Six documentaries, six incredible stories. Red Sea Documentary Film Days will take place at Hayy Jameel on June 6th to the 9th.
For the third year running, Red Sea Film is partnering with Art Jameel to showcase Red Sea Documentary Film Days at Hayy Jameel Cinema. From June 6th to the 9th, Hayy Jameel will screen six documentary films, each of which present narratives about family, relationships, politics, sports and music.
Red Sea Documentary Film Days will feature a dialogue session with Oscar-nominated Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania on June 7th, as well as a series of panel discussions featuring prominent filmmakers from across the region. A ‘Maflam’ workshop will be followed by a series of screenings of short films that placed in the Keyff Hayak Competition, also on June 7th. You can book your tickets by visiting the Hayy Cinema website or app.
Hiding Saddam Hussein (2023) | Directed by Halkawt Mustafa
June 6th, 7 PM
The footage of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein crawling out of a hole in the ground in 2003 is historic. Now, 20 years later, the man who dug that hole tells the story of how he, an ordinary farmer, hid the deposed president, hunted by 150,000 US soldiers, beneath a flowerbed in his garden for eight months.
This screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the director to further enrich the audience’s understanding of the film’s themes and production challenges.
The Gullspång Miracle (2023) | Directed by Maria Fredriksson
June 7th, 7 PM
Two pious sisters buy an apartment in the small Swedish town of Gullspång after having witnessed a divine sign - only to realise that the seller of the apartment looks identical to their other sister, who committed suicide some 30 years before.
Underground (2024) | Directed by Abdulrahman Sandokji
June 7th, 9:15 PM
The documentary presents real-life stories about Saudi music talents and the main challenges they are facing in the industry. The film discusses the reality of the Saudi music industry and its future vision amidst the cultural transformations in the Kingdom.
Iraq’s Invisible Beauty (2023) | Directed by Sahim Omar Khalifa
June 8th, 7 PM
Latif Al Ani photographed Iraq for 30 years before multiple wars arose. At the age of 86, he travels through his devastated country in search of the people and places he photographed at the time, sharing his pictures with Iraqis who today cannot imagine that the world in the photographs was ever real.
The Mother of All Lies (2024) | Directed by Asmae El Moudir
June 9th, 7 PM
On a handmade set re-creating her Casablanca neighbourhood, a young Moroccan filmmaker enlists family and friends to help unearth the troubling lies built into her childhood as she reflects on the 1981 Bread Riots.
Songs of the Sufi (2023) | Directed by Shahrukh Waheed
June 9th, 9 PM
In an unbroken chain spanning over 800 years, a form of music has inspired, entranced and enlightened people. Songs of the Sufi takes viewers on a musical and artistic journey of traditional ‘Qawwali’, the mystical music tradition of the Indian Subcontinent associated with 13th-century Sufi seminaries which is enjoyed globally today.