Amjad Abu Alala (, born in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

) is a Sudanese

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, who was born and lives in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. He became internationally known for his first feature film '' You Will Die at Twenty'' in 2019. This film was the first entry ever to be submitted from

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

for the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

in the 'Best International Film' category, but was not selected in the final stage. His film has won, however, awards at international film festivals and has been shown internationally.

Life and career

Abu Alala was born in the

of Sudanese parents and grew up in

. He studied media and communication science at

Emirates University United Arab Emirates University (UAEU; ar, جامعة الإمارات العربية المتحدة) is a public research university located in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. It is the oldest university in the United Arab Emirates. It was esta ...

and then made his first documentaries for several Arab and Western TV stations. He has also directed four short films until 2019. For his first feature film, Abu Alala turned to Sudan. His parents are both from

Wad Madani Wad Madani ( ar, ود مدني, Wad Madanī) or Madani is the capital of the Al Jazirah state in east-central Sudan. "Wad Madani" (population), Microsoft Encarta, Online Encyclopedia 2001. Wad Madani lies on the west bank of the Blue Nile, n ...

in eastern Sudan, and he wanted to explore his roots. Searching for a story, suitable not only for a Sudanese audience, but also for viewers all over the world, he chose a short story by Sudanese writer

Hammour Ziada Hammour Ziada ( ar, حمور زيادة, born 1979) is a Sudanese writer and journalist, born in Omdurman. He has worked as a civil society and human rights researcher, and currently works as journalist in Cairo. Before, he had been writing for a ...

from 2014. His feature film '' You Will Die at Twenty'' was presented and awarded at the Venice International Film Festival in August 2019 as part of the '''Venice Days competition. In September 2019, it was also screened at the

Toronto Film Festival Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

. By coincidence, the film was shot at the time of the

Sudanese revolution The Sudanese Revolution was a major shift of political power in Sudan that started with street protests throughout Sudan on 19 December 2018 and continued with sustained civil disobedience for about eight months, during which the 2019 Sudane ...

against Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown by the military during demonstrations in April 2019 after having ruled the country for almost 30 years. This meant great challenges for the entire crew, not only because of governmental restrictions, but because there was no film industry in Sudan and they had to fly in several tons of equipment that they needed for the shooting. As a producer, Abu Alala founded a creative laboratory in collaboration with the

Doha Film Institute Doha Film Institute (DFI) is a nonprofit cultural organisation established in 2010 by Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani to support the growth of the Qatari film community and to provide funding and international networking oppor ...

and produced five short films. In 2013, Abu Alala won the Best Arabic Theatre Script Award for his script ‘Apple Pies’. Promoting Sudanese films, he has also been involved in the selection for the Sudan Independent Film Festival in Khartoum and the Arab Film Institute. In 2021, he was selected as a jury member for the First feature section of the

74th Locarno Film Festival The 74th annual Locarno Festival was held from 4 August to 14 August 2021 in Locarno, Switzerland. The opening film of the festival was '' Beckett'' by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino, which had its world premiere on 4 August. The 74th edition of Loc ...

to be held from 4 to 14 August.

Filmography

* 2004: Coffee and Oranges (short film) * 2005: Birds’ Feathers (short film) * 2009: Teena (short film) * 2012: Studio (short film) * 2019: You Will Die at Twenty, feature film

Awards

El Gouna Film Festival The El Gouna Film Festival (GFF; ar, مهرجان الجونة السينمائي) is an annual film festival established in 2017, held in the Red Sea resort town of El Gouna, Egypt. The inaugural festival started September 22, 2017. The psychologi ...

, Egypt, 2019 * Golden Star in the section for Narrative Competition: ''You Will Die at Twenty''

Venice Film Festival 2019 The 76th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 28 August to 7 September 2019. Film director Lucrecia Martel was appointed as the President of the Jury. ''The Truth'', directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, was selected to open the fes ...

* Lion of the Future Award for best debut feature film: '' You Will Die at Twenty''

References

External links

*
Interview with Amjad Abu Alala and excerpts of his film "You will Die at Twenty"
In German with English subtitles on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Alala, Amjad Sudanese film producers Sudanese screenwriters Sudanese artists Sudanese film directors Year of birth missing (living people) Living people

Life and career

Filmography

Awards

See also

References

External links