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Hamada – (Saara Ocidental Film Festival)
October 24, 2024 @ 9:30 pm - 10:30 pm
FREE (Registration needed)
English Synopsis
With vitality, humor and unexpected situations, this film paints an unusual portrait of a group of young friends living in a refugee camp in the middle of the stony Saharan desert. A minefield and the second largest military wall in the world separates this group of friends from their homeland that they have only heard about in their parent’s stories. They are called the Sahrawis and have been abandoned in this refugee camp in the middle of a stony desert ever since Morocco drove them out of Western Sahara forty years ago. Trapped somewhere in between life and death, Sidahmed, Zaara and Taher refuse to be bothered by it. They spend their days fixing cars that can’t really take them anywhere, fighting for political change without response and together they use the power of creativity and play to denounce the reality around them and expand beyond the borders of the camp.
FiSahara (Festival Internacional de Cine del Sáhara) is a unique film festival held annually in the Sahrawi refugee camps of Western Sahara. It was founded in 2003 with the goal of raising international awareness about the Western Sahara conflict and offering cultural and educational opportunities to the refugees. FiSahara serves not only as a platform for showcasing films but also as a space for activism, dialogue, and solidarity with the Sahrawi people. The festival attracts international filmmakers, actors, and activists, and screens films from various countries, including many on human rights and exile.
Saara Occidental is an extension of FiSahara, focusing on the cultural and political realities of Western Sahara. It helps amplify the message of the main festival, promoting the Sahrawi cause through art and storytelling in other parts of the world, often touring festivals and cinemas globally to spread awareness. Both FiSahara and Sara Occidental highlight the power of cinema to drive social change and build international solidarity for the Sahrawi people’s struggle for independence.
The festival includes workshops for Sahrawi youth, covering filmmaking, editing, and photography, and aims to empower the local population by fostering a love for cinema and self-expression
More information about original festival you can check on the official website