The House That My Mother Built
Spring Grants 2023 - Production Stage
Alyaa Musa / Web Series / Sudan, Qatar / 5 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Documentary
Synopsis
While the Sudanese revolution’s defeats and victories were mainly captured and seen from outside in the streets, this series is entirely focused on the unseen and untold stories which took place behind closed doors. It restructures precarious and emotional encounters between women protesters and the inhabitants of the homes that received them as they fled from the security and militia men chasing them in the streets. Women of different political interests, cultural and economic backgrounds narrate their own stories. In each episode, one woman shares her personal experience that either examined her confidence and own self-awareness or shifted her perspective about the revolution and the people she is fighting for.
A key setup of ‘The House That My Mother Built’ is the visual tension between the protestors’ inner quests and fears and the hypothetically safe yet confined interior space of their host. The houses are consistently interrupted by the threat of attack and danger from outside these closed doors. Through the juxtaposition of our character’s personalities, motivations, fears and courage, we expose the vulnerability behind their powerful acts of resistance. The series portrays the conflict between the idealistic dreams and slogans of the revolution and the complex reality in which the characters live, inviting audiences to view ‘change’ and ‘resistance’ as a daily process.
Credits
- Director
- Alyaa Musa
- Screenwriter
- Alyaa Musa
- Producer
- Mia Bittar, Nada Hafiz
About the Director
Alyaa Musa is an independent producer, writer, director and visual artist. Transforming from a development professional to a storyteller, Alyaa is searching for controversy, hope and beauty behind closed doors. She has creative credits as a producer, director, cinematographer, editor and visual artist in approximately ten shorts that were screened in regional and international film festivals. Alyaa has two higher degrees in filmmaking from the UK; PGD London Film School in 2012 and a MA with distinction in Cinematography and Post Production from the University of Greenwich in 2014. A graduate of EAVE producers workshop 2021, Alyaa is currently leading two feature documentaries that are supported by regional and international funds and film institutions and is co-producer of ‘The New Man’, Capo Verde, winner of Fespaco best documentary 2023.
Contacts
-
Main Contact
Alyaa Musa
- Company:
- Black Balance Artistic Production
- Email:
- Blackbalance.sd@gmail.com
-
Main Contact
Mia Bittar
- Company:
- Black Balance Artistic Production
- Email:
- miabittar@gmail.com