Only Men Go to the Grave

Name: Only Men Go to the Grave
Genre: Drama
Released: 2016
Duration: 80 min

Director: Abdulla Al Kaabi

Rights:

Highlights

The film tackles taboo issues in Arab society such as feminism and transgenderism.
The first collaboration between Iraqi and Iranian Arabs following the first Gulf war.
The film landed its world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival, where it won the Best Muhr Emirati Feature Award.
The film marks director Abdulla Al Kaabi’s debut feature film after his short film, The Philosopher, with famed French actor Jean Reno.

2016 / UAE80 min/ Drama

Original Title

Al Rejal Faqat E’nda Al Dafn

SYNOPSIS

Set in 1988, a blind mother welcomes her estranged daughters to tell them a secret. Unfortunately, she accidentally dies while sharing it. During the funeral, the daughters try to deal with her sudden death and also work together to unveil her secret. Throughout the funeral, their own lives continue to unravel, giving room for buried family tensions to gradually surface, while struggling to deal with their own secrets and guilt. The arrival of an unfamiliar guest rocks the entire foundation of their family.

CAST

Saleema Yaqoub
Heba Sabah
Abdelreza Nasari

CREW

Screenwriter: Abdulla Al Kaabi
Dunia Ayaso
Félix Sabroso
DOP: Payman Shadmanfar
Editor: Meysam Molaei

Production Company(ies)

El Booma Films

Producer(s)

Abdulla Al Kaabi
Farshad Mahoutforoush
Kambiz Safari

KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, India

Oran International Arabic Film Festival, Algeria

Cape Town International Film Market & Festival (CTIFMF), South Africa

Sudan Independent Film Festival (SIFF), Sudan

Arab Cinema Week in New York, USA

Silk Road Film Festival, Ireland

Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), UAE

Malmö Arab Film Festival (MAFF), Sweden

Emirates Short Film Festival (ESFF), UAE

Casablanca Arab Film Festival, Morocco

Arab Film Festival, South Korea

Best Muhr Feature Award at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), UAE

Best Film Score Award at the Malmö Arab Film Festival (MAFF), Sweden

Reviews

Fionnuala Halligan - Screen Daily

Chris Newbould - The National

Gulf News

VOA News

Quotes

“Al Kaabi explores with great delicacy the tension between how much we need or want to know about others’ personal lives — even close relatives’ — and what is better left unknown.” Gulf News
“Only Men Go to the Grave...seems designed to challenge expectations about Emirati filmmaking.” Chris Newbould - The National
“An Emirati filmmaker is pushing boundaries and bypassing state censors by delicately unraveling a story about a traditional Arab family grappling with issues of homosexual love, gender identity, sectarianism and women's rights.” VOA News