04/08/2024

The Saturday night screenings of four international short films at DokuKino Plato was an opportunity for the audience to travel the world, as well as hear first-hand from the filmmakers. 

The first film of the evening, Nafura, used a unique and captivating method to alter the actor’s appearances so as to protect their identity. This gave the film an otherworldly, ethereal quality that added another dimension to the story, which only film can accomplish. 

Nafura is an Arabic word meaning fountain, and the film follows three young women coming of age in the very strict and male dominated culture of Saudi Arabia. The fountain they film is the King Fahd Fountain in Jeddah, which is impossible to miss, as it’s the highest fountain in the world.

They are filmed driving around and near the fountain, which is why some have termed it a ‘road movie’, although the real action and heart of the film lies in the interaction of the three main characters, who discuss love, life in Arabia, and their goals and dreams of achieving a meaningful and happy life.

This is why the film is so powerful and resonates well across international boundaries. The films creator is Paul Heintz, from France, who spent one month in Saudi Arabia, and found these three young women who consented to be in the film on the condition that they would be unrecognizable.

Paul answered questions from the audience after the screening and said, “It was a difficult shoot. We finally put the camera in the car, and left the girls alone, and hoped we would capture the condition of life in Saudi Arabia for young people. I asked them to discuss what Nafura meant to them and discuss it with each other.” The result was a success.

The other film Q&A with a director was “I Saw You Were Dancing” by Sarah Pech an Austrian filmmaker. She tells a similar coming of age story of a young girl who roams around her village at night observing her fellow villagers in their daily life. The two films have this in common, young women filmed at night, giving us a glimpse of what they find interesting, and possibly why.

Sarah said, “What I really like about shooting with children is that it has to be kind of like a game, we are working yes, but to make it fun for them, less stressful for them, this is important.”

The other two films were Leela, by Tanmay Chowdhary of India, and Sheep and Wolves, by Alex Fischman Cardenas of Peru. Four films, one trip around the world.

By: Scott Hoy