Bahraini film wins international award

A Bahraini film has won a prestigious award at the 37th Cairo International Film Festival.

The Horizons of Arab Cinema section award went to The Sleeping Tree, the first feature-length film by celebrated Bahraini filmmaker Mohammed bin Rashed BuAli.

It is also the first Bahraini feature film to be produced in the last 10 years. Its story and characters are intertwined with one of the country’s most famous icons, the “Tree of Life”.

Mr BuAli worked with scriptwriter Fareed Ramadan for years developing and refining the story of The Sleeping Tree to explore different feelings they wanted to evoke among viewers.

Along with their co-producers, they worked for almost two years to obtain the funds necessary to develop a high quality feature film in Bahrain, which utilized the best technology possible, said Mr BuAli.

The crew numbered about 100 people, most of whom were Bahraini recruits with little to no experience in feature films, representing another challenge in the production of the film.

Internationally acclaimed cinematographer Mohamed Maghraoui, who joined the crew with a small team of assistants, helped oversee filming. Actual filming took place over one month in Bahrain.

Local sponsors included GPIC, Sheraton Bahrain Hotel, Gulf Air, House of Travel, Al Amin Gardens, and Victory International Production.

The Sleeping Tree explores a number of interlinked stories and themes. At the centre of the plot is the relationship between a man and his wife and the film examines the evolution of marriages, life with a terminal illness or condition, the cultural attributes of Bahrain and its natural sites, as well as the relationship between cultural practice and religious beliefs, explained Mr BuAli.

Meanwhile Jonas Carpignano’s Mediterranea won the Golden Pyramid award and also nabbed the best actor honor for Koudous Seihon. The star portrays a man who leaves his little daughter behind in Burkina Fasso to find a better life on the European continent.

The Silver Pyramid was awarded to Dagur Kari’s Icelandic comedy Virgin Mountain, while Bronze went to Santiago Mitre’s Paulina. Other individual achievements honored were French actress Louise Bourgoin and Romanian writer/director Corneliu Porumboiu.

Members of the international jury were producer Paul Webster (UK), actress Radhika Apte (India), director Jonatan Relayze Chiang (Peru), actress Dalia Elbehiry (Egypt), director Marwan Hamed (Egypt), director Laila Marrakchi (Morocco), director George Ovashvili (Georgia) and producer Anne-Dominique Toussaint (France).

The FIPRESCI award, given out by the International Federation of Film Critics, went to Prashant Nair’s Umrika. The Salah Abou Seif Price award for best film went to Waiting for the Fall by Joud Saeed.

The 37th Cairo International Film Festival, which had been cancelled in 2011 and 2013 because of security concerns and lack of funds, took place from November 10 to 20. 

Caption : A scene from the film