‘Talking About Trees’ Film Screening

Join us for a special screening of Suhaib Gasmelbari’s uplifting and award-winning film 'Talking About Trees’

About this Event

In an attempt to revive an old cinema in Sudan, four friends encounter insurmountable resistance. The film, which focuses on the history of Sudanese cinema, also sheds light on the current situation in this crisis-ridden country is a real tale of friendship and love of cinema.

The Film:

Ibrahim, Manar, Suleiman and Altayeb are the members of the Sudanese Film Club founded in 1989. Unable to make films for years, they have decided to revive an old cinema. They are united not only by their love of cinema and their passionate desire to restore old films and draw attention to Sudanese film history once more but also by the fact that they all enjoyed a film education outside Sudan.

Their plans to renovate the outdoor cinema come up against bureaucracy, lack of cash and a general fear of upsetting “he who cannot be named.” (The film was made before the recent overthrow of Omar al-Bashir). Even if their plans may be unfulfilled, the strong solidarity and humour of the four no longer young men, do give hope for the future.

Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIvUF0Wdjf4&feature=emb_title

“A poignant and witty documentary” ★★★★ - The Guardian

“Profound — a tribute to the strange communal magic of cinema, and what happens when it becomes invisible.” ★★★★ - FT

‘Poignant and absorbing’ ★★★★ - Total Film

The Filmmaker:

Suhaib Gasmelbari was born in 1979, in Sudan, and lived there until the age of 16. Talking about Trees is his first feature-length documentary. He is also a researcher with a special focus on audio-visual archives. Through his research, he was able to find some long-lost Sudanese films and he actively participates in international and local projects for saving and digitising Sudanese films, including those of Ibrahim Shaddad, Suleiman Mohamed Ibrahim and Altayeb Mahdi.

Other Cinemas:

This film screening is part of Other Cinemas Easter Weekender exploring the power of helping non-white communities tell and share their communities.

Other Cinema is a project set up to share the films and stories of non-white people in spaces and ways which aren’t alienating to these communities. We focus on films and documentaries by established non-white filmmakers and invite them to share their journeys, struggles and successes in the field. Other Cinemas also champions new and emerging non-white filmmakers in the hopes of building spaces and connections which are sustaining to these filmmakers who often struggle in a sector which is hostile to them. Other Cinemas was established by Turab Shah and Arwa Aburawa, two local filmmakers who wanted to make the world of film more accessible to non-white communities.