Faya Dayi Review: Stylish Documentary Immerses Us in the Khat Leaf s Intoxicating Aura Faya Dayi Review: Stylish Documentary Immerses Us in the Khat Leaf s Intoxicating Aura
Jessica Beshir s debut feature eschews anthropological detail for enveloping clouds of atmosphere in this study of Ethopia s top cash crop.
Guy Lodge, provided by
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Courtesy of Feyatey
Khat is Ethiopia’s biggest cash crop, making serious business from a spiritual high: When chewed, the leaves of the flowering green plant act as a stimulant, believed in certain corners of Sufism to aid prayer and enable transcendence. Others make less lofty demands of it, simply chewing the leaves to mellow out, making days of drudgery pass a little more softly including those who work gruelingly in the khat trade.
Stranger Than Fiction, Arrow Team For Documentary River, Dogwoof to Sell at Berlin EFM (EXCLUSIVE)
Naman Ramachandran, provided by
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Australia’s Stranger Than Fiction Films and the U.K.’s Arrow Pictures have teamed for theatrical documentary “River,” commissioned by ABC Arts and BBC Arts.
Exploring the relationship between humans and rivers, the documentary spans six continents. It is directed by Jennifer Peedom, co-directed by Joseph Nizeti and produced by Jo-anne McGowan and Peedom from Stranger than Fiction and John Smithson from Arrow.
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Peedom’s previous film “Mountain” (2017) is the highest-grossing Australian documentary in box office history, and completed an 11-week run in U.K. and U.S. cinemas. An earlier collaboration, “Sherpa” (2015), was BAFTA-nominated and won best documentary at the London Film Festival. It also won at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, Australian Film Critics Assoc
Captains of Zaatari Review: Heartfelt, Gorgeously Photographed Doc Offers Unique Look Into Syrian Crisis Captains of Zaatari Review: Heartfelt, Gorgeously Photographed Doc Offers Unique Look Into Syrian Crisis
Two teenaged refugee best friends seek hope and a shot at a better future on the soccer field in journalist Ali El Arabi s stunningly cinematic debut.
Tomris Laffly, provided by
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Running time: Running time: 73 MIN.
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Hope is in the DNA of competitive sports. Comes with it a shot at victory, a rush of optimism for what might follow. The sensation only multiplies through unity not just with one’s team, but also fans cheering on. Through his profoundly humanistic nonfiction feature debut “Captains of Zaatari,” a moving tale of two Syrian teenagers with a deep love for soccer, filmmaker Ali El Arabi captures what that kind of hope can mean to those with bleakly limited options. He does so with stunning cinematic a