Exclusive: The Dubai-based international management and production company 75East has signed Sudanese writer, director and producer Amjad Abu El-Ela.
The director made his international debut with his first film You will die at twenty, Which won the Luigi De Laurentiis Award for Best First Film in Venice in 2019.
He was among a wave of directors to emerge from Sudan in the wake of the 2019 revolution, which ended the 30-year rule of dictator Omar al-Bashir, although hopes for a democratic civil society have since been dashed by a civil war involving two rival military factions.
You will die at twenty It was filmed in Sudan in December 2018 in the early days of the popular uprising against Sudan, with the film's protagonist's struggle described as a metaphor for the Sudanese people's struggle for democracy.
After winning the Venice Prize, this film was shown at a group of the most important international festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival and Rotterdam, and won more than 25 awards. It was then released as the first Sudanese film ever to win the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film after being shown in theaters. American supply.
Since then, Abu Al-Ala has continued to champion Sudanese and Arab cinema on the global stage through his production company, Station Films.
Under this slogan, he participated in the production of the film “Sundance” by director Ali Al-Arabi Captains of thymeIn 2021, he also produced the Yemeni film that Amr Gamal submitted for an Oscar Burdenedwinner of two Berlinale awards and a Golden Hugo Award from Chicago IFF.
The company's biggest success so far has been the work directed by Mohamed Kordofani and Lupita Nyong'o. Goodbye Julia, Who won the Freedom Prize following his film “Un Certain Regard” at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, and continued to break box office records in Egypt and the Gulf.
His last production work was for Abdel Wahab Shawqi The last miracleWhich was selected as the opening film of the 2024 El Gouna Film Festival but was withdrawn at the last minute.
Aboulela is a regular member of the juries of festivals including Locarno, Sound Picture Poll, and El Gouna Film Festival. Earlier this year, he was a member of the “Generation” jury at the Berlinale.
He joins a growing list of filmmakers signed with 75East which launches in 2023 with a focus on filmmaking talent from the SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) region and the diaspora. Other filmmakers in her books include BAFTA winner and Oscar nominee Basil Ghandour, Palme d'Or nominee Abu Bakr Shawky, 2024 Gotham Awards nominee Mahdi Fleifel, Lebanese director Nay Tabbara and Egyptian director Karim Shaaban.
