* Photograph: berlinale.de
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Sudanese Director Suhaib Gasmelbari's "Talking About Trees", which was granted the "Best Documentary Award" in Berlin Film Festival in 2019, also competed in the 38th İstanbul Film Festival this year.
Accordingly, in a ceremony held in İstanbul last evening (April 16), "Talking About Trees" has been awarded the International Competition Special Jury Prize. The award has been granted by quoting from the film: "Sometimes the failures are so great that hope has to grow. Times when 'talking about trees is almost a crime because it implies silence about so many horrors!'"
"Talking About Trees" by Gasmelbari has also been given the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Award "for the very elegant and bitter story of the last Don Quixotes of cinema."
However, Suhaib Gasmelbari could not attend the prize-awarding ceremony. Sending a message to İstanbul to explain why he could not make it to the ceremony yesterday, Gasmelbari referred to "the historical changes in his country Sudan during the last 10 days" and said:
"I truly wished to be able to attend the festival and when my invitation was organized, I was never doubtful of attending the festival, but the historical changes in my country Sudan during the last 10 days had a different say, I was unable to travel to Istanbul in the last moment."
The message of Suhaib Gasmelbari has continued as follows:
'I am in euphoria to witness these historical changes'
"Despite my sadness for not attending the festival, I am in a state of euphoria that I was present in Sudan to witness these historical changes happening: The collapse of the longest and bloodiest dictatorship in the post-colonial history of Sudan.
"In the past few days, the Sudanese people succeeded to downthrow Omar Al Bashir after a revolution that started this past December, in which women and men showed unbelievable bravery and unity against the oppression of the fascist rule.
"They continue to fight to achieve a true democratic change and to build a Sudanese state based on peace, freedom and social justice and to bring to trial those who are responsible of the crimes against the Sudanese people.
'Long live the fight of the people'
"I bow for those who lost their loved ones, who while they were fighting with great brevity lost their lives under the bullets and torture to build a Sudan that respects the lives and the dignity of its people; without them and their bravery and strong believe we would not be where we are now.
"I salute the four musketeers, the heroes of the film, we will of course celebrate these two prizes together today. I'm full of hope that the Sudanese revolution will be a beginning to make their dream a reality, to build Sudanese cinema in an environment of true freedom, and to reopen closed cinema halls without prohibition or oppression."
Concluding his remarks, Gasmelbari has said, "Long live the fight of the people in Sudan; in Turkey and in every corner of our world."
About Suhaib GasmelbariSuhaib Gesmalbari Mustafa was born in Sudan. He studied cinema in France where he learnt French and pursued an education in cinema history, criticism and directing. In parallel, he worked as a freelancer for Al Jazeera, France 24 and since 2011 for a new TV channel, focused on African news, Al Qarra. As a journalist and cameraman he gained expertise in areas of graphic design, special effects, and broadcasting. Nevertheless, his main focus remains the true Cinema. He has completed short narrative films and is developing Waiting Bench [2016] a documentary project about his beloved country Sudan and about its passion for cinema. * Source: Southplanet portal |
(AÖ/SD)
