and ethically bound committed to knowledge and experience sharing, objectivity and mastery. The SFG is also abide by the principles of democracy, accountability and transparency.
Dr. Yousif Aydabi is the Cultural Advisor at the Dr. Sultan Al Qasimi Center for Gulf Studies. He graduated with a specialization in comparative theatre and film studies in Sudan. He has held various professional positions in cultural planning and management in the fields of education, journalism and publishing. A Critic and Editor, he has published several books on poetry, cinema and art.
As part of the Sudan Cultural Program, The Africa Institute hosted a film screening of the documentary “Talking About Trees,” directed by Sudanese filmmaker Suhaib Gasmelbari Mustafa, on December 14, 2019. The film chronicles the endeavors of the Sudanese Film Group, led by retired filmmakers Ibrahim Shadad, Manar Al Hilo, Suleiman Mohamed Ibrahim, and Altayeb Mahdi, as they embark on the ambitious project of reviving an old cinema and bringing attention back to Sudanese film history.
As part of the Sudan Cultural Program, The Africa Institute hosted a film screening of the documentary “Talking About Trees,” directed by Sudanese filmmaker Suhaib Gasmelbari Mustafa, on December 14, 2019. The film chronicles the endeavors of the Sudanese Film Group, led by retired filmmakers Ibrahim Shadad, Manar Al Hilo, Suleiman Mohamed Ibrahim, and Altayeb Mahdi, as they embark on the ambitious project of reviving an old cinema and bringing attention back to Sudanese film history.
Following the screening, a panel discussion ensued, featuring Dr. Yousif Aydabi, Advisor at the Dr. Sultan Al Qasimi Center for Gulf Studies, and representatives from the Sudanese Film Group, namely Ibrahim Shaddad, Manar Al Hilo, Suleiman Mohamed Ibrahim, and Altayeb Mahdi.
The members of the ‘Sudanese Film Club’; Ibrahim Shadad, Manar Al Hilo, Suleiman Mohamed Ibrahim, Altayeb Madhi have decided to revive an old cinema. They are united not only by their love of cinema and their passionate desire to restore old film stock and draw attention to Sudanese film history once more, but also by the fact that they have all enjoyed a film education abroad in the former Soviet Union. Tirelessly, they try to get the cinema’s owners on their side and make the place operational again, but repeatedly find themselves up against considerable resistance. In the meantime, they sit together and talk about the past – including their experiences of persecution and even torture as pro-democratic activists. They also read out old letters written while in exile and dream of a Sudan in which art and intellectual thought can be free. ‘We are smarter than them, but not as strong,’ is how they unanimously summarize their situation. It is in melancholic moments such as these that the viewer is able to perceive the friendship, as well as the bond and ideological solidarity that exists in the struggle for common ideals.
The Sudanese Film Group (SFG) is a noncommercial, voluntary, cultural group, founded in April of 1989. It is registered with the federal ministry of culture in Sudan. The SFG strives for cinema to be produced and spectated in the Sudanese cultural sphere, and the group hopes to achieve this goal through the production and screening of films, as well as spreading of the cinema awareness, capacity building and training in filmmaking. In all its activities, the SFG follows a communal and creative work model that is artistically and ethically bound committed to knowledge and experience sharing, objectivity and mastery. The SFG is also abide by the principles of democracy, accountability and transparency.
Dr. Yousif Aydabi is the Cultural Advisor at the Dr. Sultan Al Qasimi Center for Gulf Studies. He graduated with a specialization in comparative theatre and film studies in Sudan. He has held various professional positions in cultural planning and management in the fields of education, journalism and publishing. A Critic and Editor, he has published several books on poetry, cinema and art.
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