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Umar

Umar, 24yo, arrived in Trieste on foot from Pakistan after a terrible 5-year journey. He witnessed the death of his best friend, he was tortured by the Croatian police, he risked his leg's amputation and was finally saved by Lorena. She is the president of Linea d'Ombra, an association that welcomes migrants arriving in Italy from the Balkan Route which represents a new beginning for Umar. Umar is also the first observational short documentary by Francesco Cibati, written with Marco Bergonzi and Michael Petrolini.

  • Francesco Cibati
    Director
  • Francesco Cibati
    Writer
    Honeydew, Rentstrike Bolognina
  • Marco Bergonzi
    Writer
    Honeydew, Rentstrike Bolognina, Lupo Magister
  • Michael Petrolini
    Writer
    Frequenze, Honeydew, Rentstrike Bolognina
  • Francesco Cibati
    Producer
  • Muhammad Umar Arif
    Key Cast
    "Umar"
    Confine | Umanità
  • Lorena Fornasir
    Key Cast
    "Lorena"
    Tutte le anime del mio corpo, Dove bisogna stare, Confine | Umanità
  • Linea d'Ombra volunteers
    Key Cast
    "Linea d'Ombra volunteers"
    Confine | Umanità
  • Marco Bergonzi
    Crew
    Director of Photography
  • Michael Petrolini
    Crew
    Editing
  • Alberto Marras
    Crew
    Post Audio
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Umar
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 14, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    400 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    English, Italian, Urdu
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No

  • Italy
Director Biography - Francesco Cibati

Francesco Cibati, born in 1991, trained in Milan, Venice, Barcelona and Durban as a photographer and communication designer, cultivating a passion for video and reportage.
In 2019 he approaches the world of documentary by founding the collective Raw Sight, now a production company, with Michael Petrolini and Marco Bergonzi, and actively working on different projects, working as executive producer and editor on How I Came Here (Caucaso Produzioni), shot in refugee camps in northwestern Bosnia; as author for Rentstrike Bolognina, feature documentary about the biggest residential occupation in Italy, following the pandemic; and as author and executive producer on Honeydew - The end of illegality (Indyca/Raw Sight), selected at IDS Academy in 2020.
His first film as director is "Umar" a 15' observative short shot in two days in Trieste in may 2021.
Parallel to the world of documentary, he is founder of Linea d'Ombra, an association in Trieste committed to support migrants along the Balkan route. As freelance he worked as a consultant for several national and multinational companies, founded and directed the fanzine C.A.C.C.A. (Cose A Caso Con Attenzione) which was selected at Compasso d'Oro 2018, eccetera.

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Director Statement

Umar is my first film. It is a homage to a wonderful Pakistani boy I met upon his arrival in Trieste, Italy, in february 2020.
His story is so bloody and full of violence that it has been told in many reportages and news. But Umar has always been depicted as the object of violence. Nobody filmed Umar as a subject who decides about his own life, showing who he is now rather than what he suffered back then. The story of Umar is the archetypal story of the migrant who, once finished his journey, starts to recover.
In order to make a rightful, dignified portrait of Umar we followed him in his routine for two days and spend a long time with cultural mediators, writing down what later in the video became Umar's voice telling his own story the way he wants.