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Of Sheep and Men

Fall Grant 2015 - Production Stage

للترجمة العربية اضغط على

Karim Sayad / Feature Documentary / Algeria, Switzerland, Qatar / 2017 / 80 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Politics, Youth, Creative Documentary

Synopsis

Bab el Oued, Algiers, 2016. Men and sheep. Sixteen-year-old Habib dreams of becoming a veterinarian. He has not yet been able to study for his hoped-for profession, but he has bought a sheep named El Bouq. His hope? Training the animal to become a fighting champion. Meanwhile, 42-year-old Samir no longer has any dreams, other than to make enough money by selling sheep that he can survive the hardships of daily life. With the Eid celebration coming closer, Samir has a unique opportunity to maximise his profits, as everyone in the country will be buying sheep for slaughter. But for Habib, it’s another story… Will El Bouq become a champion ? Or will he face a more tragic destiny?

Credits

Director
Karim Sayad
Producer
Joëlle Bertossa
Production Company
Close Up Films
Production Company
Close Up Films

About the Director

Born in 1984 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Karim Sayad has both Swiss and Algerian citizenship. After earning a Master’s degree in International Relations from Geneva’s IHEID, he directed his first short documentary, ‘Babor Casanova’ (2015). The film received awards at Doclisboa, Festival dei Popoli, and Clermont-Ferrand. His first feature, ‘Of Sheep and Men’ (2017), won the 2018 Prix de Soleure at TIFF DOCS, where ‘My English Cousin’ also premiered.

Awards and Festival History


Festivals

TIFF 2017, DOCS (WP)

Contacts

  • Director

    Karim Sayad

    Company: 
    close up films
    Email: 
    karim.sayad@graduateinstitute.ch
  • Main Contact

    Joëlle Bertossa

    Company: 
    Close Up Films
    Email: 
    joelle@closeupfilms.ch

Questions regarding this project?

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