Amjad Abu Alala
Amjad Abu Alala | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Occupation | Film director screenwriter |
| Education | United Arab Emirates University |
| Notable works | You Will Die at Twenty |
| Notable awards |
|
Amjad Abu Alala (Arabic: أمجد أبو العلا, born in Dubai) is a Sudanese film director, screenwriter and producer, who was born and lives in the United Arab Emirates. He became internationally known for his first feature film You Will Die at Twenty (2019), winner of the Lion of the Future award at the Venice Film Festival and Sudan's first ever entry for the Academy Awards in the 'Best International Film' category. [1][2]
Life and career
Abu Alala was born and raised in the United Arab Emirates to Sudanese parents who came from Wad Madani in central Sudan. He studied media and communication science at Emirates University before starting his career as a filmmaker making documentaries for Arab and Western TV stations. During this time, he also directed four of his own short films before making his first feature, You will Die at Twenty, in 2019.[3]
Intent on exploring his roots and telling a Sudanese story accessible to both a Sudanese and global audience for his first feature film, Abu Alala adapted Sleeping at the Foot of the Mountain, a 2014 short story by Sudanese writer Hammour Ziada. [4]
You Will Die at Twenty was awarded the Venice International Film Festival's Lion of the Future award, the festival's prize for best feature debut, in August 2019. [1] In September 2019 it was screened at the Toronto Film Festival.
The film was shot during the 2019 Sudanese revolution which saw the military ouster of Omar al-Bashir after having ruled the country for almost 30 years. The uprising compounded challenges the filmmakers faced from government restrictions and the need to fly in several tons of equipment due to the lack of a Sudanese film infrastructure.[5][6]
As a producer, Abu Alala founded a creative laboratory in collaboration with the Doha Film Institute and produced five short films.
In 2013, Abu Alala won the Best Arabic Theatre Script Award for his script ‘Apple Pies’.[7] Promoting Sudanese films, he has also been involved in the selection for the Sudan Independent Film Festival in Khartoum[5] and the Arab Film Institute.[8]
In 2021, he was selected as a jury member for the First feature section of the 74th Locarno Film Festival to be held from 4 to 14 August.[9]
Favorite films
In 2022, Abu Alala participated in the Sight & Sound film polls of that year. It is held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, by asking contemporary directors to name ten films of their choice.[10]
Abu Alala's selections were:
- 12 Angry Men (1957)
- Persona (1966)
- Mirror (1975)
- Bāb al-Ḥadīd (1958)
- Mia aioniótita kai mia méra (1998)
- Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1966)
- Taste of Cherry (1997)
- Dancer in the Dark (2000)
- Krótki film o zabijaniu (1987)
- A torinói ló (2011)
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, Egypt, 2019
- Golden Star in the section for Narrative Competition: You Will Die at Twenty
- Lion of the Future Award for best debut feature film: You Will Die at Twenty
See also
References
- ^ a b "You Will Die at Twenty". FILM REVIEW. Retrieved 2026-03-05.
- ^ Weissberg, Jay (2019-09-04). "'You Will Die at Twenty' Review: Sudan's Oscar Submission Heralds a Talent to Watch". Variety. Retrieved 2026-03-05.
- ^ Magdi, Samy (2020-12-20). "A Sudan in transition presents first-ever film for Oscars". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2020-12-26. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
- ^ Lynx Qualey, Marcia (2019-09-10). "Award-winning Film 'You Will Die at Twenty,' Based on Hammour Ziada Story". ArabLit & ArabLit Quarterly. Archived from the original on 2020-01-08. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
- ^ a b "You Will Die at Twenty". Doha Film Institute. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
- ^ "Amjad Abu Alala's 'You will die at 20' revives Sudanese cinema". Arab News. 2020-01-21. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
- ^ "You Will Die at 20, by Amjad Abu Alala | Institut français". www.institutfrancais.com. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
- ^ "Amjad Abu Alala | IFFR". iffr.com. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
- ^ "74th Locarno Film Festival (Concorso Internazionale: Jury)". Locarno Film Festival. July 3, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ "Amjad Abu Alala | BFI".
External links
- Amjad Abu Alala at IMDb
- Interview with Amjad Abu Alala and excerpts of his film "You will Die at Twenty" In German with English subtitles on YouTube