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Films by Ibrahim Shaddad

Al Habil / The Rope, 1985
Jagdpartie / Hunting Party, 1964
Jamal / A Camel, 1981

During the late seventies and early eighties, a group of filmmakers who were then the staff of the Cinema Section at the Department of Culture issued a periodical named CINEMA. This same group then founded the Sudanese Film Group (SFG) in April 1989 to give them more independence from the state. The purpose of the group was to be fully engaged in all aspects of film production, screening, and teaching, as well as maintaining the passion of the Sudanese for the cinema. But on June 30, 1989 the coup d’état, which brought with it a suspicion of all forms of art, terminated any cultural aspirations and banned all civic society organizations. Finally in 2005 the heavy hand of the state was loosened somewhat, and the SFG was able to re-register.
Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art digitally restored seven works by these Sudanese filmmakers in 2018.

Al Habil / The Rope

The short film AL HABIL (1985) documents two blind men making their way through the desert accompanied by a donkey. Connected by a rope, sometimes the two men decide the way, and sometimes the donkey leads them through the desert.

Production company Department of Culture, Cinema Section (Khartoum, Sudan). Written and directed by Ibrahim Shaddad. Cinematography Tawfig O. Fagir. Editing Abdel Gadir Daoud. Music Abdalla M. Abdalla. Sound Awad Eldaw, Salah Saeed. Assistant director Eltayeb Mahdi. Production managers Manar Elhilo, A. Rahman Nagdi. Digital restoration Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst. With Khatab H. Ahmed, Mohd. A. Gorani, Mariam M. Eltayeb, A. Gadir Daoud.

Jagdpartie / Hunting Party

Ibrahim Shaddad’s graduation film JAGDPARTIE (1964), which he shot at the Deutsche Hochschule für Filmkunst Potsdam-Babelsberg (now: Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF), is a treatise on racism. Shot in a forest in Brandenburg, it uses a Western look to portray the hunt for a Black man.

Production company Deutsche Hochschule für Filmkunst Potsdam-Babelsberg (Potsdam, German Democratic Republic). Director Ibrahim Shaddad. Screenplay Ibrahim Shaddad, Claus Neumann. Cinematography Claus Neumann. Editing Ruth Ebel. Sound design Gerhard Rodenfeld. Production design E.R. Pech. Production manager V. Pech. Digital restoration Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst. With Ambroise Ruzidana, Petra Hinze, Heinz Schröder, Günter Meier.

Jamal / A Camel

The short film JAMAL (1981) is a report from the life of a camel, most of which plays out in a dreary, small room – a sesame mill.

Production company Department of Culture, Cinema Section (Khartoum, Sudan). Written and directed by Ibrahim Shaddad. Cinematography Elhadi Ahmed Ibrahim, Salah Eddeen Awad. Editing Abdel Gadir Daoud. Sound Awad Eldaw, Salah Saeed. Production manager Manar Elhilo. Digital restoration Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst.

Ibrahim Shaddad, born in Halfa, Sudan in 1945, studied at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF. He has written and directed many films and some plays. Practically all films and plays in Sudan were discontinued by producers or banned by governments. He is a founding member of the Sudanese Film Group and a member of the editorial board of the magazine Cinema.

Films

1964: Jagdpartie / Hunting Party. 1981: Jamal / A Camel. 1984: Al Habil / The Rope (32 min.). 1994: Insan (25 min.).

Photo: © Ibrahim Shaddad

Funded by:

  • Logo Minister of State for Culture and the Media
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