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Films by Eltayeb Mahdi

Al Dhareeh / The Tomb, 1989
Al Mahatta / The Station, 1989

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 Dhareeh / The Tomb

AL DHAREEH (1977) tells the story of a man who claims to be able to heal people.

Production companies High Latitudes (Moscow, Russian Federation), Higher Institute for Cinema (Cairo, Egypt). Written and directed by Eltayeb Mahdi. Cinematography Hisham al-Maleh. Editing Mohamed Kheir Arab. Sound design Adel al-Wakil. Set design Abdul-Ilah Farhud. Assistant director Manar Elhilo. Production manager Othman Akef. Digital restoration Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst. With Abu Bakr John, A-Sir Qudur, Ismail Satti, Tharwat Aloub, Abdel Da'em Omer.

Al Mahatta / The Station

Sudan, in the late 1980s. People cross the desert on foot or cover long distances by car and truck. In AL MAHATTA, Eltayeb Mahdi shows encounters at one of the large crossroads between the capital Khartoum in the centre of the country and Bur Sudan on the Red Sea.

Production company Department of Culture, Cinema Section (Khartoum, Sudan). Written and directed by Eltayeb Mahdi. Cinematography Tawfig O. Fagir. Editing A. Gadir Daoud, Muhammad M. Ali. Music Abdalla M. Abdalla. Sound Awad Eldaw, Elsir Hamid, Salah Saeed. Assistant director Ibrahim Shaddad. Production managers Manar Elhilo, Alsar H. Yousif. Digital Restoration Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst.

Eltayeb Mahdi, born in Omdurman, Sudan in 1951, studied at the Higher Institute of Cinema in Cairo. He is a founding member of the Sudanese Film Group and a member of the editorial board of the magazine Cinema.

Films

1976: Al Dhareeh / The Tomb (17 min.). 1979: Arba`a marat lil atfal / Four Times for Children (17 min.). 1989: Al Mahatta / The Station. 2008: Iyal almatmora (21 min.). 2013: Humaid (70 min.).

Photos: © Eltayeb Mahdi 

Funded by:

  • Logo Minister of State for Culture and the Media
  • Logo des Programms NeuStart Kultur