Private Project

When the Sun Came for Them

When the Sun Came for Them is a series of interviews with the nomadic Saharawi people in the Western Sahara. They discuss their remarkable history, their poetic life style and their strong morals. They recount the horrific Moroccan invasion, which forced them into UN refugee camps. This is a powerful and unique movie, which not only preserves the Saharawi people’s personal and cultural history as nomads, but also documents what it means to be a “state-less” person. It is a human rights plea to a world, which has been sadly silent on the long time abuse of the Saharawi people. When the Sun Came for Them documents what it means to be a “state-less” person and how after decades of abuse even pacifist Muslims are turned into fighters committed to war. It is a timely and important film. All was shot by a crew of three recent college graduates on two iPads. It is true backpack journalism.

  • Terrence Ross
    Director
    Murdered, intersecting memoirs, Appetite, and Humillados Y Ofendidos
  • Terrence Ross
    Writer
  • Terrence Ross
    Producer
  • Members of the Saharawi tribe
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    November 17, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Western Sahara
  • Country of Filming:
    Western Sahara
  • Language:
    Arabic
  • Shooting Format:
    ipads
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • World Human Rights Festival

    Human Rights Silver Award
  • World Documentary Awards
    Jakarta
    Award of Merit
  • International New York Film Festival

    Certificate of Merit
  • World Film Awards
    Jakarta
    World Award of Merit
  • Barcelona International Film Festival
    Barcelona
    Spain
    Special Jury Prize Screenplay
  • Barcelona Plante Festival
    Barcelona
  • TrueDoc
    Ukraine
Director Biography - Terrence Ross

Terrence Ross teaches at Adelphi University and lives in downtown Manhattan. He believes in elephants everywhere.

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Director Statement

I seek to add marginalized people’s voices to recorded history. Their poetry and wisdom along with their cultural narrative deserve to be preserved for the benefit of all. I’m equally committed to making movies without budgets.