A New Day in Old Sana'a

2005 | UK, Yemen | NR | 83 min.

Showings

Dutmers at the Dennos Museum Fri, Jul 28, 2017 9:00 AM
Film Info
Section:Travel Ban
Release Year:2005
Runtime:83 min.
Rating:NR
Production Country:UK
Yemen
Original Language:Arabic
English
Subtitles:English
Cast/Crew Info
Director:Bader Ben Hirsi
Produced by:Abbs Abdali
Screenwriter:Bader Ben Hirsi
Cast:Nabil Saber
Dania Hammoud
Paolo Romano
Sahar Alasbahi
Redka Khoder

Description

Young photographer Tariq is arranged to be married to an aristocratic woman he’s never seen before, but complications arise when he unexpectedly falls in love with a poor orphan girl he mistakes for his bride-to-be. An achingly romantic Arabic fable, “A New Day in Old Sana’a” is the first feature film to come out of Yemen, made at some risk by British-Yemeni filmmaker Bader Ben Hirsi (“9/11–Through Saudi Eyes”). Yemen’s conservative Ministry of Culture approved the script and even contributed $40,000 to the production, but then banned the finished product from being shown in the country. Shot entirely on location among the cobblestone streets and stone towers of the ancient city of Sana’a, this classic tale of the conflict between love and duty transports us to a world at once foreign and familiar.

SPONSORED BY
Christine Struminski (Fri)