TALKING ABOUT TREES

TALKING ABOUT TREES, 2019
Sudan, France, Chad | HDD, Color, 93’ | Arabic, English
Director: Suhaib Gasmelbari

Following the military coup in 1989, the film industry in Sudan had collapsed, cinema had been banned, and none of the movie theaters had survived. While cinema now feels like a distant memory for the Sudanese, four directors who had once shot films, refuse to accept this. These four friends, who had all studied abroad, set out to revive an abandoned open-air hall as a means to revive the culture of film. Despite the difficult circumstances, they start screening films for free in this place where there is no electricity or proper equipment. Talking about Trees is a poignant and witty documentary that invites the viewers to reflect on friendship and the love of cinema as it collates excerpts from these directors' films.