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THE BURDENED sets a precedent for Yemeni cinema with a historic premiere at the Berlinale
22 February 2023
Amr Gamal’s THE BURDENED (Al Murhaqoon) kicked off its international tour with a booming world premiere at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival’s (Berlinale) Panorama Section on February 20th in the presence of its cast and crew.
The first Yemeni film to play in the official selection of the Berlinale – THE BURDENED had a full house screening, with public dignitaries, A-list celebrities, critics, and media figures from foreign media outlets flocking to see it.
THE BURDENED also garnered immediate widespread acclaim, receiving a warm ovation before a lively post-premiere Q&A with the crew.
Before that, the film held a screening for media accreditation on Saturday, February 18th, in which international press outlets expressed their admiration for the film.
THE BURDENED will have four more screenings for the public during the festival, which is running from February 16th to the 26th:
THE BURDENED is based on a true story set in Aden, Yemen. The film follows Ahmed, Isra'a, and their three children after they both lose their jobs as a result of an economic crisis.
The film is directed by Amr Gamal, who shares screenwriting credits with Mazen Refaat. The film stars Khaled Hamdan, Abeer Mohammed, Samah Alamrani, and Awsam Abdulrahman.
It also brings together Yemen, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia in a landmark co-production that was first brought to international attention at the 2022 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it earned the Works in Progress Post-Production Development Award in the festival's industry sidebar, Eastern Promises, with the platform’s jury expressing its admiration for “the director’s brave approach in tackling sensitive subjects against all odds.”
MAD Solutions is managing the film’s distribution in the Arab world, while Films Boutique is managing international sales.
THE BURDENED is co-produced by Mohsen Alkhalifi, Mohammed Alomda, and Amjad Abu Alala (Station Films) — the filmmaker who helmed the award-winning drama YOU WILL DIE AT TWENTY, which was submitted to the Academy Awards' Best International Feature Film Category in 2020 as Sudan's first-ever Oscars’ submission.
Amr Gamal (b.1983, Poland) is an independent Yemeni film and theater director. In 2003, he received the President’s Award for Playwriting. In 2005, Gamal established the Khaleej Aden Theater Troupe and has written and directed all of the troupe’s theater productions since.
His play MA’K NAZEL became the first Yemeni play to be performed in Europe (Berlin) after its big success in Yemen.
In the spring of 2018, production began for his first feature film 10 DAYS BEFORE THE WEDDING. The film premiered in Aden in the summer, becoming the first film to open commercially in Yemen in three decades.
The first Yemeni film to play in the official selection of the Berlinale – THE BURDENED had a full house screening, with public dignitaries, A-list celebrities, critics, and media figures from foreign media outlets flocking to see it.
THE BURDENED also garnered immediate widespread acclaim, receiving a warm ovation before a lively post-premiere Q&A with the crew.
Before that, the film held a screening for media accreditation on Saturday, February 18th, in which international press outlets expressed their admiration for the film.
THE BURDENED will have four more screenings for the public during the festival, which is running from February 16th to the 26th:
- Tuesday, February 21st at 10 pm at Cubix 7
- Wednesday, February 22nd at 4 pm at Cubix 5
- Thursday, February 23rd at 6:30 pm at Cubix 9
- Sunday, February 26th at 4 pm at Cubix 5
THE BURDENED is based on a true story set in Aden, Yemen. The film follows Ahmed, Isra'a, and their three children after they both lose their jobs as a result of an economic crisis.
The film is directed by Amr Gamal, who shares screenwriting credits with Mazen Refaat. The film stars Khaled Hamdan, Abeer Mohammed, Samah Alamrani, and Awsam Abdulrahman.
It also brings together Yemen, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia in a landmark co-production that was first brought to international attention at the 2022 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it earned the Works in Progress Post-Production Development Award in the festival's industry sidebar, Eastern Promises, with the platform’s jury expressing its admiration for “the director’s brave approach in tackling sensitive subjects against all odds.”
MAD Solutions is managing the film’s distribution in the Arab world, while Films Boutique is managing international sales.
THE BURDENED is co-produced by Mohsen Alkhalifi, Mohammed Alomda, and Amjad Abu Alala (Station Films) — the filmmaker who helmed the award-winning drama YOU WILL DIE AT TWENTY, which was submitted to the Academy Awards' Best International Feature Film Category in 2020 as Sudan's first-ever Oscars’ submission.
Amr Gamal (b.1983, Poland) is an independent Yemeni film and theater director. In 2003, he received the President’s Award for Playwriting. In 2005, Gamal established the Khaleej Aden Theater Troupe and has written and directed all of the troupe’s theater productions since.
His play MA’K NAZEL became the first Yemeni play to be performed in Europe (Berlin) after its big success in Yemen.
In the spring of 2018, production began for his first feature film 10 DAYS BEFORE THE WEDDING. The film premiered in Aden in the summer, becoming the first film to open commercially in Yemen in three decades.
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