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Almaz

Logline: An Eritrean migrant whose eyes are set on the West must first get smuggled out of neighboring Sudan. Will Almaz make it to her dream destination?

Synopsis: Annually millions of people leave their homes searching for a new life – 24-year old Almaz is one of them. A key stop on one of the most well-used migration paths in Africa, thousands cross Sudan each year. No official status or money Almaz battles isolation and discrimination while finding support and acceptance in unexpected ways.

  • Mia Bittar
    Director
    Iman
  • Mia Bittar
    Writer
    Iman
  • Nadine El Roubi
    Writer
  • Mia Bittar
    Producer
    Iman
  • Ahmed Abdel Mohsen
    Producer
    Iman/ Mahata/ Searching For Tarab/ Sira – Songs of the Crescent Moon/ Laila, Hala and Karima – A Year in Revolutionary Cairo
  • Sara Ybark
    Key Cast
    "Almaz"
  • Daniel Markos Tsegay
    Key Cast
    "Tadesse"
  • Reham Aboubida
    Key Cast
    "Gihan"
  • Awadiya Macki
    Key Cast
    "Gihan's Mother"
  • Nadine El Roubi
    Assistant Director
    Iman
  • Khalid Awad
    Director of Photography
    Al-Sit/ Nyerkuk/ A Handful of Dates
  • Maruan Mohamed Yousef
    Editor
  • Mia Bittar
    Editor
  • Taher Saleh
    Music Producer
  • Ramon Orza
    Sound Mix
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    30 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    February 13, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    120,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Sudan
  • Country of Filming:
    Sudan
  • Language:
    Tigrinya
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Mia Bittar

Born in Khartoum, Mia Bittar is a Lebanese/ Sudanese independent filmmaker. After working in New York and London as an editor, turned producer - director she returned to Sudan in 2008 and started traveling the country shooting documentaries. Al-Jazeera Witness commissioned her first film ‘Darfur Plays’. Since then Mia has sought to tell stories about Sudan that present a different narrative to that in the mainstream media, with a strong focus on women’s voices- both on and off-screen.
In 2012 she started a production company producing short films, documentaries and TV commercials.
Her previous short fiction IMAN screened at international festivals including Festival cinémas d'Afrique, Middle East Now, CinemAfrica, Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Human Rights Film Festival as well as L’Institut du Monde Arabe, UNHQ in NY, Westpoint Military Academy and Skolbio Sweden.

Mia has trained filmmakers and facilitated participatory film-making processes in South Sudan and Somalia.

She currently lives between Khartoum and Athens.

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Director Statement

When we talk about African migrants reaching the West we often ignore the the years it takes them to make the journey - the dangerous pitstops along the way - often in other African countries no more welcoming than Europe. Our film asks what possibilities are available for migrants seeking a safer future without losing their dignity and lives?

We began by interviewing over 50 young Eritreans who escaped their country, now living in neighboring Sudan. We heard the same story from each one of them- the daily fear of threats and attacks. They all had their sights set on the West. Sudan was just a stopover, but one that could last for years.

The production was shot entirely with a Sudanese and Eritrean cast and crew. All cast were first-time actors. By the time production was over, 80% of the Eritrean cast and crew had left Sudan and were starting a new life in the West.