Short Films from Yemen
What Brings You Here?
Saber Wasel, eight minutes, Drama, Arabic with English subtitles, 2022.
The film explores themes of identity and belonging in the context of Jamme’a, a fisherman who unexpectedly emigrated from Somalia to Aden, Yemen at an early age.
The Path to the Tombs
Alya Hakim, two minutes, Animation, Arabic with English subtitles, 2023.
The film visually represents an original poem by Maysoon Al-Eryani. It tells the tragic tale of Lera, a Yemeni woman who loses her husband and searches for him until she is blind. She later discovers he has died in an accident, and because of the intensity of her grief, dies shortly afterwards. The local villagers bury her in the same grave as her husband.
Can Be
Mohammedally Shushtari, 13 minutes, Drama, English, 2022.
In a bereavement counselor’s office, Noura and Faiz begin to unpack years of anger and conflict that, after the death of their father, has led them down a path of accusation and guilt. In this unfamiliar environment the two siblings are confronted with each other, and their hidden feelings and truths. They must use their words to find a path back to one another, or risk a second, heartbreaking loss.
In the Long Run
Yousef Assabahi, 21 minutes, Drama, Arabic with English subtitles, 2022.
As seven-year-old Ahmed runs through the alleyways—constantly distracted by the people and events around him—his journey becomes both a delicate observation of the familial community of Ibb, and an intimate voyage through the old city’s endangered architecture and beautiful landscape.
While Ahmed plays beads with other kids, stumbles into a funeral, and listens to folktales narrated by an 82-year-old, the looming question of whether he’ll make it home before lunch grows larger. Performed by city locals, the film presents gentle conversations about fear, fate, and faith. Yet, most importantly, it is a story of a child’s imagination, curiosity, and wonder.
Ozazah
Ala'a Hafed, seven minutes, Drama, Arabic with English subtitles, 2020.
The film revolves around the life of an elderly woman called Aziza, known as Ozazah locally, who lives on Jabal Sabr (Mount Sabr), a key landmark in the city of Taiz, Yemen. Ozazah shares insights into the life of Sabrian women in the past and the evolving attitudes towards educating children in her community.
Shaqous
Amatullateef Khaled, Hadeel Al Sulaili and Alaa Wael, six minutes, Documentary, Arabic with English subtitles, 2021.
A short documentary film on coexistence and love inside a home in Sana’a.