''Dry Season'' ; french: Saison sèche) is a 2006 film by Chadian director

Mahamat Saleh Haroun Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (; ar, محمد الصالح هارون) was born in 1961 in Abéché, Chad. He is a film director from Chad. He left Chad during the civil wars of the 1980s. Haroun is the first Chadian full-length film director. He both wri ...

. The film was one of seven films from non-Western cultures commissioned by

Peter Sellars Peter Sellars (born September 27, 1957) is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Sellars is professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where ...

' New Crowned Hope Festival to commemorate the 250th birthday of

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

. Inspiration for the themes of revenge and reconciliation was taken from Mozart's ''

La clemenza di Tito ' (''The Clemency of Titus''), K. 621, is an '' opera seria'' in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Pietro Metastasio. It was started after most of ' (''The Magic Flute''), the last of ...

''. ''Darratt'' won the Grand Special Jury Prize at the

63rd Venice International Film Festival The 63rd annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, was opened on 30 August 2006 with Brian De Palma's '' The Black Dahlia'' and was closed on 9 September 2006. Host of the event was Italian actress Isabella Ferrari. Dur ...

, as well as eight other prizes at Venice and the

Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Festival panafricain du cinéma et de la télévision de Ouagadougou or FESPACO) is a film festival in Burkina Faso, held biennially in Ouagadougou, where the organization is based. It ...

Plot

Set in the wake of the long Chadian civil war, 16-year-old Atim ( Ali Bacha Barkai) is sent by his grandfather to the city to kill Nassara (

Youssouf Djaoro Youssouf Djaoro (born 28 March 1963) is a Chadian film actor. He made his debut by appearing in the film ''Daresalam'' in 2000 in which he played the character of Tom. It was directed by the critically acclaimed Issa Serge Coelo and was the firs ...

), the man who murdered his father before Atim's birth. Atim, carrying his father's gun, finds Nassara running a bakery. Unexpectedly, the taciturn Nassara takes Atim under his wing as the son he never had and begins teaching him how to run the bakery. The emotionally conflicted Atim is drawn into the life of Nassara and his pregnant wife (

Aziza Hisseine Aziza or Azizah may refer to: __NOTOC__ Given name Aziza * Aziza Abdel-Halim, chairwoman of the Muslim Women's National Network Australia * Aziza Brahim (born 1976), Sahrawi singer * Aziza Jafarzadeh (1921–2003), Azerbaijani writer * Aziza Mus ...

), before a finale that ''Variety'' described as "sharp, fast and unexpected."''Dry Season''
by Deborah Young, ''Variety'', September 1, 2006

Notes and references

External links

* 2006 films Films based on operas Chadian drama films Films directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Films set in Chad Venice Grand Jury Prize winners {{FESPACO Bronze Stallion of Yennenga, state=expanded