The film is based on true events that took place in Aden around 2019.
Yerevan International Film Festival has nominated Amr Gamal’s Yemeni film The Burdened (Al Murhaqoon) for a Golden Apricot (Best Film, Regional Competition).
The 20th edition of the film festival will be running from July 9 to 16, 2023.
The story, written by Gamal and Mazen Refaat, centres on Ahmed, Isra’a and their three children in Aden, Yemen in 2019. Both parents lose their jobs and suffer from the economic crisis. The movie starts with Isra’a finding out about her pregnancy at a time when they cannot cover the expenses of a new child, leading them to make difficult decisions in order to survive.
The film stars Khaled Hamdan, Abeer Mohammed, Samah Alamrani, and Awsam Abdulrahman.
It also brings together Yemen, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia in a landmark co-production that was first brought to international attention at the 2022 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it earned the Works in Progress Post-Production Development Award in the festival’s industry sidebar, Eastern Promises.
MAD Solutions is managing the film’s distribution in the Arab world, while Films Boutique is handling international sales.
The Burdened is co-produced by Mohsen Alkhalifi, Mohammed Alomda, and Amjad Abu Alala.
It was the first ever Yemeni film to be officially selected at the Berlin International Film Festival.
The film won the Works in Progress Post-Production Development Award in the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s industry section Eastern Promises.
