Quick Facts
Biography
Amjad Abu Alala (Arabic: أمجد أبو العلا, born in Dubai) is a Sudanese film director, screenwriter and producer, who was born and lives in the United Arab Emirates. He became internationally known for his first feature film You Will Die at Twenty in 2019. This film was the first entry ever to be submitted from Sudan for the Academy Awards in the 'Best International Film' category, but was not selected in the final stage. His film has won, however, awards at international film festivals and has been shown internationally.
Life and career
Abu Alala was born in the United Arab Emirates to Sudanese parents and grew up in Dubai. He studied media and communication science at Emirates University and then made his first documentaries for several Arab and Western TV stations. He has also directed four short films until 2019.
For his first feature film, Abu Alala turned to Sudan. His parents are both from Wad Madani in central Sudan, and he wanted to explore his roots. Searching for a story, suitable not only for a Sudanese audience, but also for viewers all over the world, he chose a short story by Sudanese writer Hammour Ziada from 2014.
His feature film You Will Die at Twenty was presented and awarded at the Venice International Film Festival in August 2019 as part of the 'Venice Days' competition. In September 2019, it was also screened at the Toronto Film Festival.
By coincidence, the film was shot at the time of the Sudanese revolution against Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown by the military during demonstrations in April 2019 after having ruled the country for almost 30 years. This meant great challenges for the entire crew, not only because of governmental restrictions, but because there was no film industry in Sudan and they had to fly in several tons of equipment that they needed for the shooting.
As a producer, Abu Alala founded a creative laboratory in collaboration with the Doha Film Institute and produced five short films.
In 2013, Abu Alala won the Best Arabic Theatre Script Award for his script ‘Apple Pies’. Promoting Sudanese films, he has also been involved in the selection for the Sudan Independent Film Festival in Khartoum and the Arab Film Institute.
In 2021, he was selected as a jury member for the First feature section of the 74th Locarno Film Festival to be held from 4 to 14 August.
Favorite films
In 2022, Abu Alala participated in the Sight & Sound film polls of that year. It is held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, by asking contemporary directors to name ten films of their choice.
Abu Alala's selections were:
- 12 Angry Men (1957)
- Persona (1966)
- Mirror (1975)
- Bāb al-Ḥadīd (1958)
- Mia aioniótita kai mia méra (1998)
- Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1966)
- Taste of Cherry (1997)
- Dancer in the Dark (2000)
- Krótki film o zabijaniu (1987)
- A torinói ló (2011)
Filmography
- 2004: Coffee and Oranges (short film)
- 2005: Birds’ Feathers (short film)
- 2009: Teena (short film)
- 2012: Studio (short film)
- 2019: You Will Die at Twenty, feature film
Awards
El Gouna Film Festival, Egypt, 2019
- Golden Star in the section for Narrative Competition: You Will Die at Twenty
Venice Film Festival 2019
- Lion of the Future Award for best debut feature film: You Will Die at Twenty